Gears of War 2 Developer Talks About Romance in Shooters

Gears of War is currently one of the most popular shooter franchises on the market, having won over a big number of fans due to its hardcore nature and bloody firefights. The first game was a huge success and the sequel, which was just released, is bound to overcome all sales expectations and boost the profits of Epic Games, the developer of the game, and Microsoft, the publisher.

We've heard the lead creator of the franchise, Cliff Bleszinski, talk about a lot of interesting things that were implemented in the sequel to the very popular game. From co-op to new weapons, a lot of things were discussed, but one of the most important ones, the story, particularly the romance, was left out.

This was up until now, as Bleszinski has recently talked with MTV Multiplayer about the very difficult task of implementing a romance and a decent story in a shooter that might look very manly and only focused on gore and violence on the outside. He went on saying that he had wanted to create a lot more complex story in the first title, but it wasn't possible, and this time around, he was really determined to come up with something that would appeal to players both male and female.

"I wanted to put it in the first one, honestly. It was one of the things we didn’t have the confidence in our abilities as storytellers at that time. And we didn’t have the time to get it in there. All that wound up in there was a shot of a tattoo on Dom’s arm and a reference that he might know someone stranded because he was looking for his wife. To put that at the forefront of the new game, you see it right in the opening cutscene. He’s looking right at the picture of him and his wife. It’s really hard to do. I think we did an admirable job of it. Is it a Nicholas Sparks romance? No, it’s not. But there’s a little bit of heart in there. For some reason, Gears seems to have more of a female following than other shooters."

Quite an interesting statement and it's really nice that developers are trying to come up with some intriguing stories through their games. One of the biggest faults of the first title was that it was a pretty mindless shooter, which portrayed big men who only knew to shoot things and curse, with no remorse. But, from what critics say, this new game is certainly more story driven and offers a calmer side to the characters.