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Home Xbox 360 updates

Gears of War 2 getting an epic multiplayer patch

9:00 AM on 01.06.2009, Brad Nicholson 18 comments

Gears of War 2 getting an epic multiplayer patch photo
     Xbox 360

Epic’s Mark Rein recently alerted fans on the Gears of War 2 forums that Gears 2 should be receiving a patch this January. Rein said that the patch would address “bugs and exploits” and add “new achievements related to downloadable content.” Rein went on to give specifics but failed to explain how long it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.

The stuff the patch is said to address should save the sanity of the two rational people still playing Gears 2 online. According to Rein, glitches such as “[the] ability to wield an invisible shield, melee through some walls, gain infinite Lancer ammo and equip a shield and a two-handed weapon simultaneously” are getting axed. The boomshot is losing its ability to be fired from the hip directly into the ground. And the shotgun is receiving better “client side hit detection,” earning it the title Lag Slayer once again.

This epic patch is also set to give quitters bigger penalties, players the ability to Sat/Com spot a Submission flag carrier, and provide better “spawn protection” against jerkoffs who plant frag grenades in the holy respawn zone. As if all of that wasn’t enough, DLC-related Achievements will be added and the frequency of the in-game Achievement progress pop-up will be escalated to ensure that little babies are aware of how close they are to getting their token rewards.

[Thanks, DJ!]


Next page: More Gears of War stories




moocow21's Avatar
moocow21 at 01/06/2009 10:31
I hope the patch arrives soon and indeed fixes the issues mentioned above... but if it's anything like Gears of War 1 it will probably just fix a few things, ignore others, all the while people will find even more glitches. Regardless, this patch is needed badly, and it's needed soon. I could care less about the achievements seeing as I think paying for maps is ridiculous.
Logo's Avatar
Logo at 01/06/2009 10:32
I don't understand how this happened in the first place. It's like Epic doesn't know what makes GoW enjoyable. I find the GoW games to have incredibly cliche story lines and a slightly repetitive single player experience. The draw of the series as I see it is the co-op campaign and more notably the multiplayer. GoW 1 and 2 have both had an opportunity to create a very robust multiplayer scene both for competitive and casual people alike. Honestly between the two I think the GoW games offer more for MP than Halo does. It's a unique style that works on a console (compared to Halo being a watered down FPS to make it work) and has great spectator potential.

Yet both games now (1 and 2) have completely screwed this up. It's like they don't realize what their own game is good at or could be good at. GoW 1 had a horrendous online play system. If I remember correctly it was a ranked system where you picked who you played with and against. You might have had a team of 4 playing against 4 Pugs for their points. GoW 2 now has all of these matchmaking bugs holding it back. In addition I hear many of the changes (I haven't really played GoW2 MP) are detrimental to the gameplay and flow (flame thrower and smoke grenades) as well as the inclusion of a button mashing event (chainsaw battle) rather than something more skilled, though at least it's not random.

Really if Epic would just focus on the 4v4 multiplayer and provide good matchmaking + ladder along with gameplay decisions favoring skilled combat they could have a real competitive hit game on their hands to fuel the series for a long time.
Brad Nicholson's Avatar
Brad Nicholson at 01/06/2009 10:47
@Logo - While your criticism is largely valid, I think it ultimately falls to the players to police this stuff. To figure out you can hold up an invisible shield or jump out of a level requires dedication on the part of a player.

But, it does suck when the normal guy who isn't looking for an advantage is getting cheated by these guys.

I don't know if there is a clear person(s) to blame in regards to GoW 2's online glitches.
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 01/06/2009 11:02
GoW2 is a huge bugfest online... no fun to play MP at all :-( either everybody is abusing the "bugs" or just one or 2, either way, they fuck the game up BADLY...
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 01/06/2009 11:06
I love it when developers finally fix their broken games. I'm going to be picking this up soon now!
Clbull's Avatar
Clbull at 01/06/2009 11:14
Will it sort out the problems involving extremely slow matchmaking?
Brad Nicholson's Avatar
Brad Nicholson at 01/06/2009 11:52
@Clbull - Rein doesn't indicate that it will. I'm sorry. :(
Crumpet Lips's Avatar
Crumpet Lips at 01/06/2009 12:01
The matchmaking issues are the things that are fucking me off with this game. I will have a completely open NAT, super-fast internet connection and I will wait in my lobby for 10 minutes before I even get 'player found' on my screen.

Epic FAIL Games better fix this fuck fest, playing Gears 2 online is like being raped over the internet.
Uzzy's Avatar
Uzzy at 01/06/2009 12:33
Well, as one of those two rational (I hope) people still playing GoW2, I must have quite a different experience to some of the people on here.

While I have experienced some of the glitches, and certainly had plenty of times waiting for a while before getting into a game, I've rarely waited more then 3 minutes since the last update. This is still an annoyingly long wait when compared to the likes of Halo 3 or CoD 4, but it's not as bad as it used to be.

Sure, when Halo 3 and CoD 4 can get multiplayer so right, it's bad that GoW 2 has these problems, both in terms of connectivity and glitches. So I'm glad its getting patched. But till then, I'll enjoy my games of GoW 2, and curse those abusing those glitches. Then just shotgun them in the face.
EternalDeathSlayer's Avatar
EternalDeathSlayer at 01/06/2009 13:50
I wish I could experience these matchmaking problems, if only to feel such hatred course through my body like Crumpet Lips.

As it is, I get into matches in under 30 seconds usually.

But the glitches really ruined it this time around.
Happy Chainsaw Man's Avatar
Happy Chainsaw Man at 01/06/2009 14:38
Awesome. Maybe this will be out by the time I'm ready for multiplayer (finished with the campaign).
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 01/06/2009 15:24
Good news, and just in time for me to actually start playing Gears 2 online.
TewDee's Avatar
TewDee at 01/06/2009 17:28
Great. Awesome. Maybe they can get this out before Castle Crashers. Maybe they can also cure world hunger. I dunno.
Noah's Avatar
Noah at 01/07/2009 05:55
Not soon enough for me, already traded it in
jimjo's Avatar
jimjo at 01/07/2009 06:47
@noah

I just cant, that metal case is just too cool
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