Gears of War

[ivan2]

Originally posted by: peritusONE
Newsflash!!! The hardest difficulty on GoW is impossible without a mouse.

 

[gar655]

I suck! I can't get past RAAM on the easiest level. :-( Of course it doesn't help when playing solo that your AI partner is a f*cking retard! GOW2 is much better in this regard.

Anyway I still suck at shooters.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: ivan2

Originally posted by: peritusONE
Newsflash!!! The hardest difficulty on GoW is impossible without a mouse.

I played GOW on PC with the gamepad and did quite well on it. I was still able get off super fast headshots, so I assume the game has some type of auto aim.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: Pheran
Wow, I wasn't expecting this at all. I finally another one of the flagship 360 games (GoW 1). I'm playing the single player game on Hardcore and it's making me want to pound my head against the wall. I'm not the best gamer, but I can normally play on middle-difficulties (I finished Halo 3 on Heroic without too much trouble). Not only are the some incredibly difficult and frustrating areas, but checkpoints in stupid places are making me want to punch the developers in the face. Yes, I really wanted to see that cutscene/dialog twenty times as I try to get past an area! GRRRR.

Through shear perseverance I've made it to the end boss battle (General RAAM). This is freaking ridiculous, I've died more times than I can count and as far as I can tell I've barely put a dent in the guy (yes I understand the stupid birds make him invulnerable).

I was really looking forward to playing this series, but if GoW2 is this craptacular I won't even bother with it.

GoW2 is a great improvement of GoW. If you wanna play at higher difficulties, we're Friends on XBL... but I work third shift so it's either gotta be in the mornings or on weekends. I'm a bit rusty, but would be happy to play through with you.

 

[S Freud]

Originally posted by: Pheran

Originally posted by: Kev
I definitely agree with the cutscenes issue. I remember there was one part underground that I had to play like 20 times, and each time I had to watch the same stupid 5 minute intro scene. I got so annoyed that I had to mute the TV during it.

Yeah, I guess I didn't make myself very clear, because most people are missing the point. Most of the game difficulty on Hardcore was fine, there were just a few huge difficulty spikes coupled with horrible choices in checkpoint placement that really pissed me off. The prime example is probably what you are talking about - there's an underground pumping station at the end of Act 3 that is just full of Theron Guards that will 1-shot kill you. After the last checkpoint before this, you have to listen to a conversation about the Imulsion value, then you have to go grab a Torque bow, then listen to another conversation about the pumping station, then go through a conversation/cut scene about a Theron Guard. Would it have killed them to put another checkpoint AFTER all that stuff? That is just plain bad game design.

The other thing that bugs me about this game is that the plot is the most paper-thin incomplete thing I've ever seen. I never would have had any idea why Marcus was in jail had a I not read the three-paragraph blurb in the manual (they can't even be bothered with a starting cutscene with background?). I had no idea where the Locust came from or even that I wasn't on Earth until I read it in some game review. Even worse, Marcus goes through his own home and never comments on it or his father, not even to offer tactical information about the floor plan. I don't expect a novel in a shooter, but Halo 3 beat this plot by a mile.

I wouldn't even bother to rant about this if it wasn't for the fact that this game is considering a flagship title on the 360 and it has a bunch of review sites giving it 10/10. I guess I shouldn't have believed the hype, because I would probably give it a 7 at best.

Oh well, ignore my rant and return to your regularly scheduled gaming.

One of the opening cut scenes is Dom rescuing marcus from jail so I don't get your point there. It has been a while since I played the first one but I thought that he also comments about it being his dads house also.

 

[BD2003]

I know in GoW2, you can press the select/back button to skip cutscenes, which was totally non-obvious....I wonder if you can do the same in GoW1?

 

[Pheran]

Originally posted by: BD2003
I know in GoW2, you can press the select/back button to skip cutscenes, which was totally non-obvious....I wonder if you can do the same in GoW1?

Pressing X will skip some of them, but a couple of the ones before the pumping station are not skippable.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
you simply aren't very good.

i mean it's tough but it's far from "impossible" to finish. i played it on that my first time through solo and didn't have a problem, you just have to play smart and take your time.

:thumbsup: especially the bolded. The pumping station, the one wretch attack in the minds, and the fight in the Fenix mansion, are the hardest parts on insane IMO.

RAAM you don't even have to glitch to beat, but you should be good with both the sniper and bow, and have mastered the perfect active reload, to beat him alone that way. I would just hit him with a bow shot to scatter his Kryll, then headshot him, rinse and repeat as quickly as possible. Often you can get another clean bow hit in with the sniper before they cover him again. or better yet he points at you, they attack, and then you get to tag him with some actives from both. When he did reach me, I'd mix in frag grenade and blind fire magnum.

The Reavers shooting at you are a PITA though, and sometimes RAAM just walks right up, no hesitation, or stopping, and then you are lucky to make it to the other side before the chaingun or Kryll get you. Just makes it a more fun and challenging fight IMO.

I don't like an overly easy end Boss fight, it makes the whole experience feel anti-climatic when that happens. Which is one reason I like the first Gears campaign better than the second overall. Gears2 just doesn't have the same intense fire fights, and the A.I. doesn't seem as aggressive. In Gears1, the grubs would attack you a lot, charging right in with the shotty. In 2 it seems like I can camp much more often and not get overrun for doing it. You can just comfortably splat heads with the sniper almost the entire game.

 

[PricklyPete]

I played on a reasonable difficulty rating and couldn't have enjoyed it more. It was no Bioshock...but it was a load of fun. Stop playing at the hardest level if it bothers you so...they make that particularly hard for a reason.

 

[artemicion]

Originally posted by: Pheran

Originally posted by: Kev
I definitely agree with the cutscenes issue. I remember there was one part underground that I had to play like 20 times, and each time I had to watch the same stupid 5 minute intro scene. I got so annoyed that I had to mute the TV during it.

Yeah, I guess I didn't make myself very clear, because most people are missing the point. Most of the game difficulty on Hardcore was fine, there were just a few huge difficulty spikes coupled with horrible choices in checkpoint placement that really pissed me off. The prime example is probably what you are talking about - there's an underground pumping station at the end of Act 3 that is just full of Theron Guards that will 1-shot kill you. After the last checkpoint before this, you have to listen to a conversation about the Imulsion value, then you have to go grab a Torque bow, then listen to another conversation about the pumping station, then go through a conversation/cut scene about a Theron Guard. Would it have killed them to put another checkpoint AFTER all that stuff? That is just plain bad game design.

The other thing that bugs me about this game is that the plot is the most paper-thin incomplete thing I've ever seen. I never would have had any idea why Marcus was in jail had a I not read the three-paragraph blurb in the manual (they can't even be bothered with a starting cutscene with background?). I had no idea where the Locust came from or even that I wasn't on Earth until I read it in some game review. Even worse, Marcus goes through his own home and never comments on it or his father, not even to offer tactical information about the floor plan. I don't expect a novel in a shooter, but Halo 3 beat this plot by a mile.

I wouldn't even bother to rant about this if it wasn't for the fact that this game is considering a flagship title on the 360 and it has a bunch of review sites giving it 10/10. I guess I shouldn't have believed the hype, because I would probably give it a 7 at best.

Oh well, ignore my rant and return to your regularly scheduled gaming.

I remember some review sites got some flak for giving GoW 1 awesome reviews (including praising the story), then it sort of became generally accepted in the gaming community that the GoW story was kinda lame, then the gaming sites basically hopped on the bandwagon and criticized the GoW story. I think I'm thinking of IGN in particular, but I dunno.

Complaints about the story aside, I think the gameplay is pretty awesome. It's a generally reliable source of fun to pop GoW 2 in and play a round of Horde.

Currently going through GoW 2 solo on insane, and I can definitely empathize with the frustration part. You get to some points where you feel like you're just stuck and will never get past. I think GoW 2 was better designed in the sense that I think there's a checkpoint after every lengthy cutscene. But you can also hit 'back' to skip cutscenes - can you not do that in Gears 1?

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: Pheran
The other thing that bugs me about this game is that the plot is the most paper-thin incomplete thing I've ever seen. I never would have had any idea why Marcus was in jail had a I not read the three-paragraph blurb in the manual

I never actually read the manual. It really says why he's in there?

 

[Pheran]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: Pheran
The other thing that bugs me about this game is that the plot is the most paper-thin incomplete thing I've ever seen. I never would have had any idea why Marcus was in jail had a I not read the three-paragraph blurb in the manual

I never actually read the manual. It really says why he's in there?

Yup, it say he disobeyed military orders to try to rescue his father, but that's about it.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: Pheran

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: Pheran
The other thing that bugs me about this game is that the plot is the most paper-thin incomplete thing I've ever seen. I never would have had any idea why Marcus was in jail had a I not read the three-paragraph blurb in the manual

I never actually read the manual. It really says why he's in there?

Yup, it say he disobeyed military orders to try to rescue his father, but that's about it.

That is because, like Halo, for anyone interested in the actual story and the characters involved, you will have to read the books. The Halo books have really fleshed out its universe and characters, for me.

It is all part of trying to make these games as profitable as movie franchises. They use the formula- toy and other product merchandising, book deals, and, movie instead of video game, tie-ins.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: Kev
I definitely agree with the cutscenes issue. I remember there was one part underground that I had to play like 20 times, and each time I had to watch the same stupid 5 minute intro scene. I got so annoyed that I had to mute the TV during it.

Concur. I also hated a handful of the checkpoints but for the most part, they were OK.