Epic
Games have really tried to push the Gears of War multiplayer after the
terrible start it had. Now with the third map pack they have gone all
out to show why they have sorted most issues with the online aspect of
Gears 2.
This
collection comes with seven maps and a deleted scene of the campaign. I
will start with the seven maps as this is where most of your money
goes. If you have played Gears 2 at all this is what you will want from
a map pack. Great looking, playing and thought out maps, that all have
the symmetrical Gears style to them. Nowhere is set in the middle of
the desert and has a great open feel to it, where Sanctuary is a three
tiered level where the action points change per round. Highway and Way
Station are based in the Locust Hollow. Memorial feels much like the
launch map Jacinto at first but has a sort of Gladiator pit at the back
of the map and Allfathers Gardens is one of the bigger Gears of War
maps offering multiple paths around your enemies. Also making a return
is War Machine from the first game, this has not changed too much
except a graphical overhaul and the removal of the Troika turret at the
top of the map.
Not only will you get these seven maps but a deleted scene called Road to Ruin is opened up to you. This takes place after the event in the Hollow where, and for spoiler sake I am going to skip on the real reason, but where Dom gets pissed and Marcus says he has found a way to sneak into Nexus (the Locust city) and Dom dismiss this and says he wants to kill them all. Well now you get to play this road to Nexus and you have two choices, sneak or go all guns blazing.
Starting with the stealth side, it puts you in the shoes of Marcus as he has put on a Locust Theron uniform. Most of this level will see you following Dom as you stay away from any Locust as they can smell you if you get too close. You will also have to set off diversions such as dropping a crate from a chain to get the Locust attention away from yourself. Also there is a small reference back to Gears of War and at the end you get to kill a few Locust but apart from that this is a slow and quite boring way to play an action game.
From the other side going in all guns blazing is much more to my taste as from the start it is none
stop fighting. You will still go through the same five rooms and at the
end of each room it will Checkpoint the level so you must stay alive
until then. I found myself dying time and time again after some silly
mistakes and having to do the whole section again, but it wasn't the
games fault. Also you will follow the exact same story as the stealth
side meeting the same characters and finishing it off with a big fire
fight.
The question really is, what did you expect? If you wanted a nice expansion to Gears of War 2 you will not find it here, what you will find here is a small introduction video by Cliffy B telling you why some parts of video games have to be cut and then playing said cut piece and realizing that the cut bits don't really make a difference. If however you wanted to revamp your Gears of War 2 multiplayer with seven new maps this is for you. Epic Games have done their hardest to make Gears of War 2 just as good as the first with releasing the Hidden Fronts map pack as well offering all 19 downloadable maps and the deleted scene for only 400 points more. So does this make me feel ripped off that I had to pay 1200 points for the expansion? Well no, because it is worth it if you are a fan of Gears of War or are looking to get back into cutting up some Locust again.
This
collection comes with seven maps and a deleted scene of the campaign. I
will start with the seven maps as this is where most of your money
goes. If you have played Gears 2 at all this is what you will want from
a map pack. Great looking, playing and thought out maps, that all have
the symmetrical Gears style to them. Nowhere is set in the middle of
the desert and has a great open feel to it, where Sanctuary is a three
tiered level where the action points change per round. Highway and Way
Station are based in the Locust Hollow. Memorial feels much like the
launch map Jacinto at first but has a sort of Gladiator pit at the back
of the map and Allfathers Gardens is one of the bigger Gears of War
maps offering multiple paths around your enemies. Also making a return
is War Machine from the first game, this has not changed too much
except a graphical overhaul and the removal of the Troika turret at the
top of the map.Not only will you get these seven maps but a deleted scene called Road to Ruin is opened up to you. This takes place after the event in the Hollow where, and for spoiler sake I am going to skip on the real reason, but where Dom gets pissed and Marcus says he has found a way to sneak into Nexus (the Locust city) and Dom dismiss this and says he wants to kill them all. Well now you get to play this road to Nexus and you have two choices, sneak or go all guns blazing.
Starting with the stealth side, it puts you in the shoes of Marcus as he has put on a Locust Theron uniform. Most of this level will see you following Dom as you stay away from any Locust as they can smell you if you get too close. You will also have to set off diversions such as dropping a crate from a chain to get the Locust attention away from yourself. Also there is a small reference back to Gears of War and at the end you get to kill a few Locust but apart from that this is a slow and quite boring way to play an action game.
From the other side going in all guns blazing is much more to my taste as from the start it is none
stop fighting. You will still go through the same five rooms and at the
end of each room it will Checkpoint the level so you must stay alive
until then. I found myself dying time and time again after some silly
mistakes and having to do the whole section again, but it wasn't the
games fault. Also you will follow the exact same story as the stealth
side meeting the same characters and finishing it off with a big fire
fight.The question really is, what did you expect? If you wanted a nice expansion to Gears of War 2 you will not find it here, what you will find here is a small introduction video by Cliffy B telling you why some parts of video games have to be cut and then playing said cut piece and realizing that the cut bits don't really make a difference. If however you wanted to revamp your Gears of War 2 multiplayer with seven new maps this is for you. Epic Games have done their hardest to make Gears of War 2 just as good as the first with releasing the Hidden Fronts map pack as well offering all 19 downloadable maps and the deleted scene for only 400 points more. So does this make me feel ripped off that I had to pay 1200 points for the expansion? Well no, because it is worth it if you are a fan of Gears of War or are looking to get back into cutting up some Locust again.