Gearheads of War

Where to begin?  

Locamotive-Style (Pro & Con):
I have to admit, GOW2 comes at you like a freaking runaway train of awesome speed and power.  I mean from the get go you got new weapons & grenades, new moves with your new weapons and grenades, vehicles, monsters & bosses, a heart pounding & wrenching story, and a slick new multiplayer interface & game-types (Way to go here Epic!)!  Then as I begin to play I feel like I'm strapped to the cow-catcher of this awesome locamotive and I don't have any way to switch tracks or change speeds.  You know some levels, particularly good bits in Act 1 and Act 5 felt like "Dragon Slayer" from the arcade days.  This is most blatant in any vehicle episode and definitely versus bosses (worm & Skorge).  I'll say it now, The fight agains Ramm felt like there was more chance for player creativity than any confrontation that I had with Skorge.  Boss battles were visually cool and choreographed, but this time around I felt like we were just hitting buttons in sequence.  Shoot tongues...throw grenade...jump. Hit "B"...jump a verbal cue...dodge pillar...Hit "B"...repeat.  It kind of bummed me out cause I was digging the story. Epic gave us the look of a grander combat space, but I still felt we were on rails with no variation.  I don't want to lose ya'll and have you think I don't like GOW2, but I really do, I just want to make a few points with the hope of seeing some recognition from Epic, cause I think they are going in the best direction for us, Fanboys and Gamers alike.  

Guns & Grenades (Pro):
I have to say I love'd all tweeks and additions to guns and grenades.  I especially enjoyed the added trip mine effect for grenades, the guns sound and feel the right weight and have stopping power versus rushers.  

Vehicles (small pro & Con):
The addition of new vehicles is always welcome; however these were part of the locomotive on rails problem for me.  These vehicles have nothing to do with the multiplayer games and the chapters that incorporate vehicles are really more like choregraphed rail-guided amusements.  Some were definitely more satisfying than others.  I especially enjoyed the Brumak at the end, but then there was little to no challenge (even on Hardcore).  It was a showcase event that fit in with the dramatic finale, but again, Ramm was more exciting and challenging to me.  To be honest, fighting my way across a kamikazee train to then have to defeat Ramm before making a final jump (So "True Lies" but still awesome). Instead we get to rampage immortal like on a brumak and then zap a lambent locust (again in god-mode it seemed) to finish the campaign.  I'm wondering from the vehicles here, sorry.  Anyways I think vehicles in GOW2, while new and interesting, didn't really add to GOW2.  In comparison Halo2 and Halo3 continually built up the vehicles into functional assets in campaign and multiplayer that the players could be infinitely impromptu and creative in their use.  Now, you can't say GOW2 is a different kind of game on this issue.  I think that if vehicles made their way into Unreal Tournament, then they should and still can make their way into Gears (Go go GOW3!).

Monsters & Bosses (Pro & Con):
More locusts!  Awesome! I am way happy with the variety of monsters we confront, and I hope to see even more.  AI is always improving, but I have to admit, the locust in Horde are way more dangerous than the locust in campaign (choregraphed still here).  As for the bosses, I was very impressed, but I made my case above, even though Skorge's entry into campaign was pretty sweet.  You don't see too many bosses chainsaw a tank.  Definitely BAD ASS.  I think after that display is the reason for some of my dissatisfaction with the running confrontation with Skorge.  Epic set the bar so high for him that it would have been near impossible to handle him in a GOW-type gun and chainsaw duel.  Oh well.  

Story (Pro & Con):
I'm a Gears of War junkie.  I'm finishing up the new novel and am enjoying it.  When I finish I might add another diary.  I also paid a lot of attention to the campaign cause I dig the whole genre, which feels fresh to me, as far as game stories go.  To me all games are the same unless the story gets me stoked, creates an awesome genre, and Gears definitely does.  (Spoiler) My only major beef with the campaign is Dom.  I think what makes Dom is his devotion to Marcus and the search for his wife.  Now, I think we all knew she had to be a goner, so did he (in the back of his mind) and I thought that was the whole deal with his resilience. I don't think Dom ever needed to find her, but his search could go on forever.  Now what?  You have to reconstruct Dom now, just fighting for Marcus is...dare I say it...a bit queer.  Queer, meaning it compromises and spoils Dom's character to me.  I find it hard for his character to truck on after what he did without a mile of explaining that a game can't contain.  Dom's search for Maria was a genuine "Hero Quest" that did not need to have an end and it wouldn't have disrupted the story line one bit.  In this surprise I want to say someone lost the plot at Epic, if I can't be so bold, but hey, I know its just my opinion.  Anyone have a strong opinion on this subject.

I enjoyed the campaign story in large part, but I'd like to hear what Papi covers in his Review-Story.  Afterwards I'd like to do another diary that goes into where I think the story is going or atleast what I think would be fun if the story explored it.  I don't have a crystal ball, but eventually I'd look back to see if any of my hopes and preferences popped into GOW3.  

Sorry for the length of it folks, but I ran with it a bit.

I can't wait for GOW3, but I know we got tons to do with GOW2!

See ya'll online.  See you at FFF!

Cheers,

Boris