Gears of War 2 Vehicles: A Guide
Gears of War 2 - More Vehicles!
The original Gears of War didn’t place much emphasis on vehicles overall. There was one driving section, and players often saw the King Raven, a COG helicopter. Besides that, Gears of War 2 was mostly about infantry combat, not vehicle combat.
This is mostly still the case in Gears of War 2, but vehicles do play a bigger part in the game overall and several new vehicles are introduced, although the player doesn’t get to take command of most of them.
Assault Derrick
The Assault Derrick a converted mining vehicle. In the days before the Locust attack the Derrick was used to drill holes for the mining of Imulsion. Now the Derricks have been re-purposed has Assault Derricks, armored vehicles used for the purpose of penetrating into Locust layers so that the COG can launch counter-attacks. Assault Derricks play a major role early in the game when a large force of them is dispatched in an assault which the player, as Marcus, takes part in.
While Assault Derricks are armored, the armor is light. It only protects against small arms fire. Explosives can easily destroy an Assault Derrick. Also, Assault Derricks are driven by conscripts, not by professional soldiers (i.e. Gears).
Centaur Tank
The Centaur is a light tank valued by the COG for its heavy firepower and mobility. Like the Assault Derrick, it is first encountered early in the game. It is also lightly armored relative to its size and therefor vulnerable to most explosives, but unlike the Assault Derricks the Centaur is very heavily armed and can do significant damage to various enemies in the game. The Centaur also acts as an APC.
The player gets the chance to drive the Centaur later in the game. It is vulnerable to anything except small arms fire, but can response with its own cannon, which makes piloting the Centaur more about maneuverability and accuracy than anything else.
King Raven
The King Raven is one of the most frequently used vehicles in both Gears of War and Gears of War 2. It is an attack helicopter which comes in two variants. The standard variant has side-mounted chainguns, a nose gun, and the ability to carry a squad of Gears. There is also a gunship version which cannot carry a squad of Gears but has additional weapons and ammo and is used to support ground troops.
The player never pilots the King Raven, but does ride in it frequently during cut scenes. The King Raven in Gears of War 2 is featured most prominently in Act 1 and Act 5, where entire squads of them go into combat.
Brumak
The Burmak is a massive creature which acts like a tank for the Locust forces. It is encountered several times in the game. Brumaks have no natural offensive weapons besides their immense strength and bulk, but they are often equipped with a huge gun which can penetrate even the heaviest armor and pitted against COG Assault Derricks and Centaurs.
Later in the game the player has the chance to use a Brumak by hi-jacking it. This gives the player access to its considerable firepower and allows the player to mow down hoards of Locust as the game moves towards its climax.
Reaver
The Reaver is a giant flying Locust which is used as a sort of APC. In Gears of War 2 the Reaver is also used on the ground, and in this capacity is has powerful melee attacks. The Reaver usually is controlled by a Drone and also often has a Boomer firing heavy weapons. Reavers are vulnerable to standard gunfire but can take a lot of damage before dying.
Later in the game the player hi-jacks Reavers as a means of transport and fights other Reavers in mid-air while trying to escape from Locust forces.The player isn’t really piloting the Reaver, however, but is instead just riding on it.
