Last Thursday, just before the GoW 2 launch, I decided to pop in the original to re-familiarize myself with the controls and play style. I haven't used RB to reload since Halo 3 after all.
A weird thing happened. I found the game dreadfully boring and I stopped playing after 10 minutes. I shrugged it off. I have played through the game multiple times after all. All games get old after a while.
What I wasn't expecting was to have that same feeling while firing up the sequel. But I did. As soon as I stared playing my solo campaign, I was underwhelmed. Graphically, I didn't find the game very impressive. It looked about the same as the previous title. And while the original was a fine looking game, we've had Bioshock, CoD4, Far Cry 2 and Dead Space since then. All of which I consider better looking games (your opinion may vary). The opening hospital level just seemed bland. Gameplay-wise, it seemed stale. I was very disappointed.
I turned the game off and called it a day.
The next day something happened. I sat down to play, expecting more of the same, and four hours later I found myself completely mesmerized. I am not sure what happened. I don't know if the levels got a lot better. If the new gameplay elements became more apparent. Or if I just got used to the GoW play-style again, but as I advanced through the campaign I was floored by how much I was enjoying it. My initial impressions of the visuals being more of the same also went away. Some of the later levels have simply amazing vistas. It is funny, I am usually more impressed with vast, open, natural environments like forests, or sections with lots of greenery. But the most impressive visuals for the Gears series I have found to be the sections that take place underground. In the original Gears, the single most impressive area for me was the giant cavern in which you meet the Theron Guards for the first time. That section, with its huge scale and Immulsion waterways was simply breathtaking. There are many sections in Gears 2 that take that to another level. The scale of this second game has certainly gone way up, in all aspects: story, stakes, environments, battles.
Another technical aspect that has impressed me is the audio. I am playing with my headphones once again (my new favorite way to game) and there were two instances that really blew we away from an audio standpoint. The first is a really small detail, but as you know, it is the small details that impress me the most. While playing the single-player campaign, my teammate Dom was speaking to me. He sounded normal, since he was standing next to me. But he continued to advance down a path while I stayed behind to search for ammo or hidden items. As he got further away, I heard his voice change from normal, to having a slight static hint as it transitioned from earshot to Marcus' earpiece. I found that a pretty amazing detail. I am not sure if the first game did this since I never played it with headphones and it is harder to pick up those small details with speakers, but I was very impressed.
The second was even cooler. One of the levels take place in the rain (the rain effect looks amazing btw). The sound of the rain also sound good. But I was really blown away as I walked out of the rain, under some cover composed of a small tin roof. It smoothly transitioned to the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof and the effect was spectacular. I am not sure how it comes across with speakers, but I can tell you that with headphones it really put me in the game. It sounded amazing. Almost like a binaural recording. That's how effective it was. I had a huge smile on my face and spent the next few minutes moving in and out of the rain. I know, I am an idiot.
But, the biggest improvement between Gears 1 and 2 is the story. And not just the story, but the story telling. I've commented before on how I felt Epic really dropped the ball in the first game. The background story for the game was great. It was really thought out and detailed. Yet for some reason Epic decided to leave all of it out of the game. If players had not read up on the story from online sources, all they would have to go by was a small blurb in the instruction manual. And the actual narrative for the title was weak and was conveyed poorly to the player. That completely changes with the sequel. It helps that we have the first game to set this one up, but the story of this game is a lot more compelling. I find myself wanting to advance to the next section just to find out what is going to happen next, instead of just anticipating my next firefight (which is all players really had to look forward to in the first game). There is some emotion in it this time too. The story arch of Dom and his wife actually worked for me and the way it concludes was very powerful. I still need a whole Act to finish the game and I can assure you, I am completely intrigued by what is going on, what has been revealed, and all the twists that have been thrown at me. Impressive stuff.
All this and I have yet to try out the multiplayer. I am especially looking forward to Horde mode, which I hear is a total blast. So in closing, after a shaky start, I am having a blast with GoW2. If you're a fan of the previous one, this is a no brainer. And if you weren't, because it felt shallow with poor story telling, you might want to try this one and see if it works for you. Just stick it out through the first few segments, it definitely picks up after that.
P.S. - I actually miss the Berserkers and Kryll. Wish they would have brought them both back at some capacity.
