Gears of War 2 TU5 passes cert; Epic passes along list of fixes
by David Hinkle 
{ Oct 23rd 2009 at 1:45PM }
The new Title Update (#5) reverts the roadie-run camera back to its state in the first Gears of War and fixes an exploit where "a player could modify the game's behavior due to a security vulnerability introduced in an earlier title update." The update also kills the ability to use turbo controllers with the game -- something folks have been using to increase their rate of fire -- and turns off the ability to mantle the shield in competitive multiplayer matches, eradicating the ability to escape the map or glitch certain pieces of geometry.
The fixes sound all well and good, but is it enough to bring folks back to the game and satisfy those still playing with a chip on their massive, hulkish shoulders? We'll all find out when the update goes live, which Epic's Rod Fergusson says could happen as early as today or Monday.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Urza @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:51PM
Probably too little too late.
Heimbachae @ Oct 24th 2009 11:55AM
by "probably a little too late" you mean "why do they keep bothering" then yes, agreed.
TonyTheTiger831 @ Oct 24th 2009 4:36PM
I regret every second of owning this game.
Paul @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:59PM
what is gears of war????
guelth @ Oct 23rd 2009 1:59PM
As long as they're trying. Keep up the hard work.
Now, do they have a secret announcement too?
David Hinkle @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:01PM
Yeah, I'm pretty certain we've solved that already:
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/23/rumor-epic-to-announce-unreal-engine-3-for-consumers/
:)
guelth @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:27PM
Sweet!
I was assuming it was a platform for iPhone/Adndroid.
jimbo @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:07PM
Yeah that out of map glitch isn't solved just by removing the ability to mantle over the shield. As long as you can mantle over something you can get out of the map...nice fix Epic. thanks for paying attention to abysmal consistency in starting weapons, rank resets/glitches, or anything else that may be somewhat more important to gameplay then a camera change.
Then once you're done fixing gameplay, fix host selection, or the fact that you can still spawn without a weapon, that's been there since release.
devilsei @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:08PM
"and turns off the ability to mantle the shield in competitive multiplayer matches, eradicating the ability to escape the map or glitch certain pieces of geometry."
Wait, they took out the ability to plant shields...? Wow, now what's left to use the shield for?
devilsei @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:10PM
nevermind, not used to hoppin over something being called "mantle", not used to these here fanceh city-slicker words yall usin...
Mazrael @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:16PM
How about ally-bots in Horde, I keep being dumped with quitters
d3athcr4ft @ Oct 24th 2009 12:40AM
I second that.
PeacefulOutrage @ Oct 24th 2009 10:17AM
Me three. I only play horde mode. I can understand the "fixes" that keep punks from hiding in the level geometry, but everything else sucked for me since the first title update.
1) Frag grenades set as proximity mines explode too far away from enemies after the update and are almost useless.
2) Grenade tags damage the tagging player even after the player is a considerable distance away or under cover.
3) Smoke grenades basically only give away position now, as their concussion blast effects are gone.
4) Shotgun is nerfed.
5) Why the hell can't you select your own maps in regular matchmaking? For someone who bought all maps when they were released, trying to play a game online shouldn't be this hard. People drop out when the map they want isn't selected, and since no AI fills in for them, it sucks really hard.
6) Since we cannot select our own maps, and don't have AI fill in for us, why the HELL do we NOT have host migration a la Halo 3? When you finally get a match past wave 10 and the host leaves, it's over.
yolarrydabomb @ Oct 24th 2009 4:19PM
Me 4 becasue my internet doesn't support Live or friends just pull their xbox's off system link and leaves :|
bastards
Rugged Savior @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:16PM
I loved the first gears of war multiplayer. However, due to a heavy supply of Call of Duty and Halo, The Gears of War 2 Multiplayer experience was very faint to me; Long match finding times, people always quitting, people doing the same things over and over (melee, shotgun, repeat), and nearly NO respawns. Note, I played the multiplayer early, so i've no idea of the later updates, nor do I even bother.
Louis @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:21PM
I was also a big fan of GoW multiplayer the first time around, and bought GoW2 when it came out, but multiplayer is so bad in 2 that I gave up on it very quickly. One, the matchmaking is horrible and it still takes forever to find a game. Also, it always seems I end up playing with 7 people who are pros, and I can never even stay in a match long enough to learn the one combination of weapons and tactics that work.
It is just an all around poorly balanced experience that was great 5 years ago, but now when there are so many great multiplayer games, there is just no reason why any game should suck that bad.
Single player and horde are loads of fun though.
Whocares @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:22PM
do people still play this? I played horde for a couple of weeks and i was done with mulitplayer...i never really saw its appeal with halo and COD sitting next to it.
Courtney @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:40PM
Since we did we all buy into the Title Update language. I hate euphemisms. Call it what it is, a patch.
d3athcr4ft @ Oct 24th 2009 1:03AM
You really shouldn't be a grammar snob unless you know what you're talking about.
'Patch' is the substituted term for 'update', making 'patch' the euphemism, not the other way around. The game 'title' was indeed 'updated', so 'title update' would be the correct terminology.
Ghost8282 @ Oct 23rd 2009 2:51PM
I am sick and tired of hearing people bitch about the multiplayer. This is a game that takes skill to play. Its not just "pow" dead one bullet multiplayer like COD (not saying COD isnt amazing) any noob can get lucky in that game. But Gears is a combenation of knowing how to move and how to shoot and how not to act like a one man army and rush into 5 people thinking you are god. And to these kids that say it sucks you obviosly suck at the game and shouldnt play it and try to bash it. If you are not good go play some other game. I do admite that the lag pisses me off and host can be a bitch but if you are good you can counter that stuff most of the time.
BallerAvery123@msn.com @ Oct 23rd 2009 5:23PM
Shut up Bitch. that game is gay.
Edicius @ Oct 23rd 2009 3:39PM
I love Gears, I have had very few multiplayer issues, and I've played it off and on since it launched. I think that there is a very vocal minority that had issues and have stopped playing, but continue to slam it without going back and trying it again after the patches.
Thiago123 @ Oct 23rd 2009 4:45PM
Yeah, pretty much haven't played multiplayer in Gears 2 since the launch fiasco of waiting for games. I still paly campaign on occasion if a friend wants to do some co-op because I love the universe and the gameply, but Epic really messed up on the multiplayer when expectations were as high as for Halo 3.
"but is it enough to bring folks back"
Well, probably not me, but the game is in the 10 (and usually in the top 5) every week so it isn't like they are hurting for players...
Yeah TB @ Oct 23rd 2009 5:20PM
I love that most people here all act like no one in the world plays Gears 2 anymore and it's so unpopular, but it's been in the Top 10 for Live since release almost a year ago. Yes, I don't play it anymore, but I'm not going to pretend like nobody else is.
Tep @ Oct 23rd 2009 5:32PM
If this update was out a few months ago I might have cared...Gears 2 is unplayable online cause of all the fucking glitchers and I bet there will be even more new exploits to be found.
Price & Fury @ Oct 23rd 2009 11:07PM
Gears 2 multiplayer is garbage.
The game dropped like a dead fly to the fourth place on LIVE's charts quickly since launch, and stayed there ever since. It was pathetic how Epic was trying to excuse the drop because Halo 3 received a map pack around that time. Gears 1 was the king for months on end no matter what came through. So their excuses where painfully lame.
Gears 2's multiplayer had its run for a couple of weeks and it was the shittiest experience ever in gaming history. Covering it up with patches and attempting to smear the truth that Epic failed miserably, whether it's their inflated Ego or drunk power that drove them to cripple the gameplay, net code - you name it.
Very sad. I was an avid Gears 1 fan. Not anymore, especially with Uncharted 2 now.
Yeah TB @ Oct 26th 2009 10:04PM
Gee, uncalled for much?
sho220 @ Oct 24th 2009 5:14AM
haters, haters, they're everywhere!
Maverick Saturn (Igor) @ Oct 24th 2009 7:44PM
Good news all round :D
foxkreig @ Oct 27th 2009 11:43PM
I enjoyed gears 1 multiplayer ....
gears 2 blows online. it's story and look and overall campaign gameplay are almost flawless. i love the game but hate it's mutiplayer.
for me what it boils down to is lag. it's been my experience that whomever pulls host wins. that's it. it takes mad mad skills and teamwork to overcome the quite overwhelming host advantage. a couple of the guys i game with are absolute BEASTS at the game and do fairly well in spite of it. but myself, when i unload 4 shotgun blasts into a player while rubbing up against them and they wont die? wtf can you do with it.
and i honstly do not understand why it's that bad in the game. there are more people playing in a COD4 or 5 map and the area tends to be bigger. but the lag is rarely a huge factor in those games yet it's crippling in gears. gears 1 it was annoying but workable. 2? it's gamebreaking ... in almost every match.
flat out. EPIC failed. and once i get a fiew more achievements in the next week or two i've been grinding out, i'm going to trade it in a gamestop to fund MW2 ... and cheerfully never look back. though i may yet buy the next gears just for the story and stay the hell off of online
James Bushey @ Oct 26th 2009 12:10AM
if EPIC wants to fix there game, its really simple! bring back the classic matchmaking.. the bigest issue people have in the game boils down to the HOST. In gears 1 you could see the streangth of the conection you were going to play on..if it was bad, you didnt play there. This "random" host that EPIC is trying so hard to stick with is broken.
1 the game dosnt make the best conection host? wtf? even a little kid knows thats messed up.
2 if your conection is so crappy that you cant connect to matches, it will have the people with good connection connect to your.. basicly it rewards you for playing on a crap connection, while someone with a decent connection gets screwed... dont beleive me.. next time you host a match.. start downloading videos on youtube..you will get host 90% of the time..
3 arent games supposed to be fun? peiople spend more time yelling at there friends in this game than anything, no wonder is so fun when you win,lol after all the crap you have to put up with when you lose, its like freaking christmas..
I-IE4D$00T @ Oct 28th 2009 10:34AM
sooo true!
I-IE4D$00T @ Oct 28th 2009 10:32AM
well i love that game and i think Ghost8282 is right . i started with gow and gow 2 my xbox carrere and than sb told me about COD and Halo. i was really suprised how much this games suck. no tactit everbody i running and running and running. hmm idont knwo i like the strategic theme in gow and its the best place to own somebody. i mean its not easy to play gow but its possible to learn i played a lot now to become good but tahst what separates me from others its like a 5vs5 soccer game just with guns you need skill tactic and strategy thats all stop that bitchin about gow 2 noobs