Bleszinski on Gears 2's vehicles: "If people want a tank, just give them a tank"

Gears of War 2 dev lead Cliff Bleszinski, speaking at a recent London press event for the game, has admitted that the vehicle section in Gears of War could have been better, but that the sequel more than makes up for any disappointment.

"The Krill sequence was just 'alright,'" he said. "It was one of those things we were trying to do that was an original twist on the 'you drive, I'll shoot' formula, and it turned out just to be kind of 'there.'

"This time around we brainstormed which type of vehicles we were going to do and we were like, 'If people want a tank, just give them a tank. And well, Metal Gear tank happened, let's twist it and make it ours. Well, let's give it giant monster truck wheels.'

"So it's bouncing up the mountain, and everything like that. Suddenly when you start combining active reload and a faster tank shot with a snowy environment and the occasional icy lake, and crowd-locusts that you're power-sliding through and knocking over trees and doing jumps, suddenly the level starts getting cool."

Locust creatures were also added as rideables for the second game.

"We were like, 'Alright, what else can we do?' Well, we've always wanted to see how the guys get on with some of the locust creatures, and have a sequence when you're on reavers, when one player's on one reaver and one player's on another, and then the ultimate: the brumak," Bleszinski added.

"We call them sorbets. They're palette cleansers between the main courses of combat. They really switch up the pace a little bit. It really made sense to do a better job."

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.