E-Day has come once again and the next iteration of Gears of War has arrived in stores to quiet a lot of fanfare. Microsoft expects this to be a big event, outselling some of the major blockbuster films over the past year in terms of weekend sales. In light of this, Microsoft had organized a big launch event for members of their online community and members of the press to be held a secret location in downtown Toronto. My only hint was to just “show up at Bay [Subway] Station and you can’t miss it!” Which I did, and ended up wandering around aimlessly in search of food or drink to pass the time until the event started.

About an hour before the event began, a crowd had gathered in the subway station. People dressed in Gears t-shirts with cog tags around their necks hanging out and talking about what was to come, so I figured I was in the right place. As “Staff” began to emerge from the subway line below and we were all lead down onto the main platforms I finally got a glimpse of exactly where we were headed; an abandoned part of the subway below the current platforms.

As soon as you walk in, you see metal barrels with fake flames lighting and otherwise darkened subway station. There is a subway car on either side of the platform, making sure no one dives out onto the tracks, and while one is empty the other has two tables and a bar, which started to fill up fairly quickly. The platform itself is littered with around twenty 46″ LCD TVs, hooked up to Xbox 360s and all with Gears of War 2 loaded up and ready for play. Multiplayer, horde mode and co-op campaigns were all started and encouraged everyone to just jump in. And they did.

Crowds began forming around each television set, with Xbox Canada community members clamouring for a shot at taking each other down or just getting a first look at the new story. What impressed me most was the civility in which this was handled. Everyone wasn’t just forming a line and acting orderly, but offering controllers to each other, giving hints and tips, and cheering as someone ripped into their enemy with a chainsaw. It was like walking into a strange representation of Xbox LIVE, with people just interested in talking, playing games and having fun without threatening violence or doing karaoke on their headset. Okay, so it wasn’t a perfect mirror of LIVE.

The special guest for the evening was senior gameplay designer for Epic Games, Lee Perry, who seemed excited and nervous for the game’s release. “I keep looking over and just seeing all the flaws…” he said, watching two people running through the co-op campaign, “There is no one more critical about our work than us.” Perry’s involvement in the game was designing pretty much anything that didn’t have to do with the story; enemies, characters, weapons, etc. The fun stuff.

Gears itself showed very well. While I didn’t get enough time with the game to give out any detailed impressions, it plays a lot like its predecessor, but the controls feel a lot tighter and levels more refined. Destructible environments and concussive reactions to explosives make the whole multiplayer experience much more frenetic and exciting, and the cinematics and presentation of the campaign seems to be taking it up a notch from the previous attempt. Horde mode seems like an interesting addition, and generally the game excited the crowd, something that Perry stated was the most satisfying part about making the game and the real judge of how well they did their job.

By far the most surprisingly part of the evening was just how energetic and friendly the community was at the event. While it’s fairly commonplace for people to be courteous at most events, Microsoft ensured that invites went out to those genuinely passionate about gaming and the people involved in it. I met up with some prominent members of the Xbox online community, including a few folks who are featured regularly on the Insider Xbox channel for Canadian events. There were people from all different backgrounds talking about games and getting an opportunity to play a highly anticipated release before taking home their own copies and calling in sick for work.

While not a lot of mainstream press was around, many local TV channels came to the event and did some interviews with Perry, the only evidence of which I found here regarding FutureShop and Best Buy’s halting of Gears‘ promotion. It didn’t help the perception of the basement-dwelling gaming concept having the whole event take place underground, but it was a great event with a community of people who were genuinely excited to be there, sharing their experiences and just having some quality time with Gears of War 2.

Look out for our review of Gears of War 2 sometime next week, where we will assess the game in the categories of “better”, “bigger” and “badass”.