Gears of War 2 is quite the fine single-player experience. Multiplayer not so much, what with all the bugs and the exploits that anyone who can look up an instructional youtube video can learn and grief people with. Well that’s all changed now, with the arrival of the promised title update that does away with all the physics-defying and game-breaking malarkey, as well as a few neat extras. And yes, the update itself has already gone live, so fire up those Xbox 360s to get it.

I’ve included the complete list of fixes below, but the main gist of the update is that all of the game-breaking multiplayer exploits have been fixed. No more Ninja Jumps, no more wall-penetrating chainsaw kills, no more unlimited ammo and CERTAINLY no more invisibility. Good on you, Epic!

In any case, here’s the complete (and massive list) of fixes:
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The soundtrack to a video game is the liver in the body of gaming. And by that I mean when it’s screwed, so is everything else. Perhaps it’s my +10 nostalgia goggles doing their thing, but I remember a day when combat themes didn’t sound exactly like one another, and accomplishment wasn’t signified by the reward, it was the little jingle you heard at the end of battle that let you breathe the long sigh of relief.

Perhaps times have changed, for better or for worse. Audio no longer seems to have a significant place in the majority of games, EA Trax is more hip and appropriate for todays generation. Who needs soft, recognisable melodies when you have hard hitting rock riffs from whatever underground rock music those hipsters appear to be listening to nowadays..

Allow me to jog your memory with something everyone will remember.
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While we all like to enjoy games which not only delve into the complex human psyche with a deep and riveting narrative but also lets us play as effeminate girly-boys with zippers, belts and a dark past – it’s also fun to switch your brain off sometimes and just have some fun shooting people. Gears of War 2 gives us the chance to do that and do it beautifully, and it’s a Game of the Year titleholder for that alone – it’s just a shame it’s riddled with tons of multiplayer bugs. But you already know that. Why the long windup, then? Because those godforsaken bugs are finally getting fixed!
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Gears of War 2, "breaking news: skulls look awesome"

So you powered through Gears of War in a day or two with your friends on co-op (or by yourself, you poor lonely soul) on an energy drink rave with spare time on your hands. What next, an old question with an old answer, the sequel.

Gears of War Two, oh boy! Who doesn’t love the great Marcus Fenix, war hero or Augustus Cole the loveable and muscular ebony soldier of brute force….and Dominic Santiago their Hispanic friend. Oh yeah and Baird that really smart white guy, that almost every FPS has, like half-life and Gordon Freeman, or Call of Duty 4 and the entire British army SAS (Special Air Service) team. For all you Halo fans thinking about Master Chief, remember, he MAY be a black guy under that Spartan helmet.

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Gears of War 2 was an excellent follow-up to the first game. It gave more of what was good about its predecessor – more violence, more weapons, more opportunities to royally fuck up the Locust – and added a couple of neat touches that, while unexpected, certainly did not go unappreciated. It’s such a shame, then, that it had to ship with quite a handful of bugs. Bugs that would then go on to seriously screw up multiplayer matches all over the world – that is, if the matchmaking system ever gave you a chance to get into one. Bugs that would be recorded for prosperity, and released via a youtube video, which you can view here.

While the bugs in Gears of War 2 aren’t as bad as those in other games, it is alarming how much of them got past QA. I mean, they’ve got playtesters for this sort of thing, right? And everyone knows that it’s just not enough to deliver a bug-free single-player experience – after all, one of the game’s biggest draws is multiplayer, and any bugs in that will only get your fanbase pissed. Let’s hope these get resolved and fast.