Gears of War 2
#3
Xbox One
Beaten January 19th 2019
A very interesting improvement on the first game. The combat feels a bit better, but the level design really kicks it up a notch. There's a lot of varied things to hide behind, half the time they snap in and out, or use some mechanism to go up and down that can be used by you or the enemy. No real weird boss fights since they kind of sucked in the first game anyway.
The story definitely aims more for mystery and emotion but to mixed results. Doms search for his wife is well done, but Marcus remains capable of only anger and it is difficult to empathize with him. Even Tai's suicide comes a bit too early and Marcus doesn't mention it much past its occurrence. The main plot hints at even more mystery with the Fenix family and their connection to the Locus - plus a new threat of infection drives them to madness. Why is the queen basically human??
The game also drops a number of horror elements from the first game to aim more at action. Less dark parts, no berserkers, no weird bats... But I miss those crazy things. They were a great enemy. It also feels even more focused for co-op than the previous one, which obviously reminds me of my first playthrough a decade or so ago with Ibn. I've included a screenshot of the infamous scene with the giant worm, hahaha.
Onto the third game!
Final Grade - B+
#3
Xbox One
Beaten January 19th 2019
A very interesting improvement on the first game. The combat feels a bit better, but the level design really kicks it up a notch. There's a lot of varied things to hide behind, half the time they snap in and out, or use some mechanism to go up and down that can be used by you or the enemy. No real weird boss fights since they kind of sucked in the first game anyway.
The story definitely aims more for mystery and emotion but to mixed results. Doms search for his wife is well done, but Marcus remains capable of only anger and it is difficult to empathize with him. Even Tai's suicide comes a bit too early and Marcus doesn't mention it much past its occurrence. The main plot hints at even more mystery with the Fenix family and their connection to the Locus - plus a new threat of infection drives them to madness. Why is the queen basically human??
The game also drops a number of horror elements from the first game to aim more at action. Less dark parts, no berserkers, no weird bats... But I miss those crazy things. They were a great enemy. It also feels even more focused for co-op than the previous one, which obviously reminds me of my first playthrough a decade or so ago with Ibn. I've included a screenshot of the infamous scene with the giant worm, hahaha.
Onto the third game!
Final Grade - B+