Gameplay

The original Gears of War had a fairly predictable, but very polished set of gameplay features and that was a large part of what made it so great.

Cover system? Player assisted revives? These things had been done before, but never as fluidly or well. Comparing Gears of War to previous games that had toyed with these ideas was like comparing Half-Life to any old 7/10 FPS – sure, they’re kind of the same, but one of them is head and shoulders above the rest.

The one really positive thing we can say about the gameplay in Gears of War 2 then is that Epic are definitely fans of the old adage; if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it. The gameplay is as gloriously refined as ever and feels smoother than the inside of a bottle of olive oil. Masculine olive oil, made with olives picked by large handed men who grunt, of course.

Epic know they hit on a good thing with the fast-paced, action-led gameplay of the first game and so they haven’t tried to change it into something else. There’s no awkwardly placed stealth sections or deliriously hard puzzle sections to slow you down. There’s just the furious action, one brilliant fight after another.


The major new additions to Gears of War 2’s feature list then are mobile cover and destructible environments. Sounds exciting, right? Well, don’t get your hopes up because the reality is actually quite mundane. In fact, from the space-marine aesthetic to the gameplay which is essentially unchanged from the first game, there’s a definite feeling that Epic is playing it safe. There’s nothing wrong with that – especially when it means we get the same, slick gameplay as before – but it doesn’t stop us quietly hoping for something more.

Destructible environments are the most impressive sounding new feature in the game, but while it may conjure images in your mind of walls that can be knocked down, the reality is quite different. What it essentially means is that you can sometimes chip away at the edge of a bit of cover by shooting at it. It’s handy because you can blow fist-sized chunks of rock away with a bullet and the Locust will still stand there while you open up a way to shoot them in the face.

Only sometimes mind – oddly, we’ve had Marcus strip a chunk of stone off a fallen wall so that we can get a better headshot, but we’ve also struggled to blow holes in wooden doors or walls. Hm.


This isn’t to say that the destructible cover is an unappreciated or useless feature, because it isn’t that at all. Fights in Gears of War 2 often become violent stalemates with both sides refusing to budge from cover and in situations like that then it can be enormously helpful to take a chunk out of a barricade, especially if you’re out of precious grenades.

Is it a monumental addition to the gameplay though? Honestly not, as we’ve only been forced to use it a handful of times at most. It’s lack of actual purpose is it’s only real fault.

Mobile cover meanwhile is a much more meaningful addition to the game, even if the Rockworms are pretty laughable as a concept. Indigenous to the Locust caverns, the Rockworms are an invulnerable race of fruit-eating worms made of rock. Why they’re called Rockworms is beyond us thou…oh, wait – now we get it!

The worms’ main use is that it can be enticed to move across a battlefield by knocking some of their favourite fruit to the ground. Their impervious nature means they’re ideally suited to hiding behind as they trundle along, making them perfect for closing in on enemy snipers and other evil doers

Rockworms themselves aren’t the only example of mobile cover – you’re also able to grab wounded enemies as human shields, for example – but they are the best way to illustrate the system and how effective it is in some battles.