And now, three things that are already driving us nuts:

1. People spamming the mortar

The first question we had after Gears of War 2 was announced was, "What are the new guns?" One of our favorites - the mortar - blasts a huge shell into the air and rains down destruction in a wide arc. In Gears terms, it's a less precise Hammer of Dawn. Problem is, people in our group of five were far too eager to wildly fire shells whenever and wherever, causing numerous screen-shaking explosions in every direction. Made it damn near impossible to get a bead on the invading Locust armies. We never died as a result, but holy crap people, lighten up!

2. Locust popping up out of nowhere

Beating a wave of enemies results in a brief pause before another, stronger set of Locust materialize. They generally spawned in the same area, but we died at least three times because Locust popped up out of nowhere, right behind us. Granted, they probably zapped in around a corner or something, but that doesn't make it any less cheap or annoying. Odds are there's a reason for this (really good AI that flanks?) or it's a strange glitch that'll get stomped out for the November 7th release.

3. The cover system is too sensitive

We love cover, as it adds a much-needed layer of complexity to all the mindless shooting action; Gears of War is a game of chess to Halo's checkers. When it's not implemented properly, however, it's hugely frustrating.

In this early demo, Fenix was glued to walls like never before. We'd try to jump back, away or over an enemy only to find him sliding to the nearest cover with a death grip that wouldn't let go. Once in a while is fine, but when your entire team is dependent on everyone else surviving, it's a massive nuisance to be fighting the controls instead of the Locust that are chainsawing your chest in half.

Jul 15, 2008