With the Dark Corners downloadable content looming just around the, uhh, corner, Epic Games have released the details of their upcoming Gears of War 2 patch, Title Update 4. While not as game-changing as Title Update 3, the latest patch will bring some interesting changes to the game, most notably being experience points awarded for public or private Horde mode and some changes to the Smoke Grenades.
When playing Horde mode, players will now earn experience points when their team successfully completes a wave. Depending on the difficulty level, each successful wave completion will award players between 50 and 125 experience points. Due to the time investment required to play Horde, the amount of experience points earned per hour will be significantly lower than that of multiplayer, and rightly so, but repeatedly completing waves 1-9 could prove interesting. The amount of experience points awarded is as follows:
- 50 points per completed Casual wave.
- 75 points per completed Normal wave.
- 100 points per completed Hardcore wave.
- 125 points per completed Insane wave.
The other changes that caught my eye were the improvements made to the Smoke Grenades and their new cringe effect. Currently, the Smoke Grenades will only cause a player to cringe if they are standing still or walking when the grenade detonates. After Title Update 4, the Smoke Grenades will be a much more useful tool, causing players to:
- Drop the Boomshield, even if aiming while carrying it.
- Drop a heavy weapon, even if it is deployed.
- Cringe while roadie running.
- Cringe while in cover.
Personally, I like these Smoke Grenade changes. With the roll being the only remaining means of avoiding the cringe effect, players will be required to act evasively when defending a position. Furthermore, players can still avoid planted Smoke Grenades with a well-timed roll. The ability to knock the mortar out of the hands of an enemy is also welcome, and will be particularly useful on stages like Fuel Station.
For the full list of changes found in Title Update 4, head on over to Epic’s official Gears of War 2 forums.
Richard Mitchell is a video game addict living in Toronto. He has been gaming for more than two decades, and despite multiple interventions, continues to game today. He has an Xbox 360, a PS3, a Wii, a Nintendo DS, a gaming PC, and a life, and does his best to juggle them all.