Official Gears of War 2 achievement list and some other exciting news

Yesterday’s list was incomplete and/or inaccurate. Today, MS released the full achievement list to IGN. The full list and a few other goodies from the horse’s mouth aka Cliffy B. after the jump. I can’t f*cking wait for this game! BODIES AS SHIELDS!!!

Here are three linked achievements

# Complete Act 1 in Gears of War: Unlock Anthony Carmine multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.
# Find 10 COG tags in Gears of War: Unlock Minh Young Kim multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.
# Defeat RAAM in Gears of War: Unlock RAAM multiplayer skin in Gears of War 2.

* Crossed Swords – Points 10
Win 10 chainsaw duels (any mode).
* A Parting Gift – Points 20
Kill 10 enemies with a grenade while down but not out (any mode).
* Pound of Flesh – Points 10
Use a meatshield to save your life 10 times (any mode).
* Photojournalist – Points 10
Submit a spectator photo.
* Kick ‘Em When They’re Down – Points 10
Perform all 11 unique executions on a downed enemy.

At Comic-Con in San Diego, you announced “Linked Achievements” and gave three examples of unlockable content in “Gears of War 2”: the characters Anthony Carmine, Minh Young Kim and General RAAM. Will these be characters in the campaign or for multiplayer only?

Cliff: Well considering that those characters were killed in the first Gears of War, I’d say it’s pretty hard to bring them back for the campaign! Seriously though, these three characters will be unlocked for play in all of the multiplayer modes in Gears 2.

You also revealed the mystery behind the return of Carmine. Speculation ranged from “he was cloned!” to “he wasn’t really dead!” but now you revealed in “Gears of War 2” that Carmine is in fact his brother, Benjamin. How many brothers does Carmine have? Will we see “Charlie Carmine” up next (A, B, C…)?

Cliff: That’s an interesting idea! To be honest I was surprised that players thought we’d clone Carmine or that we’d somehow claim that the bullet through the head didn’t kill him; the answer always seemed so obvious to us that it’s his brother. Benjamin Carmine is just as green and gung-ho as his brother, in fact, he’s even a bit more excitable. Ben has some great lines and moments in Gears 2. His family is a military family and it remains to be revealed exactly how large his clan is.

“Linked Achievements” makes it sound like earning Achievements in “Gears of War” unlocks Achievements in “Gears of War 2” automatically. Is this the case?

Cliff: No. Players’ Achievements in Gears 1 will unlock content in Gears 2, but they won’t automatically give you Achievements in Gears 2.

Do you need to earn these Achievements in “Gears of War” on Xbox 360, or can you earn them in “Gears of War” for Windows?

Cliff You can unlock these characters in Gears 2 if you earn the Achievements in Gears 1 through Xbox 360 or PC, provided you are using the same Gamertag.

Does this mean you are planning a Windows version of “Gears of War 2”?

Cliff: Gears of War is a great franchise first and foremost for Xbox 360, and therefore we’re focusing on that platform for Gears of War 2. We’ve decided we’re not going to do a PC version this time around.

What was the motivation to offer these unlockable multiplayer characters in “Gears of War 2”?

Cliff: We know that fans really liked these characters and thought ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we rewarded Gears fans by letting them play the characters who died in the first game?’

Will there be other ways to unlock these characters apart from completing the necessary Achievements in “Gears of War”?

Cliff: We really wanted to reward the fans who unlocked certain Achievements in Gears 1. This content is truly exclusive and you’re not going to unlock it any other way. Which means no, we’re not going to make you pay for the unlockables – it’s strictly a reward for Gears 1 fans.

There’s been a lot of speculation about those three unlockable characters and if those were just examples of “Linked Achievements” or if there’s more in store. Can you tell us anything more?

Cliff: Yes, the unlockable Carmine, Kim and RAAM characters constitute all of the unlockable content awarded for progress made in Gears 1. We didn’t want to go overboard and create 100 things that you get for playing the first game, but just provide a nice little bonus to those who did play through the first game.

Will there be any unlockable content in “Gears of War 2” earned for playing through “Gears of War 2” itself then?

Cliff: Yes, just like the first game, players can unlock the “Insane” difficulty level by completing the game. I can’t wait for everyone to try out Horde mode on Insane, it is truly one of the most challenging feats you’ll ever play. Also, as players progress through Gears 2 they will have the opportunity to unlock additional characters for multiplayer, including:
# Ben Carmine
# Dizzy Wallin
# Tai Kaliso
# Locust Kantus
# Flame Grenadier
# A new villain that we’ll reveal very soon. He makes RAAM look like a pussy cat.

Here’s an added bonus of some new GoW2 action figures.