Gotta give it up for the crew at Epic Games.
This is certainly a remarkable time for the art of video games. And that is exactly what Gears of War 2 is: art of the highest caliber.
Everything about it is just darned perfect. And there's one scene in particular in the game... you'll know what I'm talking about if you've played it already... that is absolutely heartbreaking. For that bit of music alone, Steve Jablonsky deserves beaucoups of awards.
I thought it was at least twice as good as the original Gears of War, and that one got tons of play already at the Knight Casa.
Okay so anyone who's played it and waited through the credits: is he still alive?!? And what is he talking about?
And did anyone else think that the lab facility segment of the game asked a lot of questions that will hopefully be answered in the inevitable sequel?
EDIT 2:09 p.m. EST: If you've played through the game you've probably busted a gut laughing at Cole's rant on the microphone to the Locust Queen. Here it is courtesy of YouTube (WARNING: harsh language)...
Chris, I got to disagree with you on a few things...
ReplyDeleteGears of War 2 is much akin to the new Transformers movie than 2001: A Space Odyssey. I will see Transformers again and again, because it is simple (and stupid :P) fun. A Space Odyssey, on the other hand, is a beautiful piece of artistic expression. I will see it again and again because it is such a wonderful piece of art.
And the scene you were referring to? I really wasn't moved at all. There was little in character development. We know absolutely nothing about Cole and Baird, Fenix's backstory is barely alluded, and Dom is only "expanded" due to the minor relation with his wife.
In the story telling department, I have to give Gears of War 2 a D. It gives a good try...but that isn't enough.
Now in every other respect, yeah, I have to agree. It is a great game.
It just doesn't tell a good tale... in any shape or form.
Hey Matt,
ReplyDeleteCheck out Gears of War: Aspho Fields. It's a novel that came out the week before Gears of War 2's release. There's a LOT of deep, rich backstory the novel provides, that I went into the game knowing about and it definitely added to the enjoyment of it.
That's what I don't like about Videgame Novels.
ReplyDeleteIt allows the developers to be lazy. I don't like lazy.
If you wanted to give us background info, CliffyB, put it in the 'effin game!
Harry Potter is also part of this crime..albeit in a different form.
Harry Potter is kind of sucky anyways, so it's not to be expected. :)
What did you think about the Locust Queen when you got to her?
ReplyDeleteJust before getting to actually see the Queen for the first time, I was wondering if she was even a really living member of the Locust. Remember Niles, the AI in the New Hope facility? When Delta Squad got into that computer room the idea entered my mind that the Queen might have been a sentient computer, especially since the records at New Hope referred to test subjects being taken to the mountains. Maybe the Queen was another AI from the facility and all this time the Locust Horde was taking orders from a mainframe.
ReplyDeleteBut then when I *finally* got to her...
She definitely wasn't "butt ugly". Quite a surprise really. And there's a record at New Hope that talked about a girl named Ruth, who had started to undergo some physiological changes. I've been wondering if the Locust Queen might be an older Ruth, mutated all the more and now leading the Locusts... who it was hinted were created by humans to begin with.
By the way, did anyone else hear "Darth Vader" mentioned early in the game? I thought that's bigtime evidence that Sera is a world that has long been colonized from Earth.
Cole in microphone: "Delta Squad is in your house, bitch! You hear that shit?! You grubby-ass bitches are goin' down! Like way down! Dead down! So down you ain't even gonna know which way is up! Your asses are gonna be cryin' to your skanky-ass queen! Oh mommy, don't let the bad man hurt us! Fuck you! We gonna whup your momma's ass! Woo!"
ReplyDeleteBest. Game. Dialogue. Ever.