Gears 2: Extra colour doesn't mean game looks like "Care Bears and rainbows and unicorns," says Bleszinski

Gears of War 2 dev lead Cliff Bleszinski, speaking at a recent event for the game in London, said that the use of addition colour in the sequel is more "saturation" bleeding through than brightening the title up.

"I kind of disagree on saying we changed the entire look of the game," he said when asked about the thinking behind graphical changes from the first Gears.

"I still think it very much looks and feels like Gears. I think we've allowed a little more saturation to bleed through. That's not to say we've made the game look like Care Bears and rainbows and unicorns now.

Style changes also included the addition of more open areas, said the developer.

"And also there's more expansive open environments where you see beautiful vistas with trees and mountains in the background, which are things you didn't see a lot of in the first game," he said.

"I get a lot of people saying their memories of Gears 1 were a lot of grey pillars and claustrophobic environments: it made sense to blow things out a little bit in regards to draw distance because the engine was optimized, as well as letting a little more colour bleed through."

Gears of War 2 ships for 360 on November 7. For the rest of our coverage from the event, including play impressions and new shots, click this.