Resident Evil 5
- Tackle a horror-filled mission as Chris Redfield from the original Resident Evil or Sheva Alomar, a West African agent of the BSAA
- Take advantage of the new, two-player online co-op mode to double your team’s effectiveness in the face of a new bread of evil
- Use new weapons to defend yourself when faced with hordes of faster, smarter enemies
- Explore the remote desert setting of Kijuju with highly-developed, detailed game environments
- Experience groundbreaking graphics and effects delivered by an advanced version of Capcom’s proprietary MT Framework engine
The biohazard threat has not ended: Just when it seemed that the menace of Resident Evil had been destroyed, along comes a new terror to send shivers down player¿s spines. Chris Redfield, returning Resident Evil hero, has followed the path of the evil literally around the globe. After joining a new organization, Chris heads to Africa where the latest bioterrorism threat is literally transforming the people and animals of the city into mindless, maddened creatures. He is joined by a new partner, Sheva Alomar, who lends her strength, intelligence and sharp-shooting skills to the mission. In order to survive, Chris and Sheva must work together to take on the challenges of discovering the truth behind this evil plot. Utilizing a revolutionary
Rating: 
(out of 168 reviews)
List Price: $ 29.99
Price: $ 15.30
Gears of War 2
- Award-winning sequel picks up six months after the events of the blockbuster original
- Innovative third-person tactical action gameplay; Xbox LIVE delivers online multiplayer (up to 10 simultaneous players) and cooperative action
- Unreal Engine 3 delivers jaw-dropping graphics; new effects include ambient occlusion, dynamic shadows, advanced destructible environments, and more
- Winner of several awards at E3 2008, including Overall Best Shooting Game, Overall Best Graphics Technology, and Best Action Game
- Original cast of characters returns, including Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, as well as several newcomers
Gears of War 2 is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million selling blockbuster third-person tactical action game that became one of the most popular Xbox 360 games in history. This time, Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are poised to deliver a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.The wait is over, Gears of War 2 has arrived. Ever since the original was released, fans have clamored for this sequel. Developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Epic Games, Gears of War 2, which has already garnered several awards, picks up six months after the events of the blockbuster original Gears of War. Players are thrown back into the role of Marcus Fenix, leading the battle for humankind’s survival against the Locust Horde. With innovative thir
Rating: (out of 265 reviews)
List Price: $ 29.99
Price: $ 28.99
[wprebay kw="xbox+360+games" num="8" ebcat="all"] [wprebay kw="xbox+360+games" num="9" ebcat="all"]
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Xbox Review by Zack Scott for Resident Evil 5
Rating:
I just beat Resident Evil 5 for the Xbox 360, so I decided to post a review of the game. Here are ten important things you need to know:
1. Graphics – RE5′s graphics are amazing, and they are some of the best you’ll find on a console. They are sharp, the characters are highly detailed, and the lighting makes the environments really stand out and feel real. The cut scenes appear to ramp up the contrast and brightness more than necessary, but that’s no big deal.
2. Controls – I embraced RE4′s control scheme, but the same scheme today feels a bit outdated. You still cannot walk with your gun or knife ready. The developers say it is more realistic this way, but even in cut scenes Chris walks with his gun pointed forward. And now that I think about it, why can’t I simply walk up and punch or kick someone? Why must I wait for them to be stunned?
3. Sound – A lot of the sounds including the music are very similar to RE4, which is a good thing. It helps make the game keep familiar. I noticed nothing about the sound to complain about, except that it often wasn’t creepy enough.
4. Co-op – Some of the best fun I had with RE4 was getting together with friends and watching each other play through parts of the game. With RE5, we can now play together. Awesome! One problem with co-op is the fact you can’t give weapons to your partner. That doesn’t make any sense at all. Also, watch out when using an AI partner for Sheva. She sometimes wastes ammo, refuses to use her powerful weapons, heals you unnecessarily, and dashes off. Surprisingly though, she isn’t bad enough to ruin the game.
5. Items – All items have been needlessly streamlined. The weapons are less complex, there are no more combinable treasures, and yellow herbs are nowhere to be found. Also, you can buy items anytime between chapters. I liked the merchant in RE4, but he’s gone this time around. So who are you buying items from? Apparently, just a menu system. Also, RE5 redesigned the item management system in order to make it more realistic than RE4. I like how it no longer takes me out of the game, but sometimes it is hard to use. The fast equip feature via the D-pad is greatly appreciated, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that the process of trading and stacking items can be cumbersome and illogical.
6. Horror – RE5′s biggest issue is the fact it continues the series’ trend of removing all aspects of “horror” from the survival horror genre. In fact, I would just call RE5 an action game with elements of adventure. There is rarely any suspense, the action is almost nonstop, and many of the potentially scary settings occur in daylight. The slogan for this game is “Fear you can’t forget.” It’s more like “Fear you’ll never notice.”
7. Bosses – Simply put, the boss fights in this game are not as original or exciting as RE4′s boss fights. Most are easy, unvaried, and unnoteworthy. Some of the boss fights don’t even feel like fights, but mere struggles instead.
8. Puzzles – Unfortunately, RE5 offers virtually zero puzzles. There’s not even the task of combining treasure. If you’re ever confused about anything, Sheva will tell you what to do. The only thing remotely close to a puzzle is finding the blue BSAA emblems. Shooting them is a cool way to unlock bonus features. It makes you pay much more attention to your surroundings and get immersed in the environment.
9. Saving – I like being able to save my game at various points, and I like being able to start a brand new game, but these features are gone. RE5 keeps track of all items and money you have so that to play previous chapters, you always bring your latest gear. It almost makes it too easy. I miss the typewriters.
10. Charm – RE5 lacks a lot of the charm found in RE4. Chris is almost emotionless, whereas Leon was witty and classy. The quick time events in RE5 are overdone and predictable, whereas in RE4 they were fun and surprising. The only character with real “character” in RE5 is Irving. It seemed the whole cast of RE4 stood out.
Conclusion
Resident Evil 5 is a short, fun action game, but it lacks a lot of what made its predecessor so great. The only improvements are the graphics and the addition of multiplayer. The rest of the changes negatively impact the overall fun of the game. Still, it is a fun game, and I recommend it for any Resident Evil fan or those who are looking for a good action game.
Xbox Review by Craig Moller for Resident Evil 5
Rating:
RE4 was a staggering reboot for the ailing franchise; Res Evil’s traditionally clunky controls were discarded and scaled back the puzzles in favour of rapid-fire action against far faster and more aggressive enemies than ever before, all wrapped up in amazingly detailed visuals. More than just being the pinnacle of the RE franchise, many people consider RE4 as being among a small handful of the best titles created for the last generation. RE5 has a handful of problems, and is nowhere near in the same league as RE4 in terms of all-time classics, but it does provide a suitably similar mix of exciting action, along with some utterly gorgeous visuals.
Two-player co-op can be played either online, over system link or split-screen. It’s great to see Capcom supporting such a wide range of options for the co-op mode. While the general exploration and blasting of monsters plays out very similarly to RE4, the environments have been expanded a little, with many more split paths to give each player enough elbow room to fight. There are some great moments where one player can stun an enemy with a headshot, while the other rushes in and smashes them with a melee attack. It’s even possible to link melee attacks together, so one player’s punch will send an enemy stumbling back, then the other player’s kick knocks them to the ground.
RE5 also adds a minor improvement to the movement controls. RE4′s quasi twin-stick movement has been upgraded to today’s standard twin-stick ‘turning while walking’ control system. For some odd reason though, turning with the right stick is disable when you’re running. As you’d expect though, your feet are still nailed to the floor while shooting, to retain the usual Res Evil tension. As you’ve probably gathered, RE5 mirrors the gameplay of RE4 very closely, but this can be both a blessing and a curse. As in RE4 you’ll spend the bulk of your time dispatching monsters and scouring the environments for ammo and treasure. You still collect treasure from corpses, cupboards, crates and by shooting it off walls. You still spend it on upgrading the same damage, reload speed and capacity characteristics of a very similar range of pistols, shotguns and machineguns. You’re still forced to waste a lot of cash upgrading early weapons, only to have to sell them back for a fraction of the price when the better weapons are unlocked.
In lots of ways it’s a good thing that RE5 sticks closely to RE4′s brilliant template, but in other ways it’s a shame it’s progressed so little. A lot has happened in the games industry over the past four years and RE5 does feel dated as a result. It sure doesn’t look dated, because the graphics look incredible, but it feels old. Other than the co-op mode and a couple of very minor tweaks here and there, the gameplay is identical to 2005′s RE4.
Xbox Review by for Resident Evil 5
Rating:
Alright, in order to best summarize this game, I should probably break it down to serve the game some justice…
Graphics: 10/10
Absolutely amazing, whether in broad daylight fighting the Executioner (a giant axe-weilding zombie),or in pitch darkness using a lantern to see the zombie hordes, the graphics are just beautiful, living up to both the PS3′s and the Xbox 360′s standards.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): 9/10
Let’s kickoff with Sheva, your partner along the journey. She is definetly a god-send to RE5, but can have her problems.
Pros:
+ She is never far behind you
+ She gives you ammo that she doesn’t need based off the weapons in your inventory
+ She heals you when the game senses you have low health (provided she has a herb, the main way of healing)
+ Has an “Attack” mode, where she runs recklessly around killing zombies.
Has a “Cover” mode, where you meet a more caution-oriented sheva, conserving valuable ammo.
Cons:
- Rarely aims for the head, and is quick to waste valuable ammo
- Is quick to use up herbs, even if your above 70% health
- Is slow to help you when grappled by a zombie, even if she’s right there
- Dont assume she’s got your back… chances are, she doesn’t.
- Specific to the “Caves” level, she seems hesitant with the lantern
Next, is the zombies; boy do we wish Sheva had this kind of intelligence. Frankly, I would be searching hard for bad things to say about the enemy AI, other than they are slow to react when you are near, but sometimes this is actually PROGRAMMED!!! For example, the harder the difficulty, the less preparation time the zombie carrying a chainsaw above his head will take when near you before cutting you in half. The RE5 team programmed an IN-GAME difficulty switch, depending on how your doing with your enemies. For example, if your doing really well on Amateur (the easiest difficulty), but maybe a little less than average on Normal, you could actually end up with the same difficulty, thus always providing a challenge.
Gameplay: 9/10
The controls are similar to RE4, with a few minor improvements. At first they ae hard to grasp, and a new player to Resident Evil will struggle with the first couple levels. My only concern, in addition to the complexity of the controls, your character lacks the ability to walk and shoot. Although it adds to tention, it just feels cheap, and I feel ripped off as a gamer. As for enemy spawns, I have no complaints. Everything runs smoothly, zombies arent appearing out of thin air (although it’ll feel like it) like we’ve seen in Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon. Lastly, lets talk about the zombies reation to bullets. Obviosly, they dont like to be shot at and wll respond in rage once they recover from the wound. Interestingly as well, they also have animations and actions depending on where you shoot them. Say i were to shoot a zombie in his weapon heand. He will drop the weapon and grip his hand in agony. Sometimes a shot to a body part will allow chris and sheva to use a context sensitive move, conserving ammo and dealing massive damage. The only reason I marked this off one is because of the controls.
Replay Value: 10/10
There are many great games with impressive single player and multi-player, but lack replay value. Fortunately, RE5 is not one of those games. With additional mission modes, costumes, Acheivements/Trophy’s, unlockable weapons, and countless bonus features, this is a game worth owning. If I use too many more words, I’ll kill the effect, so I’ll just leave it at that!
Story: 8/10
This story starts off just like all other horror games… WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON!?!? I wont spoil it, but the story is best around the mid-game, when your still left guessing, but arent completely uninformed. Unfortunately, towards the end of the game, you’ve already guessed who’s in the mysterious mask, who’s the main problem, and how it’s going to end. My other problem is the final boss. I must have killed him on 4 different occasions, and HE’S STILL COMING BACK!!! Overall, the story was intense, but predictable.
So Is It A Horror?
It seemed to me that CAPCOM’s idea of horror is throwing together a whole bunch of blood, gore, and zombies.If your opinion of a survival horror matches this, then have a jolly old time changing underwear, but for me, with the exception of a couple select chapters, was unpreturbed.And in order to satiate my horror needs, bought Left 4 Dead. So is it scary? Thats for you to decide.
In conclusion, with grea graphics and gameplay, this game deserves to be honored with 5 stars, and re-defines action games (in a good way). But if your looking for a horror, and your not easily scared, game like Silent Hill, Left 4 Dead, and Dead Space might be the ones for you.
Best Regards!
Xbox Review by A PoC for Resident Evil 5
Rating:
Just wrote this to tell people that might be negatively presuaded, this is a GREAT game. Best graphics i’ve seen on the xbox 360, period. Blasting Majini (NOT ZOMBIES!!) feels great. Replay value is through the roof, with the Mercenaries survival mode, 4 difficulty settings, and Online Versus mode (available on XBOX marketplace for about $5).
Just letting you guys writing 1 and 2 star reviews know, THIS ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE PAST REs. STOP COMPARING THEM.
If you are looking for more of a “horror” experience, this isn’t the game for you.
Action Gamers rejoice. Fans of the series should stay true and cop this, but DO NOT expect a re-hash of previous REs, even RE4. This is a RADICAL DEPARTURE from the series, as was said by CAPCOM before the demo even previewed.
Xbox Review by Mark Twain for Resident Evil 5
Rating:
This game is worth about 20 dollars. The controls are awkward. The camera is flaky at times. The unnecessarily prolonged and repetitive boss battles are very annoying they are extremely easy and just requires you to perform the same sequence of actions for what seems like hours. One of the most annoying aspects of the game is the pseudo cut scenes.. Right when you think you are watching a non interactive cut scene… BAM you better press a button or you die. Very annoying but you get used to it. The game has its good points though, the visual are good and the story is nice.
Another point I would like to make is how TERRIBLE the friendly A.I. is. Although it is better then other games, sometimes your partners actions leaving you questioning if this is supposed to be a punishment for choosing to play by yourself. I would not recommend attempting this solo. I did complete the game solo, I would warn against it. Unless of course you are a masochist like me.
Save your money, get something else instead.
Xbox Review by Shann Yu for Gears of War 2
Rating:
To start off, I played the first Gears for the campaign/co-op campaign. And I purchased this game for the same reason, so if you’re looking to know more about multiplayer gameplay, check out another review. That said, this game plays very well, very much like a thrill ride for the most part. Story can use a lot more refining and better integration. This gets a 5-star in its own right. But Halo 3 and BioShock are still better games overall than GoW 2.
GAMEPLAY: A+
This game still plays like the first Gears, except with a wider array of weapons and features (ie, chainsaw battles, different modes of executing a downed enemy). This is a third person shooter, for those who have not played the first one. And also, expect a lot of blood and violence, so if you are parents considering this game for your children, this serves as fair warning.
The campaign takes longer to beat this time around (10-20h I think). The graphics are very beautiful and realistic, and a lot more ‘vibrant’. The first Gears was in general a very dark and gloomy game. You see a lot more color in this one. Co-op campaign gameplay continues to be addictive and I think a strength in this game. It is still as immersive an experience for all players involved as the first Gears was.
Further, the creators definitely outdid themselves in design of the levels. You should expect to be pleasantly surprised with every single level that comes up. While you can clearly expect to see yourself running around in the streets battling waves after waves of Locust, you will also see another order of magnitude of fighting, with sometimes even as many as 80-100 Locust rushing through your field of view. To emphasize the creativity of the creators, there was also, at various points later in the game (spoiler warning), a section where you had to traverse a pitch-black tunnel to safely escort a vehicle across, and even a level where your squad somehow ends up inside one of the Locust beasts and had to fight your way out…
Overall, this game has been quite an experience. It deserves an A+ and Game of the Year awards.
—
STORY: B
Given that this game promised to have more leads on the storyline of the series than the first one, it does a better job. A lot of the early story is centered around Dom and him trying to find his wife, amidst all the fighting. The voice acting is compelling for the most part, and you can tell a lot more easily that it’s a dark time for humanity on this fictional planet. In the first Gears, playing through the story was mostly humorous because of the way all the guys were joking around in between fight scenes and the light talk that went on. In this Gears, those dialogues are still present, but with a lot more of a sense of urgency mixed in here and there. And cutscenes are well made. The script is definitely that of a cheesy scifi as some of my buddies like to call it.
Finally, instead of COG tags for collection, we have bits and pieces of ‘collectibles’ like newspaper clippings, ads, so on and so forth that in some cases contribute to the backstory a little bit, kind of like the way those terminals worked in Halo 3. All of these, when found, are put in some scrapbook that’s accessible from the Main Menu, and arranged in a more or less logical order.
The reason the story only gets a B+: if you think about games like BioShock and Mass Effect and the Halo series with their very immersive storylines, GoW 2 is still not quite there. But it is closer to that state now than it was previously.
I won’t reveal any more in this part, but definitely expect a lot more of a plot that serves as a backdrop to all the fighting that’s going on. Epic Games did a good job of piquing your interest and making you want to learn more.
—
CHARACTERS: B
The characters come across a lot more human in this one. I have mentioned that the mood in this game comes across with a lot more of a sense of urgency to beat the Locust. As you play the game, you begin to feel more and more of a connection with each of the characters and in some cases, almost have to just stop playing when certain characters die… Let’s leave it at that.
All that said, the game needs a better scriptwriter if it is to convey a stronger storyline.
—
REPLAYABILITY: A
With the first game, I recall beating it my first time around with a friend on Hardcore, and then on Insane, and then going around and helping each of my roommates and a good number of friends beat the game on both difficulty settings. The same will probably hold for this game. I think it’s a thrilling enough of a ride that I wouldn’t mind going over it over and over and over…
—
To sum up, this game is definitely worth the $60.
PROS: This is all about gameplay and the feel of the game. Even on top of all the additional features and improvements, it is still undoubtedly Gears of War. The controls remain very intuitive and easy to learn. It’s easily one of the best 3rd person shooters out there, in my opinion.
CONS: I think storyline could have been a lot deeper. I guess they are saving this for Gears of War 3. Violence may be a little too much for the unprepared. Right now, this is all I can think of.
FINAL VERDICT: A. This is a very well-made game. I have the tendency to buy games and sell them back when I’m done. But I think GoW 2 will probably be a mainstay in my library, just as GoW was. For that, plus all the +’s I have mentioned, I think this game deserves an awesome grade. Can I hear Game of the Year?
Xbox Review by Cat for Gears of War 2
Rating:
When I played the first Gears of War I was a little in awe because of how different it was, how great it looked and how well it played. Gears of War 2 is still different than other games, still looks great and still plays well. However, I noticed that there was one thing missing: fun. I just wasn’t having any fun playing this game. All the things that wowed me in the first game were still there, but they didn’t make the game fun. I’m sure for many people this will be an awesome game and they will love every minute of it, but for me it was pretty to look at, but not something I will re-visit multiple times.
Xbox Review by Michael Corona for Gears of War 2
Rating:
Gears of War 2 – Circa 2008
GOOD:
- Intuitive cover system, the cover systems (called Stop-n-Pop) works well and is easy to pick up it also makes for a fun realistic gameplay experience.
- Great Co-op Gameplay allows two players to go through the entire game from start to end.
- Multiplayer Hoard mode allows up to five players to fight up to 50 waves of enemies on the multiplayer-maps using team work.
- Intense multiplayer versus action with plenty of different modes to choose from.
- Gorgeous graphics which look even better then the first title, and the animation looks better too.
BAD:
- The plot is trite and too over the top at times, as well as being confusing.
- Vehicle and turret shooting sections are not very fun and can be tedious.
IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A Sci-Fi First third Person Shooter (Camera behind the player) with quick pacing (Although slower gameplay then lets say Halo 3) that has an emphasis on shooting from behind cover and big explosions.
- Cover Play’s a big role in this game much like it did in the last, similar to that of Mass Effect and
- A Team orientated game especially in the multiplayer sections like Hoard mode
- This game is not meant for children or the immature; this game is gory/bloody/violent and has many foul words, although you can turn off some of these features.
- Co-op, online versus and Hoard mode will keep you playing this game long after you beaten it.
GAME IT’S MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Gears of War (Xbox 360/PC)
- Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
- Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360/PS3)
- Dead Space (Xbox 360/PS3)
-
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Some limited collector’s editions of this game (that can be found on Amazon) will give you a real to life replica of the Lancer Assault Rifle for home use.
- In the limited collector’s edition you can get a download for a Golden Lancer Assault Rifle for use in multiplayer only.
- Downloading the `All Fonts’ (A.K.A. Dark Corners) collection package from Xbox Live Marketplace gives you a ton of new multiplayer maps (which can also be used in Hoard mode as well) and a cut single player/co-op story chapter called `Road to Ruin’, which can be played either stealth or “guns blazing”.
- By beating the original Gears of War on Hardcore mode you can unlock characters (like Kim and Carmine) for use in multiplayer for Gears of War 2.
- By beating the game on hardcore mode you can unlock even more characters for use in multiplayer as well as a new difficulty `Insane’.
Xbox Review by Nicholas E. Johansen for Gears of War 2
Rating:
Horrible puns aside, the Gears of War series is the Xbox 360′s “other” AAA million selling franchise. Halo, however, this is not; developed by Epic Games, Gears of War 2 is a brutal, bloody third person shooter with an emphasis on finding cover and taking out your opponent by popping out from corners, concrete barriers and burned out cars. Beautiful graphics, wonderful sound and excellent, unique gameplay all combine to make Gears of War 2 one of the best games on the Xbox 360.
The graphics are the best on the system, bar none; fantastic looking character models, beautiful explosions and excellent lighting combine to make Gears of War 2 a treat to look at. It looks better than the first game and sounds better to boot. Technically, the folks at Epic have raised the bar for games to come. Voice acting is spot on, and the story this time even plays a bigger role. Don’t go expecting anything of Final Fantasy melodrama or complexity, but the tale is well told, and it keeps the game moving along.
The main draw of the game is the gunfights, of which there are many. The controls are tight and perform exactly as you would like them to, although there are still problems with sliding into cover by accident or, say, executing a downed enemy instead of reviving a teammate. These are minor annoyances, but they can lead to some untimely deaths or losses (in the case of multiplayer rounds), so it’s worth mentioning. If you’ve played the original game, you’ll be right at home here; not much has changed (there’s some new executions, the ability to plant grenades and use downed enemies as meatshields), asides from the levels, which are varied and fun to dash through. The Locust aren’t particularly smart, but they put up a decent enough fight on Normal. The campaign only takes about 6 or 7 hours, which is too bad, although it is good enough that I want to play it through more than once. Replayability is enhanced by the fact that insane mode is unlocked AFTER beating the game. There are some terrible vehicle portions in the game, where you’re required to either man the gunner seat, drive or both. The controls in these are almost universally horrible, and it’s difficult to aim with your ride bouncing up and down all the time. Some segments are better than others, but none of them are particularly endearing. Thankfully, they’re short, but please Epic, cut out these awful parts; the vehicle chapter in Gears of War 1 was terrible as well.
Multiplayer is the core of the title, in my opinion; there’s only so many times one can finish the story mode, however good it may be. The hosting process of the first game has been replaced with a Halo 3 style matchmaking system that is hit or miss; it takes awhile to get into games sometimes, and it really shouldn’t, considering how many people are playing. We’re talking 4 or 5 minute load times here, although it usually finds a match within a minute or so. Also, sometimes the game will drop you mid-match, saying “connection to the host was lost.” This is irritating, and although my internet is spotty (so some of the blame lies there), other Xbox Live games don’t do this. The highlight of the multiplayer options is the new Horde mode, easily the best addition to the game. A team of 5 is pitted against a swarm of Locust that gets bigger and stronger every round; every ten rounds, they get a boost to their health, accuracy or damage. There are a total of fifty waves, and your high scores are tracked on the leaderboards. It’s a great new feature, although not without its problems; it’s a pain to hunt down the last Locust of a wave – oftentimes they’ll be stuck on some object or hiding halfway across the map. The game essentially forces you out of position to go and hunt down these stray enemies, which can screw you for the next round. It’d be nice if the last few guys tried to kill you more often, instead of camping. Other multiplayer options from the original Gears are back, including Warzone, Execution and Annex. New multiplayer modes include Meatflag (capture the flag with a live person as the flag…) and Wingman (essentially Multi-Team). I highly dislike the versus multiplayer aspect of the game; it’s very shotgun/power weapon centric, and latency ensures that if you’re not host, you’re at a severe disadvantage. There are some people who love it, though, and it’s certainly not bad; I just prefer Halo 3′s multiplayer. That, and Horde is so much fun that I can’t tear away from it.
If you’re a fan of shooters and you don’t own this game, buy it immediately. Even if you don’t have Live, playing through the campaign either solo or with a buddy is great fun. It’s well polished, well designed, and has enough variety that it doesn’t get stale. The singe player game is slightly short, but it has some decent replay value. The multiplayer aspect of the game is wonderful, matchmaking/lag issues not withstanding. Horde is a great addition to the game and adds a ton of replay value. Gears of War 2 builds upon the original’s solid foundations, and the result is one of the best sequels in recent memory. One of the Xbox 360′s marquee titles, and a game almost everyone will enjoy.
Xbox Review by Jane Smith for Gears of War 2
Rating:
I am a very casual gamer and could barely play the original Gears with a pal (though we did go on to beat it, eventually). That being said, I found Gears 2′s casual setting almost too easy. I plan to try the solo game again on normal, but here is some info on the basics.
First, the graphics and gameplay are pretty good. There was only one part where it seemed to be moving in slow motion, and I’m not sure if it was a glitch or intended for dramatic purposes. There are a lot of places you can kind of explore, and you definitely should so you can find all the collectibles. I thought I had been doing really well until I finished the game and saw my war journal barely filled lol. The monsters are again very creepy and gross, and they have added a few new ones that made me yell “what the f@#$??!!” from my couch. Good times
This time around I was able to actually read the manual, making using the controls much easier. They ARE pretty intuitive though, except for the new items. Usually when you encounter a new item, you get a little help on using it on the top of the screen. Maybe this was because I was on casual mode? I have to say, I really enjoyed the flamethrower and grinder almost as much as my favorite, the lancer. Nothing beats the lancer, but having a few more options makes it more fun.
Now since I dont play tons of FPS games, I dont know if its me or if the AI in this game was just utterly retarded but I found myself yelling at my team mates almost as much as the cheating enemies. They were either doing their own thing, sitting in my way, jumping in front of my shot or just otherwise annoying me. I guess part of playing the solo campaign is to do certain things by yourself?? Because quite a few times Dom was nowhere to be found. And some of those times I could really have used the help….at least this time Baird seems to be more useful.
There are quite a few new additions to this game besides weapons. You are given missions where you end up riding some of the enemy creatures, and it is not easy. Luckily, those little krill bast*rds are nowhere to be found. There is also a rookie COG that you have to train, but he comes in pretty handy…til later…Having a deeper storyline also adds to the intensity of the game. I know some will find it unnecessary, but seeing Dom hunt for his wife and be driven by something other than anger or insanity adds a different dimension to the overall mission.
All in all, I enjoyed the game for the 14 or 15 total hours it took me to beat it. I recommend the casual mode ONLY for someone who has virtually no experience with FPS or Gears or has really sucky hand-eye coordination. I beat it somewhat easily, and the only other game I’ve ever beaten by myself was Yoshi’s Island….I imagine on the normal setting, the game would be as challenging as I was expecting and thus a little more fun. If you liked Gears 1, this is definitely worth the $60. I dont recommend trying it if you havent played the original, because it wont make a lot of sense and you wont appreciate the new features.