GOW2 details: multiplayer, vehicles, Carmine's back!

by Richard Mitchell { May 14th 2008 at 11:15AM }

In a recent interview with GameTrailers at Microsoft's Spring Showcase event, Gears of War 2 maestro Cliff Bleszinski dropped a ton of details regarding Marcus Fenix's second outing. Cliffy had plenty to talk about, including new details on Gears of War 2 multiplayer, storyline, vehicles, and the return of a certain fan-favorite character. Here's a quick rundown of exactly what CliffyB had to say:

Gears 2 will feature 5-on-5 multiplayer with more modes and more maps out of the box than Gears 1. Online functionality wasn't detailed, but Cliffy promises it will be "very competitive with other titles in this space." Dare we hope for a Halo-inspired party system?
About executions:

Chainsaw duels can end in a draw, but only occasionally.
The curb stomp is back
Players are no longer invulnerable when performing executions
Once a duel is over, the actual chainsawing is faster, making the entire duel last about as long as a normal chainsaw kill.

Players who are down but not out can now attempt to crawl away, tapping the A button to crawl faster.
The game will have "buckets and buckets" of blood. For example, Marcus will leave trails of blood on a wall while taking cover after being injured. "Meat shields" (i.e. hostages) will also drip blood as they are dragged around.
Players will be able to drive the new Centaur tank, which is something like a cross between a tank and a monster truck (we think it's briefly in the video at around 3:50)
Carmine (most famous for being on the receiving end of a headshot in the first Gears) will return ... somehow.

Tags: epic, gears-of-war, gears-of-war-2, gow2, microsoft-game-studios, spring-showcase-08

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ZenGaijin @ May 14th 2008 11:29AM

All sounds amazing the only thing I want now is 4 player online co-op and my wishlist will be complete.

So glad that the curb stomp returns.

Dom @ May 14th 2008 11:31AM

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, BAM!!! I hope it indeed does have COD4/Halo3 matchmaking systems and Rank level ups. 5 vs 5 means the maps are probably going to be a bit larger which is great.

Resistance and Killzone2 dont have anything on this! Gears 2 will have it all, great graphics, sound, story, MP, gore, executions, and its just going to be all around more fun to play than any other title! COD4 and GTAIV move over!

ryan @ May 14th 2008 11:36AM

yeah, so far i've been more impressed with just what's been shown of Gears 2 than the past year of Killzone and Resistance news. in terms of gameplay and graphics Gears still remains a pretty marketable franchise with a unique style all it's own while R2 and KZ 2 just seem a bit flatter in comparison.

does anyone else think the chainsaw dueling will be a problem in multiplayer? i mean with lag issues and all?

elmersglue @ May 14th 2008 2:06PM

can't imagine it being any more of a problem than the current getting fucked when you could've sworn you were first to saw... at least now you have a chance to survive it.

Big Filth @ May 14th 2008 11:40AM

this is looking to be pretty awesome.

Josh @ May 14th 2008 11:41AM

I just hope they make a regular deathmatch game type with respawns. I hate it when you have two campers at the end of a match that refuse to just come out and fight. Other than that, GoW2 is looking like an amazing game.

Carmine @ May 14th 2008 10:41PM

Awesome that Carmine is coming back. It's not too often that you find your name shared with a video game character.

SadisticHam @ May 14th 2008 12:10PM

Liking all the details so far, must agree with Ryan as well..the news I've heard about GEOW2 has been far more interesting and exciting over the last 2 months than R2/KZ2 at all. o.0

Rick @ May 14th 2008 12:18PM

ZOMBIE CARMINE!!!!!!!!

c. thomas @ May 14th 2008 12:30PM

wow

Andrew K @ May 14th 2008 12:27PM

I guess he's our Sgt Johnson to Halo. Carmine that is.

Urza @ May 14th 2008 1:23PM

Well remember the generic COG soldier wearing the helmet doesn't have to be carmine. :P

TORO @ May 14th 2008 12:47PM

Can't wait! They're fixing everything on my list :)

mark.j.smith @ May 14th 2008 12:51PM

"Dare we hope for a Halo-inspired party system?"

I think a party system is a no-brainer at this point.

Forsaken Fury @ May 14th 2008 1:04PM

Haha, crawling away bleeding tons of pixel-blood, awesome. I can't wait to see that.

Crawling away from the Berserkers in GoW1 would have been helpful sometimes. :x

CURBSTOMP!

Carmine better come back as a zombie or something. o_O .. Dunno how they're gonna explain a dude surviving a brain + bullet shishkabob.

Laza K @ May 14th 2008 1:08PM

CARMINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Ryan Hartman @ May 14th 2008 1:33PM

Carmine comes back, but as a puppet for the Locust or something.

and I seriously am rocking the hugest bulge right now over this game. It's outta control. I'm more hyped then ever.

The only thing that's got me skittish is the chainsaw dueling. If it's really just button mashing that determines the winner that is going to suck (provided it's in multiplayer). That seems like the type of mechanic that can be easily manipulated or that can be altered and messed with due to incongruent connections and whatnot.

I just don't want button mashing to become a major mechnaic in an online battle.

5 on 5 death matches though? That's the tits. I wonder what the types of combat will be. I hope no annex, spawn camping ruined that before it ever got off the ground.