Finished the game earlier today. The
level was definitely the high point of the game, but there weren't any real notable low points, and the sequences that followed it didn't feel in any way anticlimactic.
On the story - I don't want this to be misunderstood, so please read the explanation and don't just react to the first line - It is a great videogame story. That's not to say that it's a great story in the greater sense of the word, but for what it is, in an action-oriented, testosterone-laden game, it's great. It gives context to the action of each level, keeps the game moving forward, remains coherent throughout (which is not something that could be said for the first Gears of War, or Halo 3 for that matter) and for the most part stays out of the way.
The stuff with Dom's wife feels a bit forced, but you get an interesting level out of it in the middle of the game, so I'm ok with it, plus it sets up the ending with
, which thankfully (mercifully?) isn't overplayed.
Other than that minor failing, the context of all the other story elements feel right and make sense in the world the game occupies. Despite the fact that the game jumps from location to location, the generally short cutscenes tie everything together so that it feels like one contiguous journey. A whole, whole lot of shooters (and games in general) completely fall apart when held to this test, and it's a testament to the writers of this game that this one holds up, even with all the comically over-the-top shit going on in every single level. I can't remember a single moment in the game when I wondered what I was supposed to be doing, and why.
It's not going to win any awards, but as a framework for this kind of game, it'd be hard to do much better.
As for the game itself, It's hard to say much of anything that hasn't already been said. I don't know how the hell they're going to top this in Gears 3, that's for sure. They'll have to have us blowing up the entire planet to outdo the shit that went on in this game. I liked the vehicle sequences in this one far better than the first, and thought maybe they over-corrected the difficulty of the final boss. Raam in Gears 1 was too hard, and this one is way too easy.
I thought it was really strange that one of the earliest demod levels ended up being right near the end of the game, but it sort of makes sense in that the level shows a lot of cool stuff which starts off looking a lot like Gears 1, and transitions in the end to the crazy kind of stuff this game does that makes it stand out. Everything after that level felt like a reward more than a challenge, which was definitely fun, but I'm not sure if I would have done it the same way, given the choice.
Overall, this has leapt to the top of my personal GOTY list. Gears 1 wasn't my GOTY in 06, and I wasn't expecting this one to be this year, but kudos to Cliff and all the Epic team. You really hit it out of the park this time.
