Epic Games' successor to the multiple award winning video game title for the Microsoft Xbox 360 is highly anticipated, and Game Informer magazine's cover story has the details that could leave gamers sleepless for several nights. Luckily, the secrets have been spilled from users at the NeoGAF Forums, and according to Game Informer, Gears of War 2 will be bigger than its predecessor - both literally and figuratively.

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War forges new bonds

First and foremost, Epic Games said that Gears of War 2 will feel more like an actual war than the first. Players will inevitably meet new characters along the way as an all out war escalates between the forces of the Coalition of Ordered Governments and the Locusts. As script writer Joshua Ortega says, "The stakes are raised. This is humanity's last stand. Everything is at risk. Nothing is safe."

Four new characters have been named in particular, though the original four-man Delta Squad will still be present in the story (Baird and Cole won't be with the squad initially, however):

• Tai Kaliso - a spiritual, meditative warrior who's actions reflect deep honorable traditions. He is to serve as new variety in the form of "mystical" dynamicism in the squad.
• Chairman Prescott - currently the leader of the military forces of the COG, whose dictatorial stance became a factor in the survival of the remaining human beings on Sera. Players will finally get to see who's actually more influential in politics and power than Marcus' CO, Hoffman, and be treated to a grand pre-all-out-assault speech by the Chairman himself.
• Dizzy - formerly one of the Stranded, but rescued by COG forces as an enactment of Operation Lifeboat. He joins the COG military frontline efforts against the Locusts in exchange for sanctuary of him and his family inside COG-protected territories. He'll take part in the deployment of Delta Squad by way of a Derrick - one that he's inclined to affectionately call "Betty."
• Maria Santiago - Dom's wife who's shock over the loss of their children resulted in her disappearance among the scorched ruins of Sera. Players already know that she has been the driving factor for the soldier's participation in the war, and they'll actually get treated to finally seeing her in the pixelated flesh.

Also, the original voice actors of the prime four will return to lend their vocal personalities to Gears of War 2, but now they're slated to record their voices as an entire team within the booth to keep the team dialogue as authentic as possible.

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A facelift of the old

 

Speaking of authenticity, even Gears of War 2 will bow down to the original gameplay of Gears of War, though GoW 2 will improve its cover-based mechanics by allowing in-game characters to stick closer to obstructions. And this isn't limited to the player characters either.

Graphics will definitely be stepped up several notches. Epic says that a new Unreal Engine 3 feature known as character lighting will take precedence over the other commonly used lighting techniques. Players will find how the character lighting will give GoW 2 a distinct look and also make the characters stand out more.

The levels will also be roomier, especially in the tunnels leading to the Locusts' origin. More thinking can be used to deploy tact against old and new enemies. That includes new enemies that burrow, use sonic-based weapons, love to hide, and even resurrect fallen comrades.

To level the playing field, players will get to outfit themselves with the best the COG military has to offer in technology. Active reload modes for the new hardware have been slightly tweaked than the older, returning weapons.

The War Journal will now keep full track of achievements - whether they be multiplayer or single-player - and even track in-game collectibles. Gamers are bound to take delight in the clerical bookkeeping for the journal will not only say what collectible you're missing, but also say where you will be able to find it. COG tags are now detailed enough and can be examined to learn who they belong to.

A deeper story seems to be involved in Gears of War 2, but players not wanting to go through the drama will be granted a "shut up" button to skip straight to the action. And take note: your cyber-companion gets a new upgrade, too. The added video screen will allow Anja to update and brief the Squad right on the field, face-to-face.

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Broadening horizons?

It also looks like that Gears of War 2 is no longer aimed at the core audience this time. Epic has revealed that their previous attempts at a Casual difficulty level wasn't casual enough and a new fourth difficulty aimed at the most casual of gamers will be provided.

And casual gamers will be able to play with hardcore vets in drop-in and drop-out co-op modes without need for equal difficulty levels (Hardcore and Casual can mix). Epic says that when the squad is split up, the Casual gamer can resume on level progression at his normal challenge pace, as would the Hardcore player.

Though they have claimed that the game will automatically know what to do when players of differing skill levels have rejoined into a full squad, they haven't actually divulged on how it will all work out.

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More vehicles, monsters

Other details worth mentioning are the introduction of monsters that'll "make the Brumak look like a baby panda bear," plus the return of ramped up boss battles. A COG Centaur Tank, a cross between a military tank and a monster truck (can you say UT's Leviathan?), is not only bound to be depicted in the game. Epic Games says there's a full level where you'd get to roll around in the behemoth.

More updates as we get them.