Gears 2 multiplayer details revealed

Epic has revealed four multiplayer modes from Gears of War 2, including novel twists on traditional team deathmatch and capture the flag.

You can also check out loads of new screenshots including graphical comparison shots between the same locations in Gears 1 and 2.

Gears 2 will eventually include 12 maps when it goes on sale, and through those you'll be able to play the likes of War Zone, Meat Flag, Wingman and Guardian.

War Zone is basic team deathmatch, but with five players on each side, while Wingman is five teams of two players each, which sounds like an interesting dynamic.

Guardian, meanwhile, is another five-on-five, except one player on each team is designated the "Guardian", and has to run around spouting pinko lefty nonsense about the environment. Or possibly has to run around without being killed, because once the Guardian dies no one else on his or her team can respawn that round.

Finally, Meat Flag is capture-the-flag with a live character as the flag. A possible example is Franklin, the petrol station "old timer" from Gears 1.

Epic has also said that of the 12 maps, there's a re-jigged Gridlock and maps called River and Security among them.

Another cool detail is that maps will feature portable shields - in effect, giant riot shields that you can also plant in the ground to act as cover.

As designer Cliff Bleszinski has previously said, the cover system is much the same but with a few tweaks - and one of those is that when you snap to cover, you'll be snapped to the corner so you're less open to flanking fire.

For more on Gears of War 2, check out our recent preview and interview with Cliff Bleszinski and Kudo Tsunoda.