Cliff Bleszinski talks controls, enhanced multiplayer in Gears of War 2 (page 2 of 2)

There were some complaints of players getting "stuck" to walls when trying to hide behind scenery. How will you refine that?

I felt like the Gears cover system worked like 85 percent of the time and we want to get as close to 100 percent as we can. We also offer an alternate control scheme, which is pretty similar to Uncharted, where we decouple the cover and the evade button so players can have those on separate buttons if they want.

So you played Uncharted and thought their cover style was a good idea?

Well, we thought some players would want it. Personally, I can't stand it. I like our system, but it's okay to have that option. I don't like my Y-axis inverted but some people do, so we want to make everybody happy.

What feedback did you receive from the multiplayer modes in Gears 1?

People loved it but they didn't like the host advantage. They got tired of the shotgun inconsistencies. We're fixing all of that. They didn't like the randomness of the chainsaw, so we put the chainsaw duel in -- may the best man win! A lot of players wanted respawning, but we added in some modes for downloadable content on Gears 1 that added respawning, but even then it was a 15-second cue. So we have game modes now, like Guardian, where players cycle in and out a lot more often. And Wingman, which is kind of like our version of Last Man Standing Free-for-All, where you have five teams of two each. So it's you and a buddy versus the world, which feels really good. We've added a lot more depth to the multiplayer.

It sounds like there will still be 4 on 4 matches, but will there be new game modes or other multiplayer features?

We're doing 5-on-5 and with all of the other modes if you fill it up you have 10 players. Once you have the matchmaking in there it's really nice.

What does this do to multiplayer?

You know, it doesn't change the game too much, to be honest. It makes it a little bit more exciting, but it allows for two more friends to come in and kick ass with everybody. The great thing about playing Wingman, for instance, is that when I normally play the game and I'm on one team I only have five possible guys I can kill and four buddies that can help me. When I play Wingman I've got one buddy and there are eight possible guys I can kill. You can get a lot more kills and it's a lot more gratifying. At the same time, you can flank a lot easier.

It seems like close-quarters combat has seen an overhaul, based on the GDC teaser video. Will close-quarters chainsaw battles see any changes?

To be honest, it's just a really intense moment because you don't always expect it to happen. What happens is when you come at somebody with a chainsaw and they're just holding the chainsaw, it will automatically engage in the duel. The guy doesn't have to press B to engage in the duel initially. And then of course he needs to press the B button to win. We've tightened it up a bit since it was last demonstrated. It's a little bit faster now. In multiplayer, the length within maybe 200 milliseconds or so is basically the same as if you were to chainsaw and win somebody. The time that you spend dueling, once a guy wins he slices through the other guy really quickly. That's by design so that you're not a sitting duck for five seconds, since you're no longer in God mode when you're chainsawing, which is important to keep in mind. In keeping with all of that, it's a nice way to solve the whole random thing with the chainsaw when players go at each other. It's a cool cinematic moment to see the chainsaw teeth grinding on each other with the sparks and the sounds and everything.

Based on what you've announced so far, what are you most excited about players experiencing with Gears 2?

I want them to see how it ends. I want them to spend more time with the guys in Delta squad, Carmine and everybody, too. I want them to get to know these guys better and I want them to enjoy the cool places we take them in this game. I want them to enjoy the roller coaster of the campaign mode and then take a friend in and play with a friend. That's the great thing about co-op.

What are you playing now?

I've been playing Boom Blox and that is really f*cking fun. My girlfriend and I are knocking down each other's towers or we'll play the little puzzle mode where you have to knock it down in one shot. That game is really freakin cool. I beat Condemned 2, which I really enjoyed.

You were telling me about that game at E3 last year.

It's such a dark game but I get a kick out of it. I like that genre. Once you get too dark it limits your sales.

Like Manhunt.

Exactly. It goes from being war to snuff. That's the thing, Gears is not snuff. Gears is definitely war. I thoroughly enjoyed Condemned. I love the idea of an alcoholic bum protagonist. That's cool.

Comments [126]

post a comment

JuicySpock8O

These graphics look like shit ! I thought this was going to be bigger and more badass ,but I am starting to realize its going to be a major letdown ! 5 vs 5 online , What a joke ! Hopefully they fix the hit detection in multiplayer ,and host advantage .I smell another Halo 3

themave

Nice interview, sounds like they are really working on tweeking the game, should be great, don't want a whole new game gow was great as it was, expand and refine, sounds good to me.

The_Boxman

These graphics look like shit ! I thought this was going to be bigger and more badass ,but I am starting to realize its going to be a major letdown ! 5 vs 5 online , What a joke ! Hopefully they fix the hit detection in multiplayer ,and host advantage .I smell another Halo 3
Those screenshots are just really bad and fuzzy. If you've seen the gameplay video they look A LOT better. And if you've played Gears you know having 16+ people around at once would definitely not work.

Akontheorc

Resistance 2 will fall to this game. 30 v 30 online will be laggy and hecktic. 5 v 5 is perfect.

artsaber

Give me Resistance2, but I will play them both. If Gears is bad with only 16 players that is just poor closet box level design. If Resistance 1 can successfully make a 20 vs 20 match go smooth and appear uncrowded, then why is it impossible for Gears? 5 vs 5 is lame shit and a step backwards.

artsaber

Akontheorc Posted at: 06/18/08 at 1:45 PM PST Resistance 2 will fall to this game. 30 v 30 online will be laggy and hecktic. 5 v 5 is perfect.
You're an idiot. Resistance 1 was 20 vs 20 and runs butter smooth with Zero lag. What do you connect your consoles with a dial up modem? TOOL. 30 vs 30 Resistance2 will break people up in squads and each squad will have different objectives at different points on the map. Other squads may assist, etc. but it will be organized in that way.

Post a Comment