14 DAY TRIAL // With much more of Gears of War 2 expected to be shown to eager gamers at E3 in July, Cliff Bleszinski, the main man behind the development of the team, addressed some concerns regarding the multiplayer performance of the title.
The first Gears of War game offered a bit of an unfair advantage to the host of a multiplayer game, as its lack of connection lag meant that the player could wield a shotgun with much more accuracy that any other in a multiplayer match. The lack of lag also made it easier for the host player to get in some chainsaw kills.
Bleszinski states that "People loved but they didn't like the host advantage. They got tired of the shotgun inconsistencies" so the team decided to make sure no such issues popped up in the sequel. The chainsaw advantage is negated by the fact that now chainsaw duels are introduced whenever two players holding the weapon engage one another. The duels are quick and dirty affairs that allow for a quick kill while also leaving players exposed to the possibility of someone engaging with a long range weapon.
The multiplayer component of the game is also getting a do over so that all the players have the same lag no matter who the host player is.
The matches will now allow having five players on one team, while the original only allowed four players. There are also plans to introduce new game modes which should keep new comers and old players equally entertained after having finished with the single player experience.
Gears of War 2 is being developed by Epic and they aim to have it out by November this year. It's set to be a deeper and darker game than the original, while offering a bigger storyline.