Gears of War 2: New Features & Improvements - Play as Different Characters

Previews

With the recent unveiling of Gears of War 2, we can glean from the small chunks of coverage some salient points.  Specifically, we can get a grasp on many of the improvements and new features we can look forward to come this November.

We’ll be updating this list with the significant details as they come in, slowly but surely.  This list is by no means exhaustive. 

May 29, 2008 - update

• Play as Different Characters - In an “Inside Xbox” video feature on Xbox LIVE, Cliffy B let slip during an interview that you would be playing as different characters. ”You’re basically being Marcus, and you’re being other squad members throughout the campaign,” said Cliff.  Whether this was a slip and Cliff meant co-op play or it is exactly as he spelled it out, he nevertheless uttered those very words.
• Command Function No More - In the same interview on Xbox LIVE’s Inside Xbox, Cliffy B confirmed that the very underutilized and underdeveloped squadmate command feature from the original Gears of War is being axed altogether in Gears of War 2. 

May 26, 2008 - update

• Multiplayer Player Limit Increased - The original Gears featured four-on-four multiplayer matches.  The team limit has been up by one for five-on-five, or 10 total player matches.
• More execution details - The original Gears allowed you to curb stomp downed enemies.  In Gears 2, players now have button specific executions.  For instance, the B button performs a weapon specific execution and the Y button performs a “punch-to-death” execution.
• Wingman Multiplayer Gametype - “Wingman” is a two-on-two team game where teams of two share the identical character model to easily distinguish teams.  This would presumably be a team deathmatch gametype but might be an option for others.
• Meatflag Multiplayer Gametype - “Meatflag”, not suprisingly, is a twist on capture-the-flag gametypes.  The ‘flag’ in this gametype is an AI controlled character at the centre of the map that the teams must take down, grab as a meatshield, then escort back to their goal area.  Unlike the regular meatshield, this meatflag will not decay with damage.  Instead, damage will free the meatflag from the player’s grip and thus create an immediate danger as the meatflag will attack players.
• Medusa Weapon - The medusa features a large shield which can be used as moveable cover.
• Scorcher Weapon - The Scorcher is a flamethrower. NICE! 
• Screenshots - There will be a feature that enables the abilities to take screenshots of the game, presumably akin to Halo 3’s in-game screenshot feature.

Previous Updates

• The “Meat Shield” - As demonstrated in the first gameplay footage, you’re able to grab enemies once they’ve been downed by gunfire and prop them up as mobile shields. 
• Meat Shield in multiplayer - When a player is downed, their body can be grabbed by a player and used as a shield in the same manner as single-player. The body will fall apart with damage until useless.  The player killed, however, will immediately re-spawn so that they’re not carried around as a hostage the entire match.
• New executions - The developers promised new execution moves, presumably on top of the curb-stomp and chainsaw from the original.  The demonstration showcased the ability to break an enemy’s neck after you’ve used them as a meat shield, as well as using the chainsaw from behind on an enemy.
• Chainsaw duels - If two characters have chainsaw bayonets revved-up versus one another, contact will result in a chainsaw duel where the player must tap a button as rapidly as they can to overpower their enemy.
• Destructible environments - This was revealed in the Unreal Engine III upgrades tech demo.  In recent interviews the destructible environments were highlighted again.  The resulting dynamic is that players must be more active in cover as their cover can and will be destroyed.
• Dynamic/movable cover system - Like the meat shield, another new aspect of gameplay will be more dynamic and movable cover elements.  This would also include the aforementioned destructible cover.  But apparently there’s more to be revealed, and an allusion was made to a new creature, the Rock Worm, offering up another type of movable cover.
• Bigger enemies - Gears of War’s biggest creatures were the Corpsers and the Brumaks, but mention has been made these creatures aren’t the half of it in Gears 2. 
• Rock Worm - Speaking of big creatures, the unseen Rock Worm has been mentioned, and apparently tunnels through the Locust underworld and is quite large.
• New vehicles - The Derrick has already been revealed in the first gameplay demonstration.  This vehicle is a transport carrier for troops taking Marcus and crew deep into Locust occupied territory, and even their underground haunts.
• More to the Derricks than meets the eye - The demo reveals the top portion of the Derrick is a platform for troops with turrets for good measure.  But it has been said that the Derrick has multiple aspects to it: you are able to go below into the hold and man turrets on either side of it, or disembark entirely to take foot on the battlefield below.
• Open environments -  Whereas Gears was a decidedly linear game, Gears 2’s environments will open up the battlefields to a greater extent.  The developers promise battles with accordingly greater variety and offensive and defensive options.
• Large groups of enemies - The original Gears was a much more intimate affair than Gears 2 promises, with only a handful of Locust enemies on screen at once.  The tech demo of Unreal Engine III and the first gameplay demonstration reveal that potentially dozens (hundreds?) of Locust large and small can be on screen at once.
• New environments - We’ve already been told that beyond the usual Gears’ sights of Sera, we’ll visit Jacinto, the last bastion of humankind, and the underground home city of the Locust.  Variety, apparently, will be much more prevalent with a more diverse colour palette this time around.
• Content complete - The game is already content complete (or nearly so) as of May, and Epic is now in the process of optimization.
• New weapons (updated) - The first gameplay demonstration revealed Marcus handling a very powerful looking SMG-like gun (presumably the Gorgon Pistol) and a new Locust rifle (presumably the Hammerburst).
• Story - To say the original Gears story was truncated and a bit disjointed is an understatement.  With Gears 2, Epic has put in much more effort developing the story.  Specifically, we’ll see much more character development, with a focus on the COGs and their backstory, and less on the Locust.  The team even went so far as to record group voice acting sessions so that the banter between Marcus and his compatriots feels natural and forceful.  
• New Characters - Dizzy, a derrick pilot, joins the COG forces as a recruit from the “stranded”, survivors of Sera left behind.

peachey @ May 29, 2008