'That Scene' from Gears of war 2

[Korovashya]

So we're talking about 'That Scene' from Act 4 of GoW 2. Those that have played it know what I'm talking about, those that don't, consider yourself lucky.

So I was playing Gears 1 for nostalgia and decided to continue on to Gears 2. When it got to that part of the game, I remembered just how badly one of my friends reacted to it, to the point he was actually traumatized by it. I had a different thought. While powerful, I thought it was a well made scene that brought some real character and purpose to an otherwise dull cover-based shooter.

My question is what is your opinion on its inclusion. Too much? Or does it's artistic and storytelling merit allow it? Is it a sign of maturing video games in your opinion, or just a shameful shock attempt to get their game to stand out? What do you think?

 

[monojono]

While I think it was a surprisingly well done scene, it just feels so out of place in gears. You switch between 'emotional cutscene' and 'BOOM EXPLOSION CHAINSAWING DUDES RIDING ON MONSTERS EXPLOSIONS'. The trailers for gears 1 and 2 which attempt to be artsy and thoughtful leave me feeling the same way.

I've got nothing against games doing serious or emotional stories, but if it doesn't carry over into the gameplay then it just feels pointless.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I thought it was surprisingly moving. Wasn't expecting that from Gears.

Dom gets a lot of flak, but I think he has a sad story.

 

[Avatar Roku]

I thought it was surprisingly moving. Wasn't expecting that from Gears.

Dom gets a lot of flak, but I think he has a sad story.

Me too. There were plenty of problems with Gears 2, but I honestly don't feel Dom's subplot was one of them. How it was handled at times, yes, but not the plot itself.

 

[hazabaza1]

Oh, I thought you were talking about A GIANT WOOOOORM RARGHGHAGFGAHGHA.
I guess the whole Dom stuff worked. Didn't really have much effect on me.

 

[T-Bone24]

It worked. A really good show from Epic that they have the potential to make more than "Graww, that man shoot me. I shoot him!".

 

[Tibs]

I really enjoyed that scene. I found it very emotional and enjoyable to watch. My favorite cutscene of every game I have played on my xbox360.

I thought it was pretty well done. Gotta be honest though, why exactly does Dom get so much flak for caring about his wife? For most of the game, he doesn't know if his wife is dead or not. I wouldn't really call it annoying that he worries about her.

He barely mentions her in the first game and then in the 2nd he is all "Where the fuck is my god damn wife!!". Plus, he is all sad about it through the entire game and alot of people found it annoying.

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

Yeah, I was sad when Tai died too.

 

[Thaius]

I thought it was good. Dom is one of those characters who gets a lot of crap for being emotional, but his story is truly tragic and that scene was surprisingly well done. A rather tragically beautiful moment was exactly what that series needed to be taken a bit more seriously.

Incidentally, why do so many gamers call out characters for being "emo" or "whiny" because they have emotional issues? I don't understand how character depth always translates to stupidity. It annoys me.

 

[WayOutThere]

I quite liked that scene. It actually brought some emotional depth to GoW. I'm happy to see the series taking its story seriously.

 

[monojono]

I thought it was pretty good. Not amazingly touching, but it was pretty good, and what the way Dom sees it at first is a good touch.

While I think it was a surprisingly well done scene, it just feels so out of place in gears. You switch between 'emotional cutscene' and 'BOOM EXPLOSION CHAINSAWING DUDES RIDING ON MONSTERS EXPLOSIONS'. The trailers for gears 1 and 2 which attempt to be artsy and thoughtful leave me feeling the same way.

I've got nothing against games doing serious or emotional stories, but if it doesn't carry over into the gameplay then it just feels pointless.

I thought the trailer for Gears 1 was actually really effective, because by itself, it never had that jarring switch to "RRAAAAAAAAAH, I'M CHAINSAWIN YOU IN HAAAAAAAAAAALF!" It ended with Marcus finding himself facing a corpser, and his frightened face lit only by his gunfire as he desperately tried to fend them off.

Seeing that part of the video gave me chills that I was a little disappointed to never have gotten in a Gears game, at least not so far. I don't think his facial expression has ever changed from "Grrrrrr" in the actual games.

While I do enjoy the "BOOM EXPLOSION CHAINSAWING DUDES RIDING ON MONSTERS EXPLOSIONS," it's not what got me interested in Gears of War and I was really hoping for at least a little more of that feeling from the trailer that the player was up against an intimidating force that could believably pose a threat of human extinction, instead of an army of cannon fodder you could chainsaw your way through with ease.

Yeah, i feel the same way: i like the gears gameplay but the cinematic trailers presented something that looked much more interesting. Although it is kind of hilarious comparing the trailer for gears 2, where you see Cole looking at a flower through his rifle, to the cutscene where he appears in the game.

 

[Nomanslander]

Dom gets a lot of flak, but I think he has a sad story.

He gets a lot of flak all in good cause.

Hell, I didn't know what the hell the OP was talking about even though I've played the campaign 4 times now. Adding drama into a Gears game is like adding drama to a Schwarzenegger movie. The material just wanes on the rest of the game, it's shallow and cliched, and Dom's whiny ass can go strap a grenade around his balls for ruining the game for me..Well, like the majority, that's how I felt...-_-

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I've always been bothered by people who complain that Dom is a wimp and bawls too much at that scene. If he didn't act that way, then there would have been something wrong.

His wife is his ENTIRE REASON for fighting this war. He has spent years looking for her because she's all that he has left. His kids are dead (supposedly), his mother and father are dead, all his relatives are dead. On top of that, he's had to watch the love of his life slowly degrade into a hollow shell of herself, until one day she simply vanishes. He has nightmares about what she's doing and what she's gone through the entire time she's missing. Then he finds like that. That will crush any human, and having to kill her himself pushed him past the breaking point. The fact that he can pick up a gun and soldier on is more unbelievable than that entire scene. I still get a lump in my throat when I watch it.

 

[Zantos]

That scene, along with a handful of others, I really liked. I do really like the whole story arc of Gears and all the little subplots in it, but that, and the Tai scene, actually properly moved me.

 

[CaptQuakers]

I found it annoying I hate when lovers interrupt my alien killing time.

 

[LikeDustInTheWind]

Yeah, I was sad when Tai died too.

Nothing can kill Tai but himself! *sniff*