Top 10 Confirmed and unconfirmed Gears of War 2 details

The worst kept secret in gaming has finally been revealed – Gears of War 2 has been officially announced by Epic Games and is inbound this November. Speaking at a packed Game Developers Conference in California, Epic’s Cliffy B said: “Gears 2 is going to be bigger, better, and far more bad ass than the first game in every way.” A bold statement indeed. So, now that we’ve reserved holiday for later in the year, we here at VideoGamer.com have run through the game’s first teaser trailer with a fine tooth comb, sifted through Microsoft’s press releases and dug deep into the Unreal Engine 3 game engine tech footage to bring you VideoGamer.com’s Top 10: Confirmed and unconfirmed Gears of War 2 details. Reload that rifle, rev that chainsaw and read on. Tonight, we dine in Sera.

10. What we now know – There will be a limited edition of Gears of War 2.

We know, we know, shock horror right. Well that’s why it’s at number 10 in our list instead of number one. We were all expecting a limited edition of Gears of War 2 – the limited tin edition of the first game sits proud atop my Xbox 360 game collection (I’ve just looked over my shoulder to make sure it’s still there). Microsoft has released some provisional box art to whet our appetites, but don’t expect to see this art when you come to pick up the game from store shelves in November – what we have now is simply placeholder so retailers can get everyone excited (what, you’re not already?) and pre-ordering.

9. What we still don’t know – What will be in the limited edition Gears of War 2.

The Limited Collectors Edition of Gears of War came in a nice shiny tin and included a lovely Destroyed Beauty book as well as a bonus disc complete with an excellent behind the scenes making of documentary. But we still don’t know what will be included in the Gears of War 2 limited edition. But we know what we want – we want all of that stuff and more. But how about a Legendary edition, ala Halo 3? That could come with one of those wicked-looking figurines, or a free chainsaw (not real of course), Delta Squad’s Cog Tag and the game’s soundtrack. Make it happen guys.

8. What we now know – Gears of War 2 will be an Xbox 360 exclusive.

In the on-going and increasingly viscous console war, Xbox fanboys like to whip out Gears of War as a shining example of a fantastic 360 exclusive game. The effectiveness of this tried and trusted console war weapon was dulled somewhat when Epic inevitably brought what amounts to a directors cut of the game to the PC late last year. That move raised some doubt over whether Gears of War 2 would be an Xbox 360 exclusive. Now that doubt has been eradicated with a brutal swipe of a chainsaw – Gears 2 will be an Xbox 360 exclusive. November 2008 is going to be a fantastic month for all Xbox 360 owners. Sorry PS3 fans, but you have to admit to a hint of jealousy.

7. What we still don’t know – How long Gears of War 2’s Xbox 360 exclusivity will remain.

We have no doubt a PC version of Gears of War 2 will be released. The question is, when? Our best guess is November 2009, exactly one year after the Xbox 360 release, which would be in line with the time delay of the first game. We suspect it will probably once again be a director’s cut with extra content and higher resolutions. But here’s what we don’t want. We don’t want Epic to hold back on stuff like bosses, missions, story content and any of that other crucial stuff 360 owners demand. We don’t want Epic to gimp the 360 version of Gears of War 2 so it has something to wheel in PC owners a year later – 360 owners deserve the full package.

6. What we now know – Gears of War 2’s story will be darker and won’t be a prequel.

Details are thin on the ground to be sure, but there are story hints to be found if you look hard enough. And we have. At the beginning of the teaser trailer Marcus says: “Sometimes, death is all you can see. It’s all around you. It consumes you.” Now the first game was never a bed of roses, but in that one sentence we get a sense that Gears of War 2 will have an even darker tone than its predecessor. In the trailer, we then hear a random soldier cry: “Oh no! They’re all dead! They’re all dead, Sarge!” Lovely. Marcus adds: “So you have to look it in the eye, and bare your teeth. God damn Locust. Sigh. It never ends.” Joy.

We also know that Gears of War 2 will not be a prequel, which had been rumoured, but a proper sequel. According to the official press release from Microsoft: “Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad in an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution.” The key word here is “continues”. Expect to have questions answered.

5. What we still don’t know – Will Gears of War 2’s story be an improvement on the first?

One of our biggest complaints about the first game was that the story rarely made any sense, we darted from location to location with nary a word of explanation and it was simply too short. Why was Marcus in jail? What’s his father got to do with the war and exactly who is the female leader of the Locust? We like the idea of a darker tone and a Marcus Fenix who is even edgier, but the most important thing is that the game’s story is more cohesive, makes more sense and explains more of the Gears universe’s back-story. And let’s hope Epic makes the campaign longer, perhaps around 10 hours, to give it room to breathe.

4. What we now know – Gears of War 2 will feature an important female character called Maria.

Early in the teaser trailer, we hear Marcus’ best mate, Dominic Santiago, or Dom as we all lovingly know him, cry out to Marcus: “If something happens to me, promise me you’ll look for Maria.” Big new character confirmation right there. Maria will be only the third female character we know of in the Gears of War universe, following Lieutenant Anya Stroud (the one who feeds Intel to Marcus throughout the first game), and the Locust Queen. The more women the merrier we say – Gears has always been a bit bloke heavy.

3. What we still don’t know – Who is Maria?

We’ve already heard loads of rumours about who Maria could be, from Dom’s wife or girlfriend to his sister. Could Maria be a romantic interest for Marcus even? We’ve also heard suggestions that Dom will die at some point in Gears of War 2, which would bring a tear to our eyes (we’d get over it soon enough). Dom’s dialogue in the trailer suggests he’s about to go off on some suicide mission that will save Delta Squad and perhaps win the war. Ah well. We always preferred playing as Marcus anyway.

2. What we now know – Gears of War 2 will be as gory as ever and include some cool, new combat surprises.

About half way through the teaser trailer Marcus lifts his chainsaw high above his head and charges towards a Locust. He then clashes chainsaws in a savage duel, black sparks firing until eventually Marcus smacks the Locust with the butt of his rifle, exposing his back. He then flips the iconic weapon upside down so the chainsaw is facing towards the sky and drives it into the Locust’s back, driving it upwards until it splits the unfortunate grub in two. Nice.

What can we expect from this? Chainsaw duelling! Gears’ instant chainsaw kills were never the most precise of sciences. Being able to fend off your opponents with the chainsaw, offline and online, should add much needed variety to bloody melee encounters. What else can we expect? Chainsaw charge! While you can rev your chainsaw while moving in the first game, you’ve never been able to roadie run with it held high above your head, ready to bring the pain down on your unsuspecting victims in spine-shattering fashion. And the crowning touch? Multiple instant kills! In Gears of War no matter how you approached an enemy the chainsaw instant kill animation was the same. The trailer shows Marcus flipping his death bringer and mixing things up. We can’t wait to try it for ourselves.

And that’s not all. We’ve cast our inquisitive eye over the Unreal Engine 3 tech demo that was previewed just before Gears of War 2’s confirmation at GDC. It’s described as “what Gears of War would look like if it launched today” and shows the game running on the latest version of the much-licensed Unreal Engine 3. The video shows hundreds of Locust running down a war-torn street. It shows Marcus blowing up destructible environments like concrete columns, walls and floors with a Torque Bow. It shows improved graphics with technical things like Ambient Occlusion (more realistic shadows) and soft body physics. And it shows Marcus mucking about in amazing-looking water, creating realistic ripples and splashes with his rifle fire.

What does the Unreal tech demo tell us? It tells us to expect battles on a much bigger scale with loads more enemies on screen at once. Gears only ever pitted you against five or six Locust at once. We love the idea of fighting back a Locust swarm over a hundred strong with our back against a wall. It tells us to forget about the invincible cover from the original Gears of War – blowing away a concrete block with a Torque Blow to flush out a camping Locust sounds like explosion-filled music to our ears. And finally it tells us that it’s possible to make a game even better looking than the first Gears – something we were starting to doubt was possible on the Xbox 360. How will Gears of War 2 compare to the best the PS3 has to offer in nine months? Only time will tell.

1. What we still don’t know – Will Gears of War 2 have four-player co-op?

When we knocked our heads together and brought you our Top 10: Things that will make Gears of War 2 great feature, number one on our wish list was four-player co-op. For all the excitement the game’s announcement and teaser trailer has brought, we still have no idea whether or not Epic will include this essential change. While we’re already excited to the point of exploding like a Locust with a grenade stuck up its bum, we reckon we’re going to be mighty disappointed if Epic doesn’t confirm what all Gears fans are praying for soon. More info is sure to hit the internet over the coming months (the game is out in only nine months after all), so expect answers soon. For now though, we’ve got an aching feeling to carve up some Locust.

Over to you. How’s Gears 2 shaping up? Let us know in the comments section below.