Even more terryfying creatures to deal with
The control scheme, of course, mimics Gears of War to a large extent, with a cover system that once again is designed to encourage tactical gameplay rather than a run-and-gun mentality.This also goes for the level design also, which is littered with spots where you can take refuge and plan your attack. Run towards a doorway, wall, car, set of steps, or almost any static object in the environment, and you can dive for cover in intuitively. From that position you can lean around or bob your head up over the top on your hiding spot to take pot-shots at the advancing enemy.
Using cover is one of the most important tactics throughout the game and many of the battles see you patiently diving in and out of cover whilst moving up the battlefield in order to adopt a prime position on your enemy. It’s a fluid control system that works extremely effectively and thanks to some great level design, where there always seems to be roughly an equal amount of cover for both you and the enemy, there’s some intense battles that take place where the action is sustained for relatively long periods. As a result, Gears of War 2 can be so intense that it zaps your energy with its ferocity. Battles are made more satisfying by the excellent A.I. of the enemies, who dive into cover and strategically move around you to try and catch you napping.
The major new addition to the combat mechanics is the ability to pick up one of the Locust Horde after you’ve taken it down to its knees. You can use them as a shield to defend yourself from oncoming fire. Such is the attention to detail in the game that you’ll even see trails of blood left behind as you drag the creature with you.
Alternatively, (like Gears of War) you can take them to their knees, wander over while they’re attempting to crawl to safety and pull off one the humiliating execution moves, including smashing the new boomshield into their skull or pistol-whipping them to death. With 11 execution moves to choose from there’s always a satisfying way to kill an enemy.
Click for larger image
