Resistance sucked imo, killzone fun but short and lets see if sony can deliver killzone 2 the way they said they can cuz Resistance looked like shit compared to gears, and i have hdtv, hdmi cable, every plugged in nice nice and every game so far besides mgs4 looks crappier than xbox.
but back on topic, im here with alll ur need to know info
Four-player Co-op Not Confirmed for Gears of War 2
Despite rumors running rampant over the Internet that say otherwise, we've just received confirmation from a Microsoft representative that no announcement has yet been made in regard to Gears of War 2 having four-player co-op play. The rumor started because of a GameSpot.com video interview in which Cliff Bleszinski -- Creative Director at Epic Games -- stated, "Co-op's drop-in, drop-out, multiple difficulty settings for co-op players." That's where people got a bit confused. In the interview Cliffy B. puts an odd emphasis on "for co-op players" making it sound like a confirmation for "four co-op players." See the difference? One is a number, the other is not.
While there's no doubt that many expect Gears of War 2 to have four-player co-op play, Microsoft is backing away from anything resembling an announcement for the time being. IGN was able to confirm this with a Microsoft representative but is still waiting on an official statement.
UPDATED: Microsoft's statement: "We have not confirmed the number of players in the Gears of War 2 co-op campaign mode. Cliff's remarks in a recent GameSpot interview are being misconstrued."
Gears of War 2 Multiplayer Details
New and Modified Weapons
Scorcher Flamethrower -- This sucker will appear only once on a multiplayer map. It benefits from a longer range if you can hit the active reload perfectly and will glow red when it's ready to bring death to the masses.
Gorgon Burst Pistol -- Faster rate of fire than other pistols and shoots in short bursts.
Poison Grenade -- Spews a nasty purple haze that brings down everyone in its path.
Shield -- This sucker can be chucked into the ground beneath you and used as stationary cover. Of course, you can also carry it around and use it in conjunction with a pistol.
Lancer Assault Rifle -- You've heard this before, this armament from the original now has a tie-breaker for chainsaw kills. Mashing the B-button as fast as you can could lead to three outcomes. First, you win and slice through your opponent. Second, you lose and meet the same fate. Or third, there's an improbable tie and you both step back to go at it again (or whip out a shotgun and own their face). And no, you're not invulnerable for any part of the animation.
Hammerburst Assault Rifle -- This Locust rifle from the first Gears is back and can now fire with higher accuracy at longer ranges and does more damage. Players can also fire with a fan method (holding and releasing the right trigger) that will allow for a quicker rate of fire at the expense of accuracy.
Boltok Pistol -- This sucker is back from Gears 1 and now has a quicker rate of fire after an active reload.
Smoke Grenade -- These are now home to a concussion blast that will knock a shield out of someone's hand while disabling their sight and overall equilibrium. Any of the grenade types in the game can also be stuck on walls and will act as proximity mines.
Super Weapons -- The Hammer of Dawn is back, of course, but there will also be other super weapons joining the roster.
Stopping Power -- Gears 1 multiplayer turned into a charge-fest of shotgun blasts with a general lack of concern for one's own well-being. Now if you can get off a few pistol rounds or assault rifle blasts at a charging opponent their speed will drop a bit and they'll need to turn back around to live to fight another day. Epic is hoping that this will change the strategy of Gears 2 considerably from the first game.
Maps and Modes
Meatflag -- This is a variant on classic Capture-the-Flag but instead of having an inanimate object sitting in the center of a stage waiting to be captured, Gears 2 will have a mean, gun-firing, AI-controlled badass sitting there waiting to do battle (he'll even tally his own score to be seen by all at the end of a round). Do enough damage to take him down to his knees and then run up, use him as a meat shield and haul his carcass back to your base to score the point for your team.
Wingman -- Here the ten possible players (up from the original game's eight) are broken up into sets of 2. One team will be Doms, another will be Marcuses, and you'll have to hunt throughout the map to kill as much of the opposition as possible before landing at a final kill count.
Guardian -- One man on your team is the leader, the rest are his hapless peons. Okay, not really. But one player is the leader and if he dies, then the ability to respawn is taken from his teammates, turning their current life into their last. The leader is called out on the opponent's screen at all times, making the hunt that much easier. First team to wipe out the other wins.
New and Old -- While these are all of the new modes that have been divulged by Epic, there are new ones still to come. Oh, and the classic Warzone mode is back yet again. As far as new maps are concerned, two were discussed: River and Security. Security sounds as though it will be best suited for objective-based games as there are things that need to be deactivated before the full level opens up. River, on the other hand, seems like a sniper's paradise with two tall towers and lots of real estate down below. The only two returning maps are Gridlock (the first Gears map ever shown) and Subway, as Gears 2 will pack more than 10 new arenas.
Battle-Cam -- Okay, we have to say, this is totally one of those "in no way-shape-or-form do we need this, but it's still really cool" features. The Battle-Cam allows players who have slipped into the after-life (got dead) to take a screenshot with the A-button of the most frenetic action that they can find. Do that, and the game will register all of the blood and executions -- everything including the amount of particle effects on-screen -- and spit out a score which is then uploaded, along with your screenshot, to the leaderboards for the world to see. We told you it was cool.
Executions
The A Button -- Causes you to grab the downed opponent and use them as a meat shield. They'll be dead as far as the game is concerned but their body will still be in your hands, getting blown to bits with enemy fire.
The B Button -- This is your standard melee attack but in Gears 2 they're all weapon-specific. Meaning that if you press the button with the sniper rifle you're going to smash someones brain to bits with the end of your sniper rifle, whereas if you do the same with the shotgun, your opponent's head will be used as a golf ball.
The X Button -- The classic, and oh-so-juicy, curb stomp. In Gears 2 you flip them onto their back first, but you know the rest.
The Y Button -- All of the fancy finishers are governed by the Y button. Be warned, though, they can take up to three seconds to complete and you'll be totally vulnerable during that time. The good news is that there are different kill sequences for different weapons and races, so there should be no shortage of wet and nasty stuff on the screen at any one time. COG soldiers, for instance, bludgeon your face with their fists, whereas a Locust will simply rip your limb off and beat you with it.
Guy Being Owned -- In Gears 2 the poor chap that is being executed isn't as hapless as he was before. Tapping the A-button lets you crawl around on the ground and try to get to a teammate who can then help you up. Tap the R trigger and you'll call for someone's help with a raise of your hand. Hold the R trigger the second you're about to be executed and you'll detonate your grenade, taking you both out in a glorious act of martyrdom.
The Small Stuff
Cliffy B. -- In an interview with EGM in that same July issue, Cliffy said that Gears 2 is running roughly 30 percent better, in terms of performance than the first game. He also went on to say that, while the team did consider it, dedicated servers will not be allowed in Gears 2.
Epic -- Other little developer quips mentioned consider implementing a live-scoring icon on the screen that will show players how much damage they're causing as well as their score. A.I. bots were apparently also hinted at. You'll no longer be booted from a game if the host jumps out; you'll simply all vote on a new map to play. Other little additions include the ability to "wall hug" and interrupting SWAT turns mid-move.
Gears of War 2 Multiplayer Hands-On
Gears 2 promises to be "bigger, better and more badass", plus now it also includes flamethrowers.
The game's famous cover system has been improved, so when you tremble behind stone blocks, you're moved off the corner so are less open to flanking shots. "The system of cover was effective," explains Cliffy, "but we wanted to add the final ten per cent to turn it from really, really good, to phenomenal." Then he adds: "Hands down, this is the best cover system in the business." That's my boy. They've even got a handily bullet-pointed slide: "Campaign: improved visuals. Grander in scope. More intimate violence. New characters. New player vehicles. New monsters. New weapons." Sweet.
Then the multiplayer chat begins. We'll be playing four game modes -- War Zone, Meat Flag, Wingman and Guardian -- across three of the eventual 12 maps Gridlock, River and Security. So to break it down. War Zone is classic team fragging. Now maps will host five-on-five match-ups, an extra player a team. Why? "People are used to teams of five. And they seemed to work better on the maps."
Meat Flag is a particularly Epician take on traditional Capture The Flag game types, in that the 'flag' is a person who really doesn't want to be captured. These will consist of yet-to-be-decided characters from the campaign (we had Franklin, the service station attendant from Gears, but that could change) and having a live flag is a genius touch. Barreling towards the focus point of a map, there's usually an amusing scrap between teams attempting to control the flag, but add into the mix a tooled-up flag that's also trying its darnedest to kill you, and it spices up proceedings to no end. Manage to nab your man and he'll struggle, kick and trash talk you till you score, or you're forced to drop him, i.e, you're dead.
Meat Flag: Like capture the flag with a living, fighting flag!
Wingman is another new take on multiplayer. Consisting of five teams of two, you have to balance the aggressiveness of going after the other teams, while protecting your partner. If you go down, he can revive you. If he dies, you're on your own and you've let your man down. It's a brilliantly inspired tactical bout. Five teams jostling on a medium-sized map keeps the battles interesting and continual, and the nature of the match-up forces you to work as a team and co-ordinate a measured combination of concerted attack, while trying to watch your partner's back. Simple aggression will certainly result in at least one teammate's casualty. Then you're stuffed.
Finally, Guardian is another five-on-five throwdown, only one player is the Guardian. As long as he's alive, you can respawn. Once he bites the dust, you're on your last life. And if your Guardian survives, you've still got to clean up the opposition, who may well take your man out. Then it gets frantic. The key here is for the Guardian to keep back in the more protected rear, but as the Guardian is the best player from the last round, just you try holding him back.
Cliffy B: "The violence is slapstick. It's fun, not nauseous."
All-new is the much vaunted chainsaw duel. Both COG and Locust characters pack chainsaw-equipped hardware, and melée at the same time and the duel animation kicks in. The whole battle -- hitting the B button like mental -- lasts around three seconds, long enough to challenge and find a worthy victor, but short enough to not leave you vulnerable in an enemy's sights for too long. Then the death animation begins. We saw Locust cut cleanly in half, crossways and the classic meat drenching the camera, straight down the chest. Messy incision.
Yup, we can confirm, the violence has remained intact. Something, in our sensitive Manhunt and prostitute-swording times, Cliffy's quick to defend: "The violence is slapstick. It's fun, not nauseous. These are ridiculously large space marines cutting lizards in half!" Locust now have individual finishing animations, and they are cool and varied. Rather than just stepping on heads, you get COGs kneeing enemies in the chest, flipping them over and curb stomping. Sometimes a downed enemy takes multiple fists to the face till it's just meat, and "meat fest" is the only way to describe grenade sticks -- which you can also now do in a retaliatory nature from beyond the grave. Nice touch. Get downed, and you can beg for mercy from your opposition. Hmm… what do you think?
In line with the improved cover system, maps now feature portable shields. These are Viking-like protecting screens which you either hide behind and advance, pistol spitting, or pick up and slam down into the ground for a respite from hot lead.
Our first play is the new Gridlock map: by a country mile the most popular map from Gears. "Gridlock is the one de facto map to play Gears of War on, the map by which all other maps will be judged," reckons Cliffy. "So here's Gridlock 2.0." And 2.0 actually comes to define our day. Epic may well have cunning extras up their sleeves, but the experience, without stating the bleedingly obvious, is Gears 2.0. That's not to say it's not impressive. Everything's flexed to vein-bulging tenseness and you can see the fruits of Epic's toil in a glance.
Chainsaw duels look awesome and don't disappoint when you're playing either.
The graphics are a clear improvement on the last outing, which is no mean boast – Gears was a supermodel amongst console games, with a rare and lasting beauty. This one is Agyness Deyn to Gears' Kate Moss: the next big thing. And that's because, contrary to established thinking, they've moved away from realistic lighting, to what Cliffy described as "movie lighting" -- a look which concentrates on making characters look better as opposed to realistic. Duh. Water now responds to footfalls in a beautifully realistic way and shoot a sandbag and it leaks sand till it empties. Still, clearly graphically, pictures speak louder than words, so drool over the comparison shots while remembering, this is multiplayer, not even campaign shots. And wonder.
Gears multiplayer wasn't broken, so in that aspect they haven't fixed it. But neither have they thrown the baby out with the bathwater. The experience is tighter, sharper and more concentrated. But also very familiar. But that's the thing -- innovate too much and you can spoil the experience. But don't innovate enough and fans looking for new thrills will feel disappointed and short changed. The best barometer is sitting back and watching the rest of the party playing. And Epic can breathe a sigh of relief. This works. From expressions of pained concentration, through constipation face, vinegar face to whooping like a lottery-winning Macau monkey, no geek left unsatisfied. Including IGN.
The slightly rubbish party system of the last has been improved, so you can now play ranked and unranked matches with your buds. Maps can be vetoed in the lobby - a welcome nod to Halo 3 - while the spectator camera is now actually useful. Security cameras have been removed in place of "battle cameras" -- a series of cams you can switch between which either follow the action in an eerily human-like edit, or you can switch between, to learn maps quicker. Or failing that, switch to "ghost cam" and zoom, god-like and disembodied around the levels. There should also be some kind of screen grab camera, with shots rated by the game based on framing, gore and action, which you should be able to post online. Epic were coy about this, so we'll no doubt hear more about that interactive aspect of the game soon.
Gears 1 vs Gears 2: now with added Hollywood lighting.
So, the levels. Gridlock you know. It's the same, only purdier. Security we didn't like so much, but mostly because its complicated layout requires study and practice – something difficult to do when you're thrown into a game against Epic's best. It certainly has potential. Hit buttons to lower laser walls and you can get at the tastier hardware – rocket launchers and flamethrowers, mostly. Yup, squealing, bedwetting fanboys: flamethrowers – before heading to the central area to, you know, do your stuff.
Our favourite was actually River, which takes the circular benefits of Gridlock to new levels. A river runs through the middle under a bridge (under which the sweet hardware resides) for instant flash points, but on each corner there's a barn-like structure for sniper positions and long range shooting which really threw up the best combination of hiding, sniping and all out chainsaw gore splatter. Certainly a future classic.
Later we had a bit of a (frustratingly brief) sit down with Cliffy, to pose some specific questions. Like, how on earth do you cope with the pressure of making a sequel to a five million-selling game? "To be honest, it's fun because in its own unique way, there's no pressure. We completely ignore it and follow our hearts." What lessons did you learn from the first game? "We wanted a blockbuster pace, and in doing so, we lost the story a bit. So that's one of the lessons we learned. This time round there's more repetition. Games aren't movies and aren't consumed in a single sitting. So secondary characters will remind you about stuff, which is re-established in plot cues. Metal Gear Solid is our example of the game we're not doing. Passive entertainment is on its way out -- you need to hook up with this web 2.0 stuff."
"We want to create places where you'd want to make your home", says Cliffy B.
You still squeezing good stuff from the Xbox 360 hardware? "Oh yeah, we're going from the bowels of the earth to the highest peaks of Sera, producing those beautiful environmental money shots. We want to create places where you'd want to make your home, and sip coffee in the morning."
One final question: where's the colon? It's the universal law of sequels. "I really fought that one. It wasn't going to be Gears 2: Attack at Jacinto. That's cheesy and it's cheap. There are certain instances where it's okay to go for something a little pulpy, like the Star Wars movies, but every time it came up, I said, what do you want to call it? Gears of War 2: Electric Boogaloo?"
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