Gears of War 2 - All Fronts DLC

The lost chapter is the main selling point of this new DLC release. Appearing as a separate mode on the main page when loading up the game, the chapter begins with an introduction by none other, than Mr Cliffy B (chief man of Gears). After a short edited cutscene, you find that (and a major story spoiler is to follow if you haven’t played the orginal story, so beware!) this lost chapter fits in after Dom and Marcus find out the truth on Maria’s condition.

After the cutscene, you are given the choice of whether to sneak in to locate and destroy the queen by disguising yourself as the enemy, or by going in all guns blazing. For a first try, and to test out this new game mechanic for Gears 2, I firstly opted for the sneaky stealth way. Whilst not being Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid espionage worthy, the mode plays really well, as you slowly advance from cover to coveravoiding the patrolling guards, until you stumble up and have to wipe out a small army after an unpredicted “drop”.

Without spoiling the entire chapter, it’s nice to see a familiar face giving mouth to our stealthy infiltrators when they descend into the pen area. After a brief “chat”, he then joins the force and jumps feet first into the action, seeking revenge against the captors. Facing a new horde of guards ready to come and kill you and with a new companion breaking your stealth cover, the sneaking goes out of the window in favor for all out war, where you take it to all the familiar faces from the Gears 2 arsenal.

After completing the mission, you’re greeted with a short cutscene wihere our new found friend disappears and the story mode kicks back in. You’d be none the wiser of the goings on with the way the missing chapter has been cleverly edited. Makes you wonder just why they left it out to be honest, as it’s a fantastic piece of work with great set pieces.

A second play through on the all guns blazing option was decent, where you miss some of the FMV sequences in favour of gung ho action. Playing this way, you don’t appreciate the chapter and the way it has been designed to include the espionage parts, but if you really enjoy taking it to the Locust hordes, then this will satisfy with swarms of enemies, ranging from the smallest (tickers) right the way to gallactic and monumental heights of the Brumak.

All in all, a cracking addition to the game. As a stand alone DLC, it’s decent but we haven’t even worked our way to the best bit yet. This pack also includes ALL of the downloadable map packs AND new ones too! That’s right, the Snowblind, Combustible and Flashback map packs are all included, totaling 2000ms points worth of content (or £17, $24.99, €23.26).

So, is the content worth purchasing? Well, if you’re a newbie and are enjoying the Gears of War 2 online multiplayer, then definitely, there’s loads of hours and extra maps to keep you occupied. If you’ve purchased the previous map packs, then essentially, the value for money-o-meter is running low, as all you would be getting, is an extra level, not particularly long and one you’re not likely to replay and 2 new maps, which at the time of review, was difficult to find opponents on due to being a pre-release copy. A fantastic bundle which rewards the frugal gamers more than the hardcore Gears fan base.