Gears creator, Cliff Bleszinski, raved about the sheer hardcore elements of the game two years ago, but in 2008, the design director touts a new philosophy for its sequel - "Epic, yet more intimate". A trolley-load of storyline, morality and companionship to go with the chunks of bodies laid out by shotgun blasts. Gears of War is growing up.The story takes place a year or so after the events of the original game. The failure of the Lightmass mission is being rewarded by a strengthening of the enemy's resolve. In case you've forgotten, that mission involved a plan to blow up the enemy Locust creatures by planting a huge bomb at their 'hive' - sure, we all know that your actual locust lives in a swarm... but this is a game, darn it!. The Locust now occupy a large chunk of the land of Sera and the last stronghold for humanity, Jacinto, is starting to weaken.Again, the main protagonists are Delta Squad, with Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago leading the fight against the Locust. There's a