Squad commands axed for Gears of War 2, other answers

by Ross Miller { May 22nd 2008 at 1:27PM }

Gears of War 2 designer Cliff "Don't Call Me CliffyB" Bleszinski (note: yes, we have turned his name into a text macro to avoid misspellings) has confirmed with Microsoft's Gamerscore blog that the squad-based commands of the original game have been axed for the sequel.

Bleszinski also talked about the chainsaw vs. chainsaw system, which is not random like the original but based on whoever hits the B button the most. "I didn't want it to be quick time event because I think I'm kind of tired of those in most games," he said. In the video embedded above, he also talked about the use of the crowd system for epic battles and what he likes to label the "summer blockbuster type video game experience." Gears of War 2 is due this November.

Gears of War 2 was just one of the many games Microsoft showed off at this year's Xbox 360 Spring Showcase. Check out our coverage of the event, including new screenshots and hands-on impressions.

Tags: cliff-bleszinski, cliffyb, epic, epic-games, gears-of-war, gears-of-war-2

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 1:33PM

This is gonna be worse than the first one.

xFenixKnightx @ May 22nd 2008 1:48PM

Couldnt be any worse than Haze.

Zing? ;)

And you guys wanna talk about how 360 fanboys troll? Give the game credit. A game doesn't sell millions and win a crap load of awards for nothing.

Jake11 @ May 22nd 2008 1:52PM

what did you write? i can't read your comment, it's all white for some reason.

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 1:55PM

Since when did I ever talk up Haze?

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 1:58PM

Well, I didn't exactly expect to get upvoted Jakey. But sometimes, you gotta take one for the team.

why not the LS2LS7? @ May 22nd 2008 2:20PM

Hey Fenix, take a look down at quickshade.

Neither said can say they don't have trolls on their side. There is a bad apple in every bunch. Get over it.

Misfit Toy @ May 22nd 2008 3:19PM

To use the term "worse" indicates that the first one was bad for some reason. I find that a far cry from the truth. I think Gears of War is an excellent game. I have the PC, PS3, 360, Wii...all that and Gears tops most games on any of those systems.
Resistance Fall of Man, for example, is the only game on the PS3 worth mentioning and I feel, personally, that Gears is a more entertaining and better feeling game (and yes, I own both). To each his own opinion I suppose. But Gears is not "bad", and I only feel that Gears 2 will be BETTER not worse.

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 3:26PM

No, worse just indicates that it is "worse". You can have an excellent game, then a good game, and the good game is "worse" than the excellent one. But these are issues of semantics.

Vcize @ May 22nd 2008 3:42PM

Don't pretend that's what you meant though :P

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 3:48PM

Did I, or is that just what you WANTED to see?

Mike @ May 22nd 2008 4:50PM

I actually didn't like the first Gears of War at all.

The game supposedly has a gun/grenade/melee system, but the guns all felt the same (just point it at the enemy and hold down fire until they die), the grenades were unwieldy and slow, and the melee was too weak to be effective. Thanks to that, the game degenerated down to me popping out from cover, finding an enemy that was supposedly "hiding" but had a body part exposed (which happened *all the time* thanks to the lousy AI), then shooting at them until they fell over. The only saving grace was the occasional chainsaw kill.

I kind of wish the combat mechanics were a little more interesting. Take for example Halo's system, where you have guns that tear down shields, guns that tear through flesh, a stronger melee (with insta-kills to the back), more effective grenades (and you can hold 8 at a time), and enemies like the Hunters and Jackals that had their own unique defenses.

If the enemies in Gears of War had special defenses that made me actually put some thought into where I pointed my gun and which gun I used in each situation (instead of just aiming whatever gun I was holding at their head or exposed body part), it'd be an infinitely more enjoyable game. I wouldn't say no to a more effective grenade and melee system too.

Misfit Toy @ May 22nd 2008 4:53PM

I believe the proper phrase would be "not as GOOD" rather than "worse." Sorry, but "worse than excellent" just doesn't make any sense.

Abuzar @ May 22nd 2008 5:21PM

Aren't ALL guns just point at th enemy and hold down fire. I thought that was how the bullet reached the enemy.

Gehodra @ May 22nd 2008 6:56PM

@Mike

I'll agree on all points except for guns being the same.

Rifle vs Lancer vs Rocket Launcher-dealio vs Torque Bow

Perhaps you meant to weave that into your argument about killing the enemies using the same tactics.

Even so, I still liked the game.

Mike @ May 22nd 2008 8:24PM

@Gehodra:

True, I think I exaggerated slightly with my guns statement. Many of the guns are actually sufficiently unique - the torque bow, the sniper rifle, the shotgun, the rocket launcher, the hammer of dawn, and the chainsaw's melee all feel different - but it really feels like I'm stuck using the chainsaw and the burst rifle thing for most of the game.

Also, RAAM is freaking cheap! I thought the industry matured past the point of giving a boss nearly insta-kill abilities and ridiculous amounts of health.

PojoMofo @ May 22nd 2008 1:36PM

not mentioned but also axed, originality and innovation.

But hey, you get to play a button mashing chainsaw v. chainsaw minigame!!

amart @ May 22nd 2008 2:07PM

not to mention you just plain suck...

LeadBoxx @ May 22nd 2008 3:27PM

Thats as stupid as saying something like..SONY makes Tekken. Wait. Oh yeah you did say that.

Paul (PSN: heypaul) @ May 23rd 2008 2:47AM

I can't wait for button mash chainsaw battles. I expect my turbo controller to positively skew my win percentage considerably.

Vidikron (FU) @ May 22nd 2008 1:39PM

I don't even remember using any squad commands in the first one.

FOXHOUND @ May 22nd 2008 1:43PM

If there were, I didn't use'em...
It probably would've made the game a lot easier..? x_x

Vidikron (FU) @ May 22nd 2008 2:18PM

Well, everyone below is saying they were worthless anyway. I never used them all at all in GoW 1 and my guys seemed to do their thing fairly well anyway.

I spent most of my time playing co-op anyway, so I suppose that has a lot to do with not recalling any squad commands. Co-op what you want to be playing anyway, so screw squad commands.

riggs @ May 22nd 2008 2:36PM

i guess its cause ive only played in coop that i didnt notice/use them.

chimp o death @ May 22nd 2008 5:26PM

Yeah, the squad commands were so basic, that no one would miss 'em, really. The only other choice would be to beef them up to a Brothers in Arms level, which would turn it into a different kind of game.

Darren @ May 22nd 2008 1:41PM

i dont get the stupid comments of "its going to be worse" when something gets axed, its usualy replaced with something better, just because the only thing confirmed is that commands is gone, doesnt mean they havnt put something in its place. stop being such idiots and wait untill the game is released to pass judgement.

and if you think its so easy to be original, why dont you create your own games?

arrrgh @ May 22nd 2008 1:44PM

seriously. kids just need something to complain about.

did someone say rrod? i think they did. ok kids go nuts!

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 1:55PM

RROD!

why not the LS2LS7? @ May 22nd 2008 1:43PM

Good, cause the squad commands never worked anyway. My guys ran out and got themselves killed in annoying ways anyway. Especially in that damn courtyard with the snipers.

Freeze @ May 22nd 2008 1:50PM

DONT CALL ME CliffyB!,my NAME is Cliff Blekinseinsainski

Jake11 @ May 22nd 2008 1:51PM

good. those commands were totally useless. I'm so ready for this game, especially the new weapon-based executions.

ChimpWithAHandgun @ May 22nd 2008 1:52PM

The command system was completely useless, at least on the PC version. Honestly, all they needed was the ability to order player to a location a la Rainbow Six: Vegas. They wouldn't have needed anything more than that.

Jason @ May 22nd 2008 1:55PM

whoever pushes the B button most wins chainsaw duels? yeah ok i predict a spike in turbo enabled controllers come november... lame

why not the LS2LS7? @ May 22nd 2008 2:18PM

I have a turbo thumb. It's cross-platform.

Kweli @ May 22nd 2008 1:58PM

I dont remember commands in the first one..

For Chainsaw battles i would rather have user initiated sequences.... So in multiplayer someone picks a set of buttons to press, then the other guy has to match it... If he does, he gets to pick the next sequence..
At least this way its not random and its like a mini "paper/rock/scissor" game....
I dont like button mashing.... I dont need sore thumbs all the time

quickshade @ May 22nd 2008 2:03PM

MGS4 is going to suck.....people need to grow up, He's setting the standards high, but if you remember GOW had those same standards, and met them.

Zachary Hinchliffe @ May 22nd 2008 2:04PM

9_9

Alex @ May 22nd 2008 2:06PM

0:54...
Am I supposed to KILL that?!

Gamerdad @ May 22nd 2008 2:13PM

Settle down children. We all know the true definition of a fanboy is someone who is too poor to own more than one console and has to keep putting the other one down to keep assuring himself he made the right choice. To El Serpiente, callate la boca y para de mamar a Sony guey lol. Anyway, I for one am really excited about this game. I really liked the first one despite the story being a bit short and the multiplayer got boring after a month or two.

Worst Review Ever @ May 22nd 2008 2:23PM

Did you just tell El Serpiente to shut up and stop sucking Sony dick? Because that would mean he was talking with his mouth full...which is wrong on so many levels.

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 2:31PM

Fanboys = poverty? I have to think really hard to find something said here on joystiq that is dumber than that. Hold on, let me check PrematureAss's posting history...

Mira cabrón, buying one console for me wasn't a financial decision. Well in a way it was, because it appears the 360 is not a sound financial investment. From proprietary hard drives to pay-for-multiplayer, to red ring of you know what, it was a headache I could easily pass on. And the wii? Well, I'm older than 13.

And for the record, I did enjoy Gears of Sausage. I own it for the PC. It just seems like they are making changes just to make changes which never bodes well for a game. But, yes, only time will tell.

riggs @ May 22nd 2008 2:45PM

Gears of sausage eh? must be endorsed by oscar mayer amirite?

xFenixKnightx @ May 22nd 2008 2:40PM

"And for the record, I did enjoy Gears of Sausage. I own it for the PC. It just seems like they are making changes just to make changes which never bodes well for a game."

FULL. OF. SHIT.

Why did you come into this story again? Oh to shit all over it thats why. Mission accomplished jackass.

Worst Review Ever @ May 22nd 2008 2:41PM

el serpiente,
"I have to think really hard to find something said here on joystiq that is dumber than that."

I got it, but I just looked through your history, not PremierAssassin's.

"...if you let what people say on a fanboy ghetto like joystiq influence your buying decisions you are mentally diabled."

Are you sure that you're not the "disabled" one?

PojoMofo @ May 22nd 2008 2:44PM

I would not be a fanboy if the PS3 was not the only console that I can find in a store that wont crap out on me in 3-6 months.

I owned a 360 when it first came out, it bit me in the ass. I would be a Wii owner if I had EVER seen one in a store.

So there ya go.

d-pad @ May 22nd 2008 3:07PM

"Well in a way it was, because it appears the 360 is not a sound financial investment."

And the PlayStation 3 is a sound investment?

Last time I checked, it's a fucking videogame console that depreciates like every other electronic toy.

Also, Gears of War is an awesome game and you bloody well know it. All this hate rhetoric just solidifies how insecure the die-hard PS3 fanboys really are.

Hala Madrid!! @ May 22nd 2008 3:23PM

I own all three consoles, so if you can afford a PS3 you can pretty much afford an Xbox360 or a Wii.
I don't think poor is the right word just call'em cheap.

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 3:34PM

Hey Fenix, if you don't want to hear my opinion, just stand in front of the mirror and talk to yourself. I'm sure you'll be easily amused.

Worst Commenter Ever- I said that. It's true. I don't see how that's anything to be embarrassed about. I know you have a raging boner for me, but please at least try to be clever about it. Fail.

"Last time I checked, it's a fucking videogame console that depreciates like every other electronic toy."

Umm, cars depreciate too. But am I going to spend my money on a crappy Kia or a Toyota that will last me for hundreds of thousands of miles? Most things lose value, some faster than others. You fail too.

You guys are weak.