Gears of War 2 Might Get Smoke Grenade-Free Saturdays

Gears of War 2 was one of last year's best-selling games, largely due to the massive hype that was generated around it by its creator, Cliff Bleszinski, who promised a bigger and better version of the first title that was a benchmark for Xbox 360 games.

Sadly, many people who bought it found that, while the single-player experience was top notch, the multiplayer mode they expected from the sequel to a game that was still heavily played online wasn't very good. From shotgun problems to the Lancer having too much power, the complaints from fans were quite numerous.

As a result, a variety of title updates were released by Epic Games, which tried to fix the problems reported by gamers. But, while every new patch addressed an issue, there was one complaint that was always left unanswered, regarding the smoke grenades and the stun effect they had on the character of the player.

Now, in a recent post on a thread from the Gears of War 2 forums, which has seen over 3,000 replies, Cliff Bleszinski has spoken about this effect and that several ways of addressing it are being taken into account, with the most concrete one being a “stun-free Saturday” feature.

“We have the option of disabling the ragdoll concussive effect entirely or replacing it with a brief cringe. We can remove it entirely or simply have ‘stun free Saturdays.’ We're going to do a few test days where we see how people feel about the reduction and/or removal and then adjust accordingly. Stay tuned.”

So, it seems that fans who hate the smoke grenade and its stun effect might be tempted to play the game only on Saturdays, and, if it is a popular measure, then it might be extended or even completely addressed with a title update in the near future. What do you think? Is this a good idea from Epic Games? Leave us a comment with your opinion.