Gears of War 2 came out November 7, 2008 I have been revving up my chainsaw ever since. Marcus, Dom, Cole, and Baird are back to fight the Locusts. They thought they killed them off with the lightmass bomb, but then there wouldn't be a sequel.
The Good:
- Better story this time around. Took some time to flesh out some of the characters. Answered some of the questions we had about the first Gears of War. However it opened up more questions, more on that later.
Awesome new weapons and balancing of existing weapons. I love the new mulcher (chain gun) and Mortar. I guess I just like the big guns. Kaboom!!!!!
- New characters and enemies are nice and fit in well. The new enemies are tough and a good challenge. I was also glad to see the Kryll (bat like creatures) go, guess the lightmass bomb killed something.
The addition of the game mode "Horde". Up to five friends can band together and fight wave after wave of tougher and tougher enemies. This is by far the funnest part of the game for me. Horde forces you and your friends to work together or die.
Graphics are even better this time around. This is one of the best looking games if not the best looking game on the 360.
- Funny achievement names... well if your mind is gutter I guess. You be the judge: "Dirty Dirty Horde" (beat 10 waves of Horde) , "Escort Service" (Escorted Betty to Landown) , "One Night Stand" (Completed 1 chapter in Co-op), and many more.
The Bad:
- Although the story was awesome, it opened up a lot more questions than it answered. What was going in the labs? Is that where the Locust came from? Did the humans create the locusts? What happened to Dizzy? Why are there no Berserkers (female locusts)? What happened to the queen and why does she look so Human? What is up with Marcus's dad? What was his dad's role, and is he really dead? Obviously there is going to be another Gears, but how long to do we have to wait for the next installment?
- Multiplayer is still frustrating. I am not sure why a game game can be so much fun, yet can also be down right infuriating. I could go on and on blaming game mechanics, lag, or cheap kills. Basically what it boils down to is... are you sure you want to know.... I hate getting killed. Call me a poor sport if you want to, but I can't handle it when I repeatedly get squashed. I would rather work cooperatively and take down a common enemy. Give me Horde!!!!
All in all Gears of War 2 is just plain awesome and will be one of those game that we will still be playing for months to come if not years.
MOOOORRRRTAAAALLLL KOOOMMMMMBATTTT!!!!!!!!! FINISH HIM!!!.... We'll see
"Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe" or Mortal Kombat 8
I have played every Mortal kombat in the series, so you would expect that I would be looking forward to the next installment. Not only is this the next Moral Kombat but DC comic book characters are in the game as well. Like the the old school "Marvel Vs. Capcon" which was a lot fun in it's day. What could possibly go wrong?
The Good:
- It makes good use of the "unreal 3" game engine which was used on "Gears of War". The cast of characters have never looked better.
Introduction of a new fighting system while still retaining classic super moves I have grown to love . It is still a blast to use Sub-Zero's ice ball, or Scorpion's grapple spear. They brought back the "test your might" mini game in the middle of the match which can help you increase or decrease the damage delivered. The Addition of "Free fall Kombat" and "close kombat" are a neat twist to the game and can turn the tide of battle
- The DC characters fit well the MK characters. They did a pretty good job of matching up characters from both universes. Sonya to match up with Catwoman or Radien to match up to Super Man.
The Bad
- Like I said I have played every Mortal Kombat game and I was fairly good. That being said this game is pretty tough and especially if you are a new comer. There are 10 unique Kombo challenges for each character. I could not even do one single kombo challenge. I tried and tried and even tried different characters. Eventually I gave up in frustration and cursed the sadist who came up the challenges.
- What happened to the finishing moves. Now I didn't need them to be over the top violent, but finishing moves are what Mortal Kombat is known for. Most of the finishing moves are very watered down. There were a few that were good like the flash's "speed punch" and Liu Kang's "Bicycle kick". Also most of the finishers were tough to pull off. Don't make me work hard getting buttons down, just to be rewarded with a mediocre finishing move. Soul Caliber 4's finishing moves were far more impressive and entertaining.
- Lack of depth in options. There are no alternate costumes. Lame!!!! The create a fighter was one of the coolest thing about soul caliber 4. If you can't give me create a fighter then at least give me some other costumes. You can play Story, Vs, online Vs, Arcade (which is Vs against the computer), or the fun Kombo challenges.
- The "Rage system" was a basically a meter that would build up and then allow you deal double damage and be almost invulnerable. Rage is cheap pure and simple.
It' s fun to see old characters as well as the new and take them through their moves. It can be fun while it lasts, but that quickly wears off. What is to become of the series? Rent it for the eye candy, a week it plenty of time to spend with this one.
