Okay Gears 2 AAR report.
Okay my first playthrough was on Hardcore, fun difficulty with frustration thrown in with some cheap things going down. The overall storyline isn't anything to write home about, standard action junk with a few twists here and there that you can pick out. But there are a few moments that just make you go wow I cant belive they just did that. Especially with what happens when Dom finally finds Maria.
The gameplay remains largely unchanged except for the addition of heavy weapons which do 2 things. Kick major Locust ass, on the flip side though they slow you down to a crawl. Still fun to unleash a mortar or two on top of a congregation of enemies. And yes unfortunately the fights are just set pieces that can only be approached so many ways and usually from a very linear direction. 5 minutes action, 2 or 3 exposition or transition between fights rinse and repeat. Not so bad for me, I enjoy that type of shooter.
Sounds are changed, the guns sound meaner and much more like they should have in the first. The lancer which in Gears 1 sounded like it was spitting its bullets now sounds like its firing bullets with stopping power. The scream of a mortar as its bearing down on you isn't something you can miss either.
Overall I wouldn't give it the 9s and 9.5s its been getting in reviews. But I wouldnt give it anything lower than an 8. Nice fun game if you can put up with its linear nature.
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