With the gameplay just hours off I decided to compile some info from what we know and Ill be updating ever so often.
First Gameplay Video
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33780.html
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3167745
Click here to go to the point in this thread when the Trailer was released so you dont have to read through the dozens of pages of pre-trailer talk.
New Characters
Tai Kaliso: While Cole and Baird are still a big part of the story, they won't be attached to Delta Squad as the new game opens. The reunion with those popular characters will have some lead up first, and until then, you'll be meeting some new personalities. The most memorable of these new additions may be Tai, a spiritual and meditative warrior from a tradition of honor-bound fighters. This familiar archetype should add a fun and perhaps mystical dynamic to the squad.
Chairman Prescott: Lots of gamers found themselves wondering if Marcus' domineering superior officer was the head of the human government. It turns out that Hoffman is only second in command. Above him stands the Chairman, an almost dictatorial military leader who nonetheless has made the hard choices necessary to keep humanity alive through decades of warfare. As Gears 2 opens, this leader of the COG forces will deliver a speech to the troops before sending them reeling into the suicidal mission ahead.
Dizzy: In the seemingly unending struggle with the Locust Horde, the military forces of the COG have taken massive casualties. Somewhere along the way, Operation Lifeboat was enacted to bring in some fresh blood. Under this new act, the Coalition government will rescue a Stranded family and bring them into the relative story of a COG-protected zone. In return, the able-bodied men of that family join up and contribute their skills to the war effort. Such is the case with hardened soldier Dizzy, a new character who drives the massive Derrick on which Delta Squad ascends into the mountains. With a trademark drawl and an insistence on calling his truck "Betty", he's a colorful new addition to the cast.
Maria Santiago: When Emergence Day struck, Dom's wife Maria became a victim as surely as if she had died in that first attack. On that day, her children were killed. Unable to deal with the shock and loss, Maria lost herself in the ruins of civilization. For Dominic, who joined the COG to protect his family, no priority is higher than to retrieve his lost love - his very personal quest to find her is a major part of the story that unfolds in Gears 2.
First Screens/Artwork
The Plot
Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb at the end of the first game. Though most of the Locust Horde was destroyed, the explosion also caused much of the liquid Imulsion underground to vaporize, causing a fatal disease called "Rust Lung" to spread among the diminshed human population. While the humans dealt with their casualties, the surviving Locust found a way to build huge sinkholes under the remaining human strongholds. The once impenetrable Jacinto Plateau, one of the last remaining refuges for humans, is showing signs that the same fate awaits it. In order to stop the fall of Jacinto, Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, and a new Delta Squad spearhead a counterattack against the Locust.
Unreal Engine 3.5
Unreal Engine 3.5 Demonstration
Lighting: Tim's first demonstration featured what he called "ambient occlusion technology." Essentially this tech allows for much more realistic dynamic shadows. As Tim explains, it gives "much more definition to objects and they pop out from backgrounds." The same technique is applied to both the environments and characters, as was demonstrated on Marcus Fenix. As a result you can expect our leading man, as well as all of the other characters, to look significantly better than they did in the past.
Crowds: In Gears, as well as virtually every other game, players fight at most several different enemies at once (or 5 to 6 Locust as is in the case in Gears). Game tech simply hasn't been up to the task of producing dense groups of creatures. As Tim explained, the Locust 'horde' might actually live up to their name with the addition of new high density crowd and flocking technology. It's now possible to have literally more than a hundred characters interacting on the screen at one time.
Water: There's also the potential for water to play a much bigger role in Gears of War 2. Newly implemented dynamic fluid surfaces technology and other water-related tech allows for realistic physics , specular reflections, particle system-based splashes, realistic sound effects that occur during interactions, and in general what Tim describes as "realistic liquidy feel." With water that looks as awesome as it did in the demo it would be difficult for developers to resist implementing it superfluously in a new game.
Soft Body Physics: Epic has also implemented some new technology that came via Ageia. They now have the ability to simulate "realistically elastic and fluidy" objects. This was demonstrated by a giant block of meat as well as a spherical ball of water. As a result of this it will be possible to create objects that are much more organic and real-worldish, as opposed to being very rigid. This tech will likely have implications for gameplay, as Mark Rein indicated in an interview that Epic has "A really good way to use it. A REALLY good way to use it."
Destructible Environments: In the past any destructible element in an environment was scripted or static and as a result very predictable. The result is breakable environments that aren't very realistic, and certainly not worth implementing extensively in game environments. This isn't the case any longer as a result of new destructible environment technology. Tim demonstrated this tech in a concrete structure where the surface material could be destroyed leaving behind an underlying steel structure. This would no doubt be excellent for the environments in Gears where the majority of the surfaces are concrete.
Matinee Improvements: In addition to all of these graphical improvements, the development tools have also been improved. Tim discussed improvements that were made to their matinee tools, which were used to create the real-time cinematic in the original Gears of War. Improvements to the matinee editor give developers movie-director control over all the objects in the screen, cameras, and cuts. This will surely result in better scripted events.
Videos
Unreal Engine 3.5 Demonstration
Gears of War 2 Announcement
1st Teaser
Interview (thanks to lawlessx)
---
Debut Gameplay
Compairson video - Gears vs Gears 2
Gears of War 2 Analyzed
Somewhat Related video's
Mova Tech demo
Natural Motion's Euphoria
Other
COG Centaur tank
COG Centaur tank. Takes the best parts of a monster truck and a military tank and combines them. There's a dedicated level where you'll pilot one.
Kantus
Monk-like devils hum low and droning chants that can be focused into sonic attacks against you. They wield weapons like the new Gorgon burst pistol and poison grenades. However, the Kantus' true danger lies in their ability to revive their fallen bretheren from afar.
Worm
(name unkown)
Massive Locust rock worms will emerge from the cavern walls during battle, guided by the Kantus' chanting. Luckily, the creatures are so large you can hide behind them as they sliter about, and you too will be able to guide them to an advantageous firing position.
Poison Grenade
What the Poison Grenade is unknown at the moment, but it could be anything from your face melting off to you choking and loosing health the longer your in the cloud of poison.
Gridlock Remake
Gridlock remake will be returning to Gears of War 2 with a nice new coat of visuals. From the look of the shot it seems to be the same layout but there could be some secret extras put in that are unknown as of now.
And Finally
Epic realized how well the Companion cube went over with gamers and decide to add a new character that flops around and helps you win the war against the locus.
Log in to comment