Taking On All Fronts and Dark Corners in Gears of War 2

Published July 27, 2009

When Dom's wife Maria stumbled out from the Locust holding cage, his heart leapt, but his hope played him a terrible trick, clouding his eyes to the awful truth before him. He embraced Maria with joy in his heart.

Welcome to Nowhere!

Only Marcus's raspy, shocked voice snapped Dom out of his happy reverie, forcing the terrible reality upon him. The creature that knelt before him was little more than a husk, an empty vessel whose humanity had been barbarically stripped from her, discarded like so much trash by the Locust.

With a terrible cry Dom sent his love to her eternal rest, a trip born of a bullet from his own hand and a shattered heart. Now, the moment lives as a perpetual nightmare in Dom's mind. His soul sapped, his joy gone, only the sight of the Locust can stir him now, and then, it is only rage he feels. But it is a boundless rage, a never-ending hate for his enemy that fuels his thirst for vengeance. Dom has one goal: kill them all.

The only difference between the All Fronts and Dark Corners game add-ons is the number of multiplayer maps they include.

Gears of War® 2 fans know this moment well, and it's just after Dom's heartbreak that the Deleted Scene, Road to Ruin, included in the All Fronts/Dark Corners game add-on, begins. After Maria's death in Gears of War 2, we see Dom and Marcus walking through the gates on their way to confront the Locust Queen. Road to Ruin covers how they got there.

In a welcome twist, you can choose to creep stealthily through the majority of the mission, clad in Theron Guard armor, or say damn it all and go in guns blazing. Each choice brings with it a very different experience.

The stealth option in particular showcases Gears of War 2 in a different light. After our COG heroes don their Theron Guard disguise, they're able to pass by Locust enemies largely unnoticed. However, if they get too close, the Locust will sniff out their disguise, using their nose rather than their eyes to identify you as human.

This gameplay style is particularly rewarding, though more challenging, when played cooperatively. Timing every action with a friend takes careful teamwork, but it's much more satisfying when you reach the end of a room still secure in your disguise.

You'll need to identify patrol paths, perfect your timing and execute your movements swiftly and efficiently. You'll even have the opportunity to utilize equipment to distract enemies, and so buy yourself the precious seconds you need to slip by unnoticed.

They're not letting the Diner go easily.

While the stealthy approach is largely focused on flitting between patrols, it's not entirely devoid of combat. In the latter third of the level, Dom and Marcus cross paths with an old friend from the original Gears of War.

Alas, it's his unfettered lust for Locust blood that brings all hope of an entirely stealthy operation crashing down. With the floodgates open, the Locust pour forth from all angles, creating some of the game's most intense, long-lasting battles. Expect the full suite of enemies to make an appearance, including standard Drones, Grinders, Boomers, Reavers, Bloodmounts, and even a jaw-dropping encounter with a Brumak on a bridge.

All Fronts and Dark Corners—What's the Difference?
The only difference between the All Fronts and Dark Corners game add-ons is the number of multiplayer maps they include. Both come with the Road to Ruin Deleted Scene. In the case of the All Fronts collection, it includes every multiplayer map for Gears of War 2 period. There are nineteen in all.

Dark Corners also comes with the Road to Ruin Deleted Scene and, of course, the seven brand-new Dark Corners maps, Allfather's Garden, Highway, Memorial, Nowhere, Sanctuary, Way Station, and a remake of the much coveted War Machine.

From Nowhere's desert landscape, punctuated by impromptu sandstorms that obscure enemy targets and your own covert movements, to the cavernous Way Station, the Locust Horde's subterranean waypoint for processing human slaves, the new Dark Corners maps run the whole gamut of multiplayer design: COG-styled, Locust-themed, wide open, closed off, compact, enormous, sniper-friendly, close quarters-focused, and verticality are all represented.

Gamerscore and Horde
With All Fronts and Dark Corners comes 250 additional Gamerscore as well. Of course, you'll find a handful of achievements for completing the Road to Ruin Deleted Scene, but in all, the new achievements are heavily focused on Horde mode. There are eight achievements totaling 200 Gamerscore, so fans of the game's cooperative mode should find plenty of new achievements to hunt.

The All Fronts and Dark Corners game add-ons for Gears of War 2 represents one of the largest, most well-rounded game add-ons for any shooter to date on Xbox LIVE. With seven new multiplayer maps standing alongside the Road to Ruin Deleted Scene, single player, multiplayer, and cooperative play are all fully represented. See you online!

Article by Ryan Treit