Having played what probably amounts to an ungodly number of combined hours online we, the self described ‘Cast of Evil’, thought it would make sense to give you our thoughts regarding Gears of War 2′s multiplayer mode in a multi-person format. Below is the cream of a horribly erractic, and at times senseless, discussion between Games Are Evil’s ‘finest’. Please feel free to weigh in with thoughts, comments and insults of your own.
Jason: I’d like to start off by applauding the developers at Epic for practically forcing gamers to play cooperatively in Gears 2. By cooperatively, I don’t mean simply not shooting each other in the back, I mean hardcore teamwork and communication. For too long so called ‘team’ playlists, on titles like Halo 3, merely encourage your team to generally stick together but nothing more. Gears of War 2 doesn’t just reward constant teamwork, it demands it. You’ll need to keep a mental snapshot of where your fellow COGS or Locusts are at all times.
Beyond that situations constantly arise that require you to check in and keep your ears and eyes open, not only for yourself, but your team-mates as well. Is there a swarm of Boomers charging the stairway in Avalanche? Call out to your team-mate with the mortar launcher and have him – or her – wipe them out from a distance. Has one of your buddies fallen to a Ticker in Horde mode? If you stand a chance of surviving the onslaught, you have 15 seconds to revive him or you can kiss your victory goodbye, because without backup you won’t survive alone.
I like how King of the Hill really ups the ante, requiring your team of 4 to be completely in sync with each other every step of the way. And in Wingman, your 2 man team must assassinate every opponent up close, while keeping each other alive.
John: The focus on co-op play is undoubtedly my favourite aspect of the multiplayer too. As you were saying, it turns GoW2 into a true team-based shooter, in that you must work together if you hold any hopes of attaining victory. And when/if victory does come it feels that much sweeter knowing that you’ve worked well as a team and as an individual.
Other than Horde, King of the Hill is my favourite game type due to the sheer intensity of the constant back and forth struggle between two sides all rushing towards one point on the map, mixed with the need to attack as a unified team. Wingman is good too but I just can’t get the hang of the ‘deathmatch’ style games at all, i’m much more about the territories modes. Rush in, grenade, chainsaw is my preferred ‘tactic’.
Christian: For me Gears of War 2 brings back many memories of Gears of War multiplayer, but enhances them. Everything from Gears has been made just a tad crisper, cleaner, and smoother this time around. One of the major improvements is the gameplay which, as you guys have said, emphasizes teamwork. Want to be a hero? Go ahead, but you will get decimated within seconds. Stick together, work cooperatively, and you shall find victory.
Cliff ‘Dude Huge’ Bleszenski and his team of excellent talent have managed to do something which few have yet to accomplish, and that is to create a multiplayer mode which passively enforces teamwork. Every detail of the multiplayer emphasizes teamwork. My personal two favorite modes are Wingman and Horde, both of which are very heavily ‘geared’ towards teamwork. Keep in mind though that I love co-operative play. I feel that a shared experience is much better than a solo experience and connects more closely to the human mind and emotions.
John: On that point, and sorry to get negative here, if you’re playing with a bunch of random people in public matches your chance of enjoying the game to the same degree are somewhat decreased due to that focus on co-op play. You really need to be playing with other players that are communicating with you, which is something you can’t guarantee if you head into a public lobby alone. I’ve already lost count of the number of times I’ve warned a team-mate that they’re about to get a shotgun to the spine, only for them not to react because they don’t have their headset plugged in (or they’re just not listening).
Gabe: I can see what you mean, yelling into the headset without any response gets extremely frustrating. But even though I really dig the focus on team work, I still appreciate Gears 2 for giving you the ability to pull off “NO WAY” solo situations. If you start getting attacked by 2 Locust on either side, there’s a small chance that you can get away, and even dominate, with a few well calculated rolls and cover choices. It’s times like these that really get the adrenaline pumping, and gladly the opportunities are plenty, just don’t try being the team hero or you’ll end up a giant pile of gibs.
Jason: Games like this, and hopefully the upcoming Left 4 Dead, reward gamers with the rich satisfaction and frenzied chaos that only well orchestrated team play can provide. Players without headsets who like to play the lone wolf should stick to the single player mode.
Christian: I agree that when playing in a public party, it can become somewhat frustrating. However, I have found that the Gears of War 2 audience isn’t the same audience which I have grown accustomed to thanks to Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4. They have either grown up – unlikely, but plausible – or the game design really does emphasize teamwork so that even public matches can be enjoyed for the most part.
Gabe: In terms of game design i’d just wanna mention all the new weapons, moves and features. You get a sense that everything that has been added was done with the utmost attention to detail, supported by the fact that all the new elements mesh together so well. For example, you hide behind a bench, open fire at an enemy in a gazebo with your Lancer, he takes notice, and since he knows that you can destroy the benches in the environment, he starts retaliating using the new ‘Mulcher’ turret and your cover splinters and disappears as you run for your life. Luckily for you, a downed enemy is nearby, and you use him as a meatshield to protect yourself from the turret.
These new features lend themselves extremely well to the way you play, and allow you to make more tactical choices, as opposed to the classic “I’m gonna rush ‘em with the shotgun”. Also gotta say that being able to crawl around on your hands and knees (while downed) makes for some intense, and downright hilarious, proceedings. Watching a dying man crawl around has never been so exciting.
Cory: Haha.. I like that “watching a dying man crawl around has never been so exciting.” I’d also like to add that trying to crawl away when you’re down has never been such an adrenaline rush. I can’t help but shout out to my team I’M DOWN!! …good times indeed.
John: Bad times if no one comes to rescue you!
Christian: One gripe I do have – and please keep in mind this could very well be due to my own skewed perspective – is that sometimes maps can become very cluttered, and one might feel as if they’re at the butcher line waiting to chainsaw an enemy or to be ‘chainsawed’ themselves. While the chainsaw duel does alleviate the issue of which player revved the chainsaw first, the inherent problem of player clustering still remains. But as I mentioned, this is a minor gripe. With a title developed by such an ‘epic’ (all puns intended) team it is hard to find chinks in their armor…
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