XboxManiac | Juegos trucos Xbox 360 Kinect - Artículo: AVANCE: Gears of War 2

Titulo: Gears of War 2

Desarrollador: Epic Games

Xbox Live: Sí

Editor: Microsoft Studios

Fecha: Lanzamiento Mundial el 7 de Noviembre

Web Oficial:

En Castellano : www.xbox.com/es-ES/games/g/gearsofwar2

Toda esta mierda aún no ha acabado, Muchos Locust resurgen de sus cenizas 6 meses después de ser arrasados por la Bomba de masa Ligera y sólos El teniente Young Kim , Marcus Fenix, su amigo, Dominic Santiago, el novato, Anthony Carmine, el perdido Augustus Cole, el coronel Hoffman, Damon Baird y en esta nueva entrega el político Chairman Prescott; Tai Kaliso, un soldado oriental, y el superviviente Dizzy Wallin tienen más almas inhumanas que hacer desaparecer del mundo con su metralla, porque son ellos, los CGO(Coalición de Gobiernos Ordenados), miembros del pelotón Delta, los únicos capaces de que todo este desorden desaparezca.

Un nuevo ataque Locust logra hacerse con algunas capitales, que poco a poco van cediendo frente a la contra enemiga. La humanidad cuenta entonces con un último lugar, la bien resguardada ciudad de Jacinto, desde la cual se intenta un último y desesperado contrataque, el cual decidirá el futuro de la raza humana, para bien o para mal.

Nuevas Caras

Antes de hablar del Juego, tendremos que saber a quien podremos manejar, pues Bien, en esta nueva entrega de Epic Games nos encontramos con nuevos personajes, algunos jugables y otros que aparecen con gran importancia pero que no lo podremos palpar en nuestor mando, éstos son :

-Tai Kaliso es el cachas del grupo, pero su gran voluminosidad choca con su mente que es apasiva y tranquila. Tai desciende de una generación que se consideraban no solo luchadores, sino guerreros. Esta idea ha hecho a Tai en una mezcla de filósofo y de guerrero con un toque espiritual de la guerra que provoca contradicciones en sus compañeros del escuadrón Delta. Pero Tai, les inspira simpatía y respeto, aunque no siempre lo que diga se pueda entender a la primera. Tai y Marcus Fenix se conocen gracias a que se han salvado la vida en multitud de ocasiones en distintas guerras.

-Presidente Richard Prescott. La política es el fuerte de este presidente de la Coalición. Cuando era un niño apenas vió como su padre y su abuelo luchaban cen diferentes conflictos ayudando a la Tierra. Ahora Prescott ha aprobado leyes que permiten derrotar a Los Locust. Algunas de sus opiniones no estaban deacuerdo con aquellos que tienen en mente que la Coalición se ha excedido, pasando a ser un régimen autoritario.Con estas acusaciones de pormedio Prescott ha decidido defender a la humanidad, aunque esto le lleve a la tumba.

-Dizzy Wallin es un superviviente convertido en soldado, y no por propia voluntad. Su mente tiene dos posturas : la 1ª es la desconfianza por la Coalición y la 2ª el hacer lo correcto por su familia.Una vez avanzada la guerra, Dizzy se da cuenta que la vida para su familia fuera de Jacinto es peligrosa y arriesgada. Por ello se une a éste pelotón a cambio de que su mujer y sus dos Hijas se encuentren a salvo en lo que dure la Guerra. Dizzy ejerce de conductor de un perforadora de asalto y no está convencido de haber echo lo correcto.

-Maria Santiago, personaje no palpable en nuestro mandos 360 vivía una vida normal con su marido(Dominic de Santiago) y su familia, pero todo cambio cuando los Locust invadieron su casa y asesinaron a sus dos hijos pequeños. Maria y Dom huyeron a Jacinto, pero la muerte a los pequeños y el dolor ya estaba hecho. Maria desapareció sin dejar rastro devido a las largas horas que Dom luchaba. Dom tiene como objetivo en esta 2ª entrega descubrir la verdad sobre su desaparecida esposa.

Munición completa

Éste era un aspecto a destacar en GoW, y a la vez de criticar, sobre todo en el Multijugador, que queríamos más armas, no nos conformábamos con 2 buenas armas una pistola y Granadas, que, en el caso de éstas últimas, aparecías con las de humo desde el inicio de la partida.

Pues en esta 2ª entrega hay alguna que otra variación de armas, como por ejemplo, el poder encontrarnos en la campaña diferentes lugares en el cual tendremos que disparar a mamporro con el juguete de turno, pero bien, éste incluirá un calibrador, que cuando se sobrecaliente, dejará de disparar, así que no valdrá disparar por infinito, ya que si no aciertas de vez en cuando, alomejor ya tienes que estar cargando tu último punto de Reunión alfa.

Las recargas Activas era un punto a destacar en GoW, ¿Cómo es eso que pulsando más rápido a la hora de hacer la descarga, pudieras matar más fácil?, pues esto se mantiene en esta 2ª entrega, hay recargas que han cambiado, y la barra ya no es tan ’’larga’’, sino que tendremos que precisar más nuestra recarga si queremos conseguir ese disparo perfecto.

Cómo Gran novedad de armas en GoW 2 tenemos el Lanzallamas, Qué Gozada!.no se acercará nadie a 5 metros de ti con un juguetito como ese entre tus manos, si eres de los que la escopeta, fuere cual fuera la razón no era lo tuyo, ahora podrás atacar con fuego, ahora, suministra tu gas, que no es ilimitado.

Otra novedad, por si fueran pocas, es una secuencia de disparo en las pistolas, ya no dispararemos una bala por gatillazo, esto nos viene a recordar a las metralletas Locust de la primera entrega, pero ahora en tamaño reducido.

Comentando lo de las Granadas de humo anteriormente, he de mencionar que ya la broma de ¡ te vamos a matar con granadas de humo ¡, en esta nueva entrega se puede hacer realidad, ya que podrás pegarlas a los muros del mapa y cuando un enemigo esté cerca de ésta, dispararle y explotará!, a lo mejor no lo matas como si fuera una granada de fragmentación, pero sí que lo dejarás bastante aturdido como para que viva lo que tú decidas...Vigilar dónde vas a avanzar antes de seguir adelante será vital para sobrevivir.

Ya para que nos alegremos la vista en éste apartado, quien no ha visto, o ha escuchado el : ¡ Pero si yo tenía la sierra encendida primero ¡, pues bien, problema resuelto, ahora cuando nos acerquemos a un enemigo por la espalda con la sierra más vale que estemos rápidos si somos al que intentan filetearlo, ya que tendremos que apretar el botón B unos 2 o 3 segundos para concluir con nuestro laminado.

Si bien antes no te gustaba la escopeta y tenías el Lanzallamas, ahora no te serrarán, al menos, con tanta facilidad.

y también :

Diferente TACTO

Una vez escogido personaje y, arma para el combate, digo yo, que tendremos que matar, que para eso esto es un juego de guerra.

Bien, si mal no recordamos en GoW exhistían diferentes formas de rematar a un enemigo, que si espachurrándole la cabeza, que si partiendole la espalda, etc. Pero quién no quería darle mamporrazos con los puños?, o coger un arma y arrancarle de cuajo la cabeza?...Pues no vamos mal encaminados si creemos que esta nueva versión habrán formas mucho más dinámicas que matar, por no decir ya el gustazo que nos va a dar después de hacerlo!...

Haciendo referencia a los Enemigos, tendremos que decir que se han incluido dos novedades importantes : 1ª Poder coger a un enemigo antes de rematarlo para avanzar y no ser dañado y 2ª Cambio de enemigos, ya no son de tu altura, así que crecemos o gastamos más balas ¡.

Haciendo referencia a esta primera novedad, os la explico: Cuando nosotros disparamos a un enmigo y conseguimos derribarle, ahora nos saldrá una opción que es cogerle mientras se está arrastrando para intentar salvarse, ya que ahora no se quedarán inmóviles, y ponernoslo en el pecho y usarlo de escudo humano, pero siempre sacando la pistola de abordo, no con armas mejores…

Tened en cuenta que usar un escudo en medio de un conflicto bélico ayuda mucho, en éste caso estamos haciendo referencia a un escudo humano, pero no olvidemos de que también podremos coger un escudo "normal", el cual podemos plantar en el suelo y colocarnos a cubierto de una forma más rápida y sencilla, poniendo tú de dónde quieres disparar.

Ahora bien, no te servirán de nada estos escudos ni armas más potentes si no sabes emplearlos bien, pues a nuestra merced nos han dejado unos Locust, que ya no van a tener que ser, necesariamente, grandotes y musculosos, y esque todo viene dado por la capacidad que realice éste en la Guerra. ¿Qué quiere decir esto?, bien sencillo, esto quiere decir que nos podemos encontrar a los Boomer’s con sus toneladas y torpezas, o a montruos que parecemos hormigas a su lado o, a un Locust, flaquito, normalmente el francotirador, saliendo de las profundiades de la tierra queriendo plantarnos la mosca.

La diversidad va a estar presente en esta 2ª entrega, desde el Locust más grande, hasta el más pequeño, cualquiera basta para que sigamos vivos o muertos…

Unreal Engine

Éste es un tema que nos viene ligado al motor Gráfico Unreal 3, con éste nuevo motor, más potente, se podrán ver escenas mucho más reales que las que ya observábamos en GoW.

Tiene varios puntos a destacar ésta nueva incorporación, ya que ellos mismos han corregido los fallos que pudiera presentar su anterior versión, como son la luminosidad, el interactuar con el escenario , etc...

Con la tecnología Unreal Engine podremos observar como la Luz, al incidir sobre una parte del mapa, los objetos que antes recibían luz y dónde no podíamos percibir sombras o espacios, ahora si podemos recibir una imagen más nítida ese objeto.

El tiempo es uno de los factores que también podemos apreciar, ya que en algunos mapas el sol nos dará tan de frente que pensaremos que nos está quemando o la lluvia la sentiremos en nuestras propias chaquetas.

Otra de las novedades en éste apartado es que los escenarios no son limitados ni estáticos, sino que siempre están, digámoslo, interactuando. Dónde mejor podemos ver esto es en el agua, o en distancias lejanas, ya que no será una imagen estática, sin contacto con lo que pasa cerca nuestro, sino que será todo lo contrario, con esto conseguimos un mayor realismo a los escenarios de combate.

Tenemos que tener en mente que si un motor gráfico es más potente, todo lo que le acompaña mejorará el nivel, ya que de nada sirve que tengas algo superdesarrollado si no te dejan exprimirlo.

Con esto nos podemos hacer una idea de cómo serán los efectos sonoros, mucho más bestiales, las explosiones, más grandes y potentes, etc... y esque como veremos en el vídeo que viene a continuación, no es lo mismo que te aparezcan 10 Locust en una misma escena que 500 ¡, y esto sólo se consigue gracias a un avance tecnológico.

Gracias al poder poner más Locust en escena vamos a poder disfrutar en GoW 2 con un modo que se le denominará modo Horda, y consiste en que tú y un par de compañeros de tu pelotón Delta tendrán que defenderse sea como sea de la oleada de Locust que le van a ir viniendo, y esque serán montónes, a cada cual peor, así que más valdrá ponerse a cubierto, disparar y suministar bien la munición.

Para terminar con este apartado tenemos que decir que la Física de los objetos ha sido mejorada, permitiendo esto un mayor realimso al impacto de las balas sobre cualquier objeto, convirtiéndolo en destructible o bien el efecto de la gravedad.

Música para nuestros oídos

Si hay algo que nos llamó mucho la atención en la primera entrega esque la traducción al castellano Occidental era, no menos, que insuperable en cualquier juego lanzado hasta día de hoy.

Hicieron bien el trabajo los de Epic Games y quieren un suma y sigue para ésta nueva entrega, y esque, a muchos de nosotros se nos ponían los pelos como escarpias cuando oíamos hablar de las 20 yardas cuando encontraron a Cole o ¡ esto es una puta mierda ¡.

Y no sólo tenemos que admirar a la traducción, ya que para ésta edición, han prometido una mayor banda sonora que, a buen seguro, no nos defraudará.

Experiencia On-line

Si hay algo por lo que el Gears of War triunfó definitivamente no fue por su campaña de 7 u 8 horas, ni por su gran variedad de armas, ni grandes escenarios, el ritmo lo marcó algo mucho más simple, pero que encerraría meses y meses de adicción : su multijugador.

El modo on-line del Gears of War sorprendió gratamente a millones de usuarios poseedores de una Xbox 360, para empezar, poseeía un modo cooperativo en el modo campaña que el cual, te hacía hacerte la campaña dos veces si querías los 1000 G del GoW, una como Marcus Fenix, y otra como invitado Dominic de Santiago.Pues en esta entrega, el cooperativo se puede hacer a dos dificultades, por ejemplo, uno con el modo de dificultad mínimo y otro con el modo de dificultad medio o máximo.

La Lacra del multijugador era el tremendo LAG que presentaban las partidas, ya que no disponían de servidor, si tenías suerte y buena conexión entrabas en partidas que ivan decentes, pero no había color entre el creador de la partida, HOST y tú.

Si pudiera echarse otra pega también era el sistema de cobertura, que hacía que te fueras pegando contínuamente a las paredes, cosa que se aprobechó infinidad de veces para ir más rápido a matar al enemigo, peor claro, esto ya llevaba su práctica y éste modo de cobertura ha sido editado en esta 2ª entrega.

En éste GoW 2 podremos jugar con un modo 5VS 5 a través de Xbox Live, es decir 10 personas frente a las 8 que permitía GoW.

A mucha gente lo que le molestaba era el no poder jugar hasta que se terminase la ronda, y más si eras de aquellos que salías y te encontrabas a los 10 segundos muerto y con la única opción de mirar a ver qué hacía tus compañeros...esto hasta que sacaron el modo Anexión, ya aquello era más acorde para algunas personas, con lo cual sólo tenías que esperar algunos segundos y podías reaparecer e ir en captura de tu punto.

Pues parece ser que ahora, en la espera entre segundo y segundo se ha implementado unas cámaras muchos más eficaces y dinámicas, las cuales nos permitirán movernos libremente por el mapa y nos permitirá una visión mucho más detallada de lo que sucede con nuestros compañeros mientras nosotros esperamos a reaparecer, todo esto siempre y cuando nuestro jefe siga en pie, ya que las reapariciones ilimitadas terminarán cuando éste fallezca (En éste modo de juego, claro).

Otro modo de Juego en GoW 2 se llamará “Wingman, ” el cual consistirá en un 2 contra 2 contra 2 contra 2 contra 2.Tendremos que esperar para probarlo.

Mapas

En éste Gears of War 2 podremos encontrar la incorporación de nuevos mapas multijugador y puede que, más adelante con todos los del primer Gears.

Hay que tener presente que el tiempo ha pasado, no sólo para los humanos, sino para los objetos también, con lo cual nos encontraremos con escenarios más degradados devido a la corrosión, etc....

Cómo siempre se ha dicho que una imagen vale más que mil palabras, juzguen usd mismos:

Otros Datos Relacionados

Gears of War 2 es un juego que se desarrolla en 3ª persona, la cual es una vista trasera del personaje, pudiendo observar cuerpo y arma.

Los modos de dificultad se han modificado. Casual es más fácil, Insane es más difícil en comparación con el Informal y Locura de GoW.

Es un Juego exclusivo de Xbox 360 secuela del Gears of War.

Esta posible obra maestra tiene como principal cabeza de serie a Cliff Bleszinski o Cliffy B.

Gears of War 2 se dió a conocer en la Game Developers Conference el 20 de Febrero de 2008.

Éste juego contará con un lanzamiento mundial el 7 de Noviembre de 2008, lo cual gusta a la parte Occidental del planeta, que siempre le llegan los juegos meses más tarde.

GoW 2 contará con una novedad en su edición especial:

Y es que por hacerte poseedor de una edición especial, obtendrás un código el cual desbloqueará en el Juego el Lancer de Oro, solamente disponible para el On-Line:

Éste Gears of War 2 ya ha superado en reservas a GoW, con lo cual se espera batir nuevos record’s de ventas los primeros días, y todo esto ayudará al incremento de consolas en la Red.

Avance Realizado por Waiti Dj.

¡Nos vemos en el Live ;-) ¡

*** Y aquí una entrevista de XCN para los que controlen inglés ***

XCN Q&A for Gears of War 2

Answered By: Epic Games’ Cliff Bleszinski, Design Director, and Rod Fergusson, Senior Producer

· Gears of War was one of the first 360 games to really capture the publicâ€™s imagination and there is now a lot of expectation regarding the sequel. Do you feel that you will be able to meet the hype and deliver a game better than anyone can imagine?

Cliff Bleszinski: Ultimately, it will be up to gamers to decide if we’ve succeeded in making Gears 2 a more satisfying and intense experience. The game is bigger in every imaginable way. The campaign is longer with a deeper story, the controls are tighter, the multiplayer is richer, and the co-operative play is a blast. We have a great five player co-op mode called Horde in which COG players team up to take on wave after wave of increasingly difficult Locust, and it will really test your team’s combat prowess and push your skills to the limit. We hope everyone will love all the new stuff we’ve put into Gears 2 – we’ve labored to create a meaningful storyline, really interesting characters, insane weapons and a wide range of multiplayer modes.

· How do you decide on the Achievements that will appear in the game, do you find it increasingly difficult to think of original ideas for these?

Rod Fergusson: We’ve had a blast coming up with Gears 2’s Achievements, which are designed to make the discovery of important game elements fun and rewarding, and to help players get the most out of the game. Some are difficult to obtain while others are just for kicks, and we think there’s a nice mix in there for everyone. We’re not being as strict about how Achievements are obtained as we were with Gears 1 because we want more players to earn more points this time around; in fact, we’ve made sure that rewards can be earned across all game modes. The War Journal and the in-game Achievement progress pop-ups allow players to track their Achievements progress at any time, will be a great way for players to keep up with what they’ve earned, aim for their next Achievement, and compare notes with friends.

· With GOW you changed the shooter landscape, with nearly every game implementing some kind of cover system like the one you did. Do you think GOW2 will be able to introduce similar groundbreaking innovations?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’re totally flattered by other games that have adopted cover systems similar to what we created for Gears 1. We’ve actually made several hundred tweaks to the original mechanic, and we feel that it’s much smoother and intuitive this time around.

For example, while performing a roadie run, you can continue running through tight spaces without fear of getting “stuck” on cover by simply veering away from it. You can also quickly change momentum even after initiating a cover move like a SWAT turn. Players who aren’t comfortable with the default one-button movement system can opt to use an alternate control scheme that separates evasion and roadie run movements from the various cover movements.

We’re also introducing new gameplay elements in Gears 2 like dynamic cover. Meatshield lets you down an enemy and use him as an ammo-absorbing buffer, and you can also slay Locust Maulers to get the Boomshield, which can be used for portable cover as well. Another fun variation is the thick-skinned Rockworm, which you can hide behind and make your way past a lot of lead.

· The first game was a little bit criticized for providing a too short singleplayer experience. Can we expect a lengthier story this time?

Cliff Bleszinski: Absolutely, the campaign in Gears 2 is longer than that of Gears 1, without a doubt. Playing times will vary from person to person, but you can expect plenty of campaign goodness. The story picks up six months after the Lightmass bombing; the Locust are back, taking down entire cities with sinkholes, and it’s up to Marcus, Delta Squad and a legion of COG forces to lead the charge in humanity’s last stand. Domâ€™s search for his lost wife Maria was hinted at in the first game, and this will be explored a lot more in depth in Gears 2 as well.

· Will we see significant progression in the GOW storyline and will we learn more about the locust and their reasoning behind the war?

Cliff Bleszinski: Gears fans have been asking for a more in-depth story in Gears 2, and we’re aiming to please. You’ll learn a lot more about the core members of Delta Squad, in addition to the new characters we’re introducing: Tai Kaliso, a spiritual warrior; Chairman Prescott, the COG leader who sends the military forces into battle; Dizzy Wallin, a COG conscript and former member of the Stranded; and Dom’s wife, Maria Santiago. We’ll also reveal a lot more about the enemies, including new baddies like the Tickers, explosive foes that scuttle like living landmines; the massive Bloodmounts, vicious steed that carry their Locust masters with fervor and frenzy; the sinister Kantus; plus new variations of Boomers, just to name a few.

· Do you feel GOW2 is a showcase for the power of the Unreal 3 engine?

Cliff Bleszinski: Yes, Gears 2 shows off Unreal Engine 3’s newest enhancements, including ambient occlusion, improved liquid dynamics, soft body physics, the new crowd system for rendering hundreds of enemies onscreen at once, a fracture system for the realistic destruction of objects and the environment, and so much more.

In addition, several major character and weapon models have undergone substantial up-ressing, so they’ll look better than ever. These models include Marcus, Anya, the Hammerburst Assault Rifle and the Brumak.

There are also graphical improvements in combat, such as the addition of bullet tracers and blood decals; bodies leave blood stains on the ground, and injured players bleed onto nearby walls, for example.

· I believe Epic mentioned that theyâ€™ll improve the melee combat of Gears 1, but didnâ€™t elaborate on this for now. So I was wondering: will the melee in Gears 2 perhaps be partially influenced by Unreal Championship II (which I really liked), minus some of the exaggerated moves?

Cliff Bleszinski: We have chainsaw duels in Gears 2, so that’s a great new addition to melee combat. Furthermore, we’ve added new finishing moves, so when you’ve downed an enemy and it’s time to take him out, for example, you can turn him over and deliver a face-smashing curb stomp, or beat him with your bare hands, or split his skull in two with the end of your weapon. Finally, if youâ€™re hit with a melee attack you can evade out of the way instead of feeling "locked down" in one spot.

· Speaking of Unreal Championship II: back in the days it was one of the few games that had a ton of options, and it even rivalled Halo in this regard. Can we expect the same degree of customization (for the modes that is) in Gears 2, as well as bots?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’ve made a ton of improvements to Gears 2 with many new or improved competitive multiplayer modes plus support for up to 10 players with the ability to fill in any open slots on a given team with A.I. bots when playing offline and private online matches. The inclusion of bots is a huge boon to players who want to enjoy competitive multiplayer when offline, or when they simply want a private match among friends and do not have the full 10 players.

· Did you manage to remove the “host advantage” from multiplayer matches?

Rod Fergusson: We have taken several measures to address instances of host advantage so that everyone can compete on equal footing as much as possible.

· Are you going to add party system to the multiplayer? Can you tell us more about new multiplayer modes?

Rod Fergusson: Yes, for Gears of War 2 we’ve added a party system that lets players hook up with their friends in full or partial teams and stay grouped together from match to match during Public (a.k.a. ranked) matches. As well, our new party system utilizes TruSkill™ to ensure that teams are finding opponents of equivalent skill.

Some of the new competitive multiplayer modes include:

· Guardian, an enhanced version of Assassination from Gears 1, in which teams secure victory by taking out the opposing side’s designated leader, while working to ensure the survival of their own leader. Players who are killed go into a respawn queue, but only as long as their leader is alive. Your team will have to carefully balance its tactics to protect your leader while managing to execute the opposing leader in a timely fashion in this mode.

· Wingman, which splits up 10 players into five teams of two, where it’s every pair for themselves. The goal is to defeat as many other two-player teams as possible, but killing blows must be in the form of an execution.

· Submission, which is Capture the Flag with a twist in which the flag is a living, moving, and shooting Stranded AI character, and we affectionately refer to as the Meatflag. The goal is to down the Meatflag and move his body to your teamâ€™s base to earn points before the opposing team can steal him back.

· King of the Hill, which was previously only available in Gears 1 for PC, and involves teams fighting to hold a single objective point. While it’s similar to Annex, teams must completely control and stay within the objective target circle to score points. Enemies are downed through execution rules so that a team has to finish everyone up close to retain control of the objective.

· Are you going to release GoW2 in Germany?

Cliff Bleszinski: No, as much as we would love for gamers in Germany to experience Gears of War 2, Microsoft will not be releasing the game there.

· How many different weapons are available in GoW2 and can you tell us about the new weapons?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’ve added several new weapons to Gears 2, and we’ve also modified and updated existing weapons:

· The Boltok Pistol has been updated from the first Gears, and now has a quicker rate of fire after an active reload.

· The Boomshield is a metal shield that can be used as portable cover when combined with a pistol. It can also be planted in the ground for stationary cover, but can be knocked over by an enemy kicking it or a hit from a smoke grenade.

· The Gnasher shotgun has been rebalanced so as to not be overpowered during multiplayer.

· The Gorgon Burst Pistol shoots in deadly, short bursts and is a favorite of the Kantus.

· The Hammerburst, the basic Locust rifle, now has a semi-automatic firing rate, higher accuracy at longer ranges, plus increased damage. You can also opt to zoom in with it by clicking the left stick.

· The Mortar is great for taking out massive amounts of Locust, offering a whole new form of destruction.

· The Mulcher, one of my favorite weapons, is basically our Gatling gun. It can be mounted on cover to mow down waves of enemies, and when it overheats, you can speed the cooling process by fanning the right bumper.

· The Ink Grenade leaves a poisonous cloud of death lingering all around the site of detonation. Steer clear when this thing goes off.

· The Scorcher flamethrower effectively toasts enemies, and a successful active reload will temporarily increase its range.

· The Smoke Grenade features a concussion blast that will knock enemies back and temporarily obscure their vision. All grenades can now be stuck to walls to act as proximity mines.

· Can we expect some kind of rank/promotion feature in the title to reward players for their online participation, perhaps something similar to CoD4 and Halo 3?

Rod Fergusson: While playing multiplayer youâ€™ll see the visual representation of your TruSkill™ ranking next to your Gamertag. As you play more and more Public matches, your skill rating will increase (or decrease) and this will be represented as one of five rank icons.

· Weâ€™ve seen that map favourite Gridlock is due to make a return in Gears 2, which is great. Can we also expect some other favourites too and is there any possibility of the Gears 1 PC exclusive multiplayer maps making a showing in Gears 2?

Rod Fergusson: That’s right, Gridlock is returning in Gears 2 in the Flashback Map Pack that is being offered for free download via Xbox LIVE at launch as a token of thanks to our fans for buying a new copy of the game. The Flashback Map Pack contains our five favorite Gears 1 maps: Gridlock, Subway, Canals, Mansion, and Train Station, each specially updated for Gears 2.

· In an interview Cliff Bleszinski said it would be stupid to not have more a user friendly party system to play ranked games with friends. Why turn 180° for Gears of War 2?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’re rolling out a skill-based party system that allows players to rapidly join parties, form teams and play against opposing teams of similar skill. It’s all seamless and easy to use and really enriches the online experience. We’re also enhancing our matchmaking capability through our "Whatâ€™s Up" feature so players can, at the press of a button, have access to all of their friends that are online playing Gears 2.

· Will Gears of War 2 support clans?

Rod Fergusson: We have not implemented clan support for Gears of War 2, although we’ve tried to make it easy to play online with your friends. As Cliff mentioned, we have the new party system that lets you join your friends in full or partial teams and stay grouped together from match to match. As well, "Whatâ€™s Up" will give you instant access to all your friends playing Gears 2.

· Epic (or more specifically Cliffy B) have talked a lot about how Domâ€™s story will develop in Gears of War 2 in the search for his wife Maria. I was wondering how the story of the main character Marcus Fenix will develop, for instance will we find out more about his background and why he was put in prison in the first place?

Cliff Bleszinski: You’ll learn more about all the members of Delta Squad in Gears 2, including some new details about Marcus. If youâ€™re hungry for more information about Marcus and the Gears universe, then this is your year. Along with the Gears 2 game, weâ€™re also releasing a comic book series written by the game writer Josh Ortega and a prequel novel called Gears of War: Aspho Fields. Itâ€™s written by Karen Traviss, a #1 New York Times best-selling author, and it goes on sale Oct. 28th.

· In terms of the single player campaign replay value, Gears of War was your traditional 10 hour experience. What are you doing this time around to increase the replay value of the single player campaign? Will the game be longer this time around?

Cliff Bleszinski: Gears 2’s campaign is without a doubt longer than that of the original game. Playing times will vary from person to person, but you can expect significantly more single-player action in the sequel. The story picks up six months after the Lightmass bombing; the Locust have resurfaced, and are terrorizing the planet by sinking entire cities. It’s up to Marcus, Delta Squad and the COG army to take the fight to the Locust and defend humanity in its last stand. Domâ€™s search for Maria, his wife, was alluded to in the first game, and this will also be explored in depth.

· In Gears 2 will we get the full story or has some been chopped out for a PC release like last time?

Cliff Bleszinski: We’ve already confirmed that there will be no PC version for Gears 2, so you’ll be getting the full story in the campaign, which picks up six months after the Lightmass bombing. The Locust have resurfaced, and are wreaking havoc on the planet by destroying entire cities with sinkholes. Marcus, Delta Squad and the COG army are charged with taking the fight to the Locust and defending humanity in its last stand. Domâ€™s search for Maria, his wife, was alluded to in the first game, and this will also be explored in depth.

· Did the Epic team enjoy making Gears 2 as much as the first?

Cliff Bleszinski: That’s a tough question, because it was so amazing making the original Gears of War. We knew we were in uncharted waters; we were making a totally new IP on a brand new console with new engine technology, and that was a thrill ride. With Gears 2, we’ve enjoyed expanding the Gears universe by really digging deep with the storyline, and adding new characters, weapons, multiplayer modes – especially Horde, our five-player co-op multiplayer mode. It’s hard to say, because both games have been complete labors of love.

· Gears of War was one of the most successful Shooter on Xbox Live until today. In what ways will Gears of War 2 differ from the first title? Is Gears of War 2 just a sequel or can we expect to see something innovative?

Cliff Bleszinski: For starters, we’re introducing a skill-based party system for multiplayer game modes, multiple save files for the campaign, a War Journal that keeps track of collectibles, a Battle Cam mode, five-versus-five competitive multiplayer, in-game Achievement tracking and the all-new five-player co-op multiplayer mode, Horde.

The entire game is bigger and better in just about every way imaginable. We made several hundred tweaks to the cover system, which is easier to use this time around, plus we’re introducing dynamic cover. You can now down an enemy and use him as an ammo-absorbing Meatshield, and you can also use the Boomshield while moving, or you can plant it in the ground and take cover that way. Another fun variation on portable cover is the Rockworm, which will take a lot of lead as you hide behind it and make your way past enemies.

Gears 2 is visually and audibly better as well. We’ve overhauled the art, and the technology in Unreal Engine 3 has come so far since the original Gears, it’s really impressive to do a side-by-side comparison. We recorded almost all new audio; 85 percent of the sounds in Gears 2 are totally new to the series. Steve Jablonsky (Transformers, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) composed and recorded a completely new score for the game, and the final mix is incredible.

· How about the Mulitplayer Part of Gears of War 2. The 2-Person-Online-CoOp was something we never have seen before. Did you feel like you were doing something the community would really love with coop?

Cliff Bleszinski: Since Gears 1, co-op has gone from being a "nice to have" to a necessity. As we all know, everything is better as a shared experience and so we wanted to make co-op even more accessible this time around. In Gears 2, you can drop in and drop out of co-op play without disrupting the game, and you don’t have to play on the same difficulty as the other person, which makes it possible for players of different skill levels to be able to work together and enjoy the game. We’ve had a great response to this so far, and hope the lowered barrier of entry encourages people to check it out.

Horde is our brand new co-op mode that allows up to five players to work together to fight off wave after wave of increasingly hostile Locust. Teamwork and tactics will be just as crucial to survival as heavy firepower, and only the very best teams will survive long enough to combat all 50 waves. But don’t worry, we’ve made sure you can bookmark your progress every five waves so you won’t have to complete all 50 waves in one sitting.

· What about a map editor? Have you ever considered implementing one?

Cliff Bleszinski: Gears of War 2 will not have a map editor, although we have introduced a lot of new maps, plus we’re bringing back fan favorites from Gears 1 with the Flashback Map Pack, which will be available for free download when the game launches.

· Will there be dedicated server for better connections?

Rod Fergusson: Gears 2 won’t have dedicated servers, but we’ve invested a lot of time and resources to optimize the net code and reduce host advantage. Our goal is for everyone to compete on equal footing as much as possible.

· Will some of the old Maps (or all of them) be playable, perhaps as an additional Download Content?

Cliff Bleszinski: Sure, we’re offering the Flashback Map Pack for free download via Xbox LIVE at launch as a token of thanks to our fans for buying a new copy of the game. The Flashback Map Pack contains our five favorite Gears 1 maps: Gridlock, Subway, Canals, Mansion, and Train Station, each specially updated for Gears 2.

· How will the new match making work and will you be able to play ranked with friends this time round?

Rod Fergusson: Our new match making system is a skill-based party system that allows players to rapidly join parties, form teams and play against opposing teams of similar skill. Parties remain intact as you move from match to match so youâ€™ll be able to play with your friends as long as you like. It’s all seamless and easy to use and really enriches the online experience. We’re also enhancing our matchmaking capability through our "Whatâ€™s Up" feature so players can, at the press of a button, have access to all of their friends that are online playing Gears 2.

· With bringing in new "power" weapons such as the Medusa, do you feel they will affect the core elements of the online side especially when playing competitively?

Cliff Bleszinski: The Gorgon Burst Pistol shoots in deadly, short bursts, and it’s a favorite of the Kantus, the Locust priest that summons enemies with shrieks and battle cries. We’ve worked extensively on gameplay balancing so that you’ll have a fair shot at taking down foes wielding the weapon in multiplayer. There are inherent advantages and disadvantages to using any weapon in the game; while the Gorgon pacts a nasty punch, it also lets back with more recoil than its counterpart sidearms.

· Will there be a beta for the game?

Rod Fergusson: We’re not releasing preview code for Gears 2 since we’re focused on shipping the game on time and making sure fans everywhere have it in time for the holidays.

· Will the game have a movie editor, similar to that seen in Halo 3, like EGM thought it may?

Cliff Bleszinski: Gears 2 will not have a movie editor, although we have implemented a Battle Cam mode that lets you capture images photojournalist style and compare pics with other players. If you get killed in a multiplayer match, or if you’re waiting in the respawn queue, you can cycle through a number of fixed camera locations via the Battle Cam, which automatically pans and zooms in on the action. You can also fly through levels via Ghost Cam, and take screens that way. You can get pretty creative with it, and we want everyone to post their own images at gearsofwar.com so we can see who captures the best action shots.

Thanks for your time!