Vacations almost over.....bummer.

Well it's Saturday. Just one more full day left of my vacation before I have to go back to the job. And I can honestly say that I really don't miss that place at all. I could quit if I wanted and it wouldn't bring a tear to my eye. But the way the job market is....as much as I hate it, I don't know if I could get another job quickly. So I need to hold onto what I've got and try to live off of that. And with X-mas around the corner....I need money.

In other news. Got that sweet ass Lancer replica from amazon.com the other day. The thing is awesome. It weighs about 10 lbs and is life sized. So now all I need is some real COG armor then its time to go grocery shopping! muwahahha

Speaking of Gears. For those that don't know, theres a review on the front page that I wrote. And I wanna thank J-cat, Doodi and the rest of the review staff for giving little old me the chance to write a review for such a big game. Im sure my skills are nowhere near perfect, but practice makes perfect. And I was by no means an english major in college.

I'm gonna share a few things I love and don't really care for in gears 2 multiplayer.

Things I love:

1.) the lobby system: w00t. I don't have to shut down the room when I wanna change the gametype anymore!!! And we can go into public or private matches on the fly! woohoo!

2.) the bots: I've gotta say Im glad they included bots this time around. Now we can fill in those blank spots on clan night if needed, or I can practice by myself with some bots on Insane. Too bad they always take the weapon I was gunning for.......bastards. They do their job well most of the time. But then sometimes they are about as dumb as a bag of wet hammers. 5 stalemates in a row can be very tedious.

3.) the game mechanic changes: I love the shotgun now. Its effective at the ranges it needs to be. Not halfway across the map. My 1 complaint is how many shots it can take to drop someone coming at you with a chainsaw revved. I love stopping power. Oh you're gonna run at me with that little shotty? have some active reload lancer all up in yer grill bitch. Dropped. Nice. Now I can choose from about 11+ ways to kill you. Do I wanna punch you in the face, shoot you, pull your head off, curb stomp you, set you on fire...etc...etc.. There's just so many options now.

4.) grenades as proximity mines: I love and hate this feature. Its great when you are setting up a defensive perimeter and thats you're last line of defense, and its great if you're on the run and need a quick distraction to give you some breathing room. I just hate having to cross my fingers anytime I go through a doorway, hoping my ass won't end up around my earlobes thanks to someones frag tag. hehe. Being able to blow someone else up when you are on your knees is fun too. A great way to martyr yourself and get a kill or 2 as you die. Just tap the right trigger if you were holding a grenade when you were downed, and the enemy is within range. You will both blow up. You will laugh, he will not.

5.) the maps: I can honestly say...for the first time ever...that I like all of the maps that came with the game, and the free DLC. Some maps lend themselves to particular gametypes better than others, but overall they all offer something different.

What I don't care for:

1.) the people bitching that its not like Gears 1. No....no its not. You see that 2 next to the title logo? That should be a big hint its not Gears 1.

2.) the public matchmaking not working worth a damn right now. Not that I care, but I would've liked to get those few public achievements before everyone becomes god-like in the game.

3.) Not being able to lock a private room to invite only. This topic slapped alot of taints in the main forum, and unneccessarily I think. I probably didn't word my expressions enough or really break it down enough. So I will do so here. I don't have a problem with people on my friends list joining, if they at least send me a message asking if they can join or if they are in my clan. This is for people on 2old2play, off 2old2play, personal friends, whoever. If you are on my friends list....I would like a message asking if you can jump in. You don't know what I've got going on in my room. I could be hosting a clan night, a tourney, a inter-clan meet & greet. You just don't know. So shoot me a message. If you just jump in, don't get upset if I ask you to leave. And if you jump in my room and start inviting people I don't know, prepare to be booted without explanation. I won't always ask people to leave because sometimes I just don't care. But the majority of the time I would like an invite. My rooms are only open for anyone to join because I cannot lock it. People didn't complain about it in Halo 3 when I had an invite only room, and people didn't complain about it in Gears 1. So it should be no different here. Please ask before entering.

The bigger issue with this is that friends of friends can join. And not everyone on 2old2play has just 2old2play people on their friends list....and this open room thing means their friends can join too. I am totally not kosher with this. Yes I can boot them, yes I can ask them to leave. But why can't I just push a button or choose an option that can take that headache away? I dunno. So someone asks "hey can I bring a buddy in" sure ok why not. Then they jump in....and 2 or 3 others that no one knows except for the invited friend jump in....it get hectic and retarded. I don't care for that.

Its nothing personal. Its not that I want to only game with a select few...I've got 97 people on my friends list. Majority of them are 2old2play, some of the are not. Do I have a problem with any of them joining my room? Not at all....they wouldn't be on my friends list otherwise. BUT......I would like a quick message asking if they can join. I expect that from everyone. Just a quick text message with 3 little letters. INV.

4.) The seemingly god-like powers when someone comes at me with a chainsaw. In Gears 1 almost anything would stop the chainsaw dead in its tracks....a sheet of paper, or a quick gust of wind would cause the chainsaw to hickup and power off. In Gears 2 it almost requires an act of God now to disengage that evil device. Basically if you see someone coming at you, dive back and then unload furiously into him. It might drop him or discourage him from pursuing you further. But not always.

5.) The bots: yes I loved them earlier....but I do have to say. They can be really smart and precise at moments....handle the situations with greater skill than a human could. Then sometimes they just seem to be suffering from full-on retardism. Blowing themeselves up with the torque bow, never throwing grenades even though they take them out and act like they are gonna toss them. Running out into the open to be 3-downed by another bot. Running back and forth between 2 spots of cover....and only those 2 spots. We....Todd....Edd. Now repeat all very fast.

Despite the few issues I mentioned, I'm overall very happy with this game. The new play mechanics and weapon changes have made the gears MP experience a much different and better animal than it was in the first game.

I just hope Epic sticks to their guns and only fixes what really needs to be fixed. The roadie run & cover system is fine....leave it alone. The shotty is fine....leave it alone. Just fix the matchmaking and the weapon pickup & invisibility glitches and I'm golden.

- Gat