Gears of War 2 is a 2008 third-person shooter video game created by Epic Games and released by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second part of the Gears of War series, with Cliff Bleszinski as the lead designer. The game was released in North America, Europe, and Australia on November 7, 2008, and in Japan on July 30, 2009. The game uses an updated version of the Unreal Engine 3 for improved technology. The development team hired comic book writer Joshua Ortega to help create the game's story.
In Gears of War 2, the COG continues its battle against the Locust, who are trying to destroy cities on the planet Sera. Sergeant Marcus Fenix leads Delta Squad into the planet's depths to stop the Locust during an attack on their territory. Players control Fenix in the main story campaign and can play cooperatively with a second player controlling his friend, Dominic "Dom" Santiago. The game includes existing and new multiplayer modes, such as five-on-five battles between human and Locust forces and a "Horde" mode where up to five players fight waves of Locust enemies that grow stronger over time. New weapons and gameplay features, like "chainsaw duels" and the ability to use fallen enemies as "meatshields," were added.
At its release, Gears of War 2 sold over two million copies in the first weekend and reached four million copies sold within two months. It was the seventh best-selling video game of 2009 and received many awards. The game was praised for its new gameplay and multiplayer modes, similar to its predecessor. Gears of War 2 and its first game are considered among the best ever made. It was followed by Gears of War 3 in 2011.
Gameplay
Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter game that focuses on using cover strategically. It keeps many of the same game features as the first game. In the campaign mode, the player can control Marcus or Dominic. In multiplayer mode, players can choose to play as humans or Locust enemies. At any time, players can carry a pistol, one type of grenade, and two other weapons. They can swap these weapons for ones found in the environment or left by defeated enemies. Each weapon can be used for regular shooting or melee attacks. The Lancer Assault Rifle, a key weapon, has a chainsaw bayonet that can instantly kill enemies in close combat. If two players use the Lancer to fight each other, a special chainsaw duel begins. The player must press a controller button quickly to win the duel and avoid being killed.
The game updates the power of existing weapons and adds five new ones: a flamethrower, a chain gun, a mortar cannon, a "Gorgon" Pistol, and an Ink Grenade. The chain gun and mortar cannon are heavy weapons that require players to move slowly while carrying them. The Gorgon Pistol is a fast-firing machine pistol that shoots four short bursts per magazine. The Ink Grenade does not cause direct damage but poisons the area it lands on, forcing enemies to leave cover. Grenades can be placed on walls or floors as traps that trigger when enemies approach. Only fragmentation grenades can kill enemies when they explode.
The player’s health is shown by a red "Crimson Omen" that appears on the screen as damage increases. Avoiding enemy fire helps the player recover health. If the player takes too much damage, they enter a "downed" state where they can crawl to safety. During this time, a teammate may revive them, an enemy may kill them, or they may bleed out if too much time passes. Players can also use a downed character as a shield, absorbing damage while holding a one-handed pistol. Explosive weapons destroy the shielded character. The game includes an optional filter that changes blood into sparks and removes harsh language from dialogue. Players can earn Xbox achievements in both campaign and multiplayer modes.
The campaign mode allows one or two players to work together as Marcus or Dominic. A new "Normal" difficulty was added between "Casual" and "Hardcore" settings. An "Insane" difficulty is unlocked after completing the game once. In co-op mode, players can choose different difficulty levels, and the game adjusts enemy behavior to keep both players challenged. Co-op mode supports "drop in/drop out" play, letting the second player join a game already in progress. Players can collect items like COG tags, personal letters, and medical records, which are added to a war journal.
The story in the campaign includes new characters, weapons, and enemies, as described by John DiMaggio, the voice actor for Marcus Fenix. New vehicles, such as the Centaur Tank (called a "tank with monster truck wheels" by designer Cliff Bleszinski), are added. Players also ride vehicles like the Brumak and Reavers. The game uses improved facial animation technology from Epic’s Unreal engine for cutscenes, and a robot named Jack uses a video screen to communicate with commanders.
The multiplayer mode supports up to ten players in five-on-five teams. It includes modes like Execution, Warzone, Annex, and King of the Hill, plus three new modes: Guardian, Wingman, and Submission. Guardian is a modified version of Assassination, allowing players to continue fighting after the leader is killed. Wingman pairs players into teams of two, with both using the same character. Submission is a capture-the-flag-style game where players must "down" an AI-controlled enemy and move their body to their team’s base. The game includes ten maps: Avalanche, Blood Drive, Day One, Hail, Jacinto, Pavilion, River, Ruins, Security, and Stasis. A matchmaking system similar to Halo lets players join games with humans or AI opponents.
Players can view maps from different angles, and the "Ghost Cam" lets them explore freely. The game also allows players to take photos of action scenes, which can be uploaded to the Gears of War website and rated for quality. A co-op mode called "Horde" lets five players fight waves of Locust enemies together. Unlike competitive multiplayer, Horde Mode does not support bots and can be played alone.
Synopsis
Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the Lightmass Bomb explodes at the end of the first game. Although most of the Locust Horde’s underground army was destroyed, the bomb also caused liquid Imulsion underground to turn into vapor, leading to a deadly disease called Rustlung that spreads among humans. After months of peace, the cities of Tollen and Montevado suddenly disappear underground, making the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) believe the Locust may be returning. Soon, Jacinto, one of the last safe places for humans, shows signs that it might also be in danger. To protect Jacinto, the COG launches a large attack against the Locust. Senior Producer Rod Fergusson states, "To save Jacinto, the COG has no choice but to take the war to the Locust."
Returning characters include Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, the main heroes from the first game, as well as other members of Delta Squad, such as Augustus 'Cole Train' Cole and Damon Baird. Supporting characters like radio dispatcher Anya Stroud and Colonel Hoffman also return. Lead designer Cliff Bleszinski confirmed that Carmine would return, though he was killed in the first game. Later, it was revealed that Carmine’s brother, Benjamin, would appear instead of the original character. The game introduces new characters, including Chairman Prescott, a COG leader who acts like a ruler; Tai Kaliso, a warrior from a group known for honor; and Dizzy Wallin, a former Stranded who joined the COG to protect his family. Dom’s wife, Maria, also appears, and Dom’s search for her is a key part of the story.
At the start of Gears of War 2, the COG sends troops into the "Hollow," the underground area of Sera, to attack the Locust directly. Delta Squad, made up of Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, Benjamin Carmine, Tai Kaliso, Augustus Cole, and Damon Baird, fights the Locust alongside thousands of soldiers. During the battle, Tai is captured by Locust general Skorge and tortured until he becomes mentally unstable. After being rescued by Delta, Tai commits suicide. The group learns the Locust are using a giant Riftworm to sink human cities. The Locust plan to destroy rock structures near Jacinto, the last major human city, to make it sink underground. Delta kills the Riftworm before it can destroy Jacinto but loses Benjamin Carmine in the process.
After returning to the surface, Colonel Hoffman admits the COG failed to find the Locust’s main base. Chairman Prescott reveals a secret file about an abandoned COG outpost nearby that may lead to the Locust’s capital and their queen. Delta is sent to investigate. Inside the outpost, they discover it is called "New Hope," a genetics lab where scientists studied children of Imulsion miners with Rustlung, creating mutated experiments called "Sires." The scientists moved to Mount Kadar’s caves to continue their work. As Delta infiltrates Mount Kadar to find the Locust’s base, Dom learns his wife, Maria, is at a nearby prison camp. Dom finds Maria in a vegetative state after being tortured by the Locust. He helps her die peacefully and continues the mission.
Delta locates the Locust’s capital, called Nexus, and activates a beacon to start a second attack. The COG learns the Locust are fighting an epidemic among the "Lambent," Locust who have been exposed to Imulsion, forcing them to the surface. Locust Queen Myrrah, who looks human, tells Marcus the Locust plan to sink Jacinto based on a proposal by Adam Fenix, Marcus’s father, to flood the Hollow with seawater and drown the Lambent. After defeating Skorge but failing to kill Myrrah, Marcus decides to sink Jacinto himself to destroy both the Locust and Lambent forces before they can escape. The COG sinks Jacinto, and seawater floods the area, destroying the remaining Locust. After the credits, Adam Fenix’s voice is heard on a radio, revealing he is still alive.
Development
Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski has spoken in interviews about changes made to improve the game. Engineers fixed problems with the game’s network code to remove unfair advantages for the host player in the first version. Many small changes were made to improve how characters use cover and move around. To add more depth to the story, the team hired novelist Joshua Ortega to include more personal drama in the sci-fi setting. Composer Steve Jablonsky created the music for the game. Epic Games also considered making the game less difficult after players complained about the original Gears of War. Senior producer Rod Fergusson said, "We made the Casual difficulty too hard for the first game."
At the 2008 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, Epic Games demonstrated improvements to the Unreal Engine 3. The video showed changes to how light appears in the game using a technique called Screen Space Ambient Occlusion, which creates more realistic shadows by using pixel shading. Comparisons were made between models from the original game engine and those from Unreal Engine 3. The engine also showed the ability to display large groups of characters, such as a crowd of locusts moving through the "Gridlock" multiplayer map from the original game. Improvements to "Matinee," a tool used to create and edit 3D scenes in the game, were also highlighted.
Other physics-related changes included better water effects, such as more realistic reflections and interactions. Soft body physics were demonstrated with a "Meat Cube" and a floating ball that acted like liquid helium. The biggest change was the addition of destructible environments, made possible by tools that analyze how materials break in real time. This was shown with explosive arrows from the "Torque Bow" damaging wooden planks and revealing rebar after destroying parts of a stone structure.
Marketing and release
On February 20, 2008, the same day the game was announced at the Game Developers Conference, a free set of gamer pictures, a dashboard theme, and a teaser trailer called "Duel" were made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The first gameplay footage from the campaign, showing new features, was released online and on the Marketplace on May 9, 2008. After the Microsoft E3 press conference, a trailer titled "Rendezvous," a press conference demonstration, and another free set of gamer pictures and dashboard theme were made available for download.
A teaser image posted on the Gears of War 2 website on July 8, 2008, suggested the game would be released on November 9, 2008. However, during the Microsoft E3 2008 press conference, the release date was confirmed as November 7, 2008. On July 14, 2008, the teaser image was removed, and the website was updated for Gears of War 2.
Gears of War 2 was a major focus during Microsoft's E3 2008 presentation on July 15, 2008, which included a "hands-on" demo. A second trailer, "Rendezvous," was released on July 14, 2008, as part of E3. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the trailer uses the song "Diabolical Cracker" from the album Red Line and takes its title and spoken words from Alan Seeger’s World War I poem I Have a Rendezvous with Death. The game’s release date was set for November 7, 2008, worldwide. On October 10, 2008, Microsoft and Epic Games announced that Gears of War 2 had gone gold. Cliff Bleszinski stated that, unlike the first game, Gears of War 2 would not have a version for personal computers.
A Limited Edition of the game was confirmed on February 20, 2008. On July 14, 2008, more details about the Limited Edition were shared. It includes alternate cover art, a SteelBook case with a bonus DVD, a book titled Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2 (with concept art and story details), a keepsake photo of characters Dominic and Maria, and an exclusive Xbox Live code to unlock a gold-plated Lancer for online play. Best Buy also offered customers who preordered the Limited Edition a free Remote Control Centaur Tank replica, similar to a vehicle in the game.
At release, every new copy of Gears of War 2 included a code to download the Flashback Map Pack, which added five enhanced multiplayer maps from the original game. Attendees of the GameStop "Midnight Madness" event received codes to unlock a gold-plated Hammerburst rifle for multiplayer and an exclusive Xbox 360 Dashboard theme.
The first downloadable content after Gears of War 2 was the Combustible Map Pack, which included three new multiplayer maps. This was announced and released on December 15, 2008. A second title update on January 21, 2009, adjusted gameplay and added Achievements, fixing many glitches players had found.
A third update was applied on March 24, 2009. It introduced an experience-based ranking system, where players earned numerical values based on experience points gained from killing enemies or shooting in multiplayer. The update also improved matchmaking by adding bots to replace players who disconnected.
In early July 2009, Epic Games released a fourth update, allowing players to earn experience points in the multiplayer Horde Mode and fixing additional gameplay issues. On July 28, 2009, the Dark Corners add-on was released. It included seven new multiplayer maps and an extra campaign chapter that had been removed from the original game. This chapter takes place after Maria’s death, allowing players to choose between sneaking into a stronghold or attacking directly, with a cameo from a character from the first game.
On May 6, 2009, Microsoft and Epic Games announced the Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection, to be released on July 28, 2009. It would include all add-ons, a poster, and a strategy guide. Due to complaints about pricing and regional availability, Epic Games changed the plan: the collection was released digitally via Xbox Live, and the price of the Dark Corners add-on was lowered.
In June 2010, during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, Mark Rein (vice president of Epic Games) demonstrated a stereoscopic 3D version of Gears of War 2 on an Xbox 360 using TriOviz for Games Technology. He noted the technology worked on regular HD TVs and high-end 3D TVs. Rein said the company had no plans to re-release the game in 3D unless Microsoft requested it, but the technology could be used by other developers.
In October 2010, TriOviz for Games Technology was integrated into Unreal Engine 3, making it easier to convert past and future games developed with this engine into stereoscopic 3D.
Reception
Gears of War 2 received a lot of praise from critics. It has a score of 93.32% from GameRankings and 93 out of 100 from Metacritic. Reviewers said the game has a more detailed story than the first Gears of War and is very well made. However, some noted that the multiplayer experience was different from the original game, especially in how fast-paced and fun it was. IGN said the first four parts of the game were satisfying, but the final part had a weak boss and an ending that felt too sudden. They also mentioned some technical problems, like bugs and lag, in online multiplayer. IGN stated that while the game has some issues with technical aspects and the final story part, it is still one of the best games on the Xbox 360. Official Xbox Magazine said the middle parts of the story were not as strong as others.
IGN and Eurogamer praised the new "Horde Mode" feature. Eurogamer said "Horde Mode" is a fun and engaging addition that could keep players busy for a long time. X-Play praised the game's "polished cover system," cooperative campaign mode, new weapons, and characters. They also said the multiplayer experience was excellent. Game Informer called the single-player story "satisfying" and the co-op campaign "amazing." They also said the online multiplayer was "outstanding" compared to other multiplayer modes.
Gears of War 2 sold over two million copies in its first weekend and set a record for the most people playing on Xbox Live at the same time, with over one million players. It sold more than three million copies worldwide in the first month and over four million in the first two months. It was the sixth best-selling game in December 2008 in the United States, selling over 745,000 copies. It was also the tenth best-selling game in the United States in 2008, with over 1.3 million copies sold. It received a "Double Platinum" sales award from ELSPA, meaning it sold at least 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom. By May 7, 2009, the game had sold over five million copies worldwide, bringing the total for the franchise to 11 million.
Gears of War 2 won several awards after its presentation at E3 2008. IGN gave it the awards for "Overall Best Shooting Game" and "Overall Best Graphics Technology" at E3 2008. The Game Critics Awards named it "Best Action Game" at E3 2008. It also won "Best Shooter" and "Best Xbox 360 Game" at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards.
At the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Gears of War 2 for "Console Game of the Year," "Action Game of the Year," and for outstanding achievements in "Animation," "Character Performance" (Dominic Santiago and Marcus Fenix), "Game Direction," "Game Design," "Online Gameplay," "Sound Design," and "Visual Engineering."
Sequel
On April 13, 2010, during an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Cliff Bleszinski announced the game Gears of War 3 and showed a trailer called "Ashes to Ashes." The story happens 18 months after the events of Gears of War 2. The game was supposed to come out on April 8, 2011. However, it was delayed and released on September 20, 2011.