Summary

The first Gears of War, released in 2006 for the Xbox 360, was one of a kind. Thanks to its cinematic presentation and a solid cover system, the game was an instant classic to all third person shooter fans. It was the most innovative series on the Xbox 360. Now of course every largely successful game earns itself a sequel, and so we got Gears of War 2 two years later. Although this addition to the series takes very few risks, you gotta love the new modes and contributions to the formula to keep it going strong.

Gears of War 1 followed a more B-movie war movie approach while this game changes it up a bit and goes for a more "humanity's last stand on earth" sort of feel to it. Taking place six months after Lightmass bombing at the end of the first game, the Locust Horde has survived and has renewed their war on Humanity, and through unknown means begun to sink entire Human cities. Even Jacinto, humanity's last stronghold is at risk. With the COG army continuing to lose large numbers to Locust raids, the COG start the Operation: Hollow Storm, a counter-attack against the Locust by sending gears in Grindlifts deep below the surface to kill the remaining Locust that survived the Lightmass Offensive. The story isn't the greatest, but it's more interesting than the story in the first game with a better told story and more intense action.

Like the first game, you take control of Marcus Fenix and are assisted by Dom (player 2 in co-op) throughout the campaign. There are a total of 5 acts to play through again but the whole game will take you around 7-8 hours to complete (time may vary depending on difficulty). The whole campaign is intense and the game looks as good as the original, although the improvements in visuals are almost unnoticeable and there is still a lack of color and too much brown and grey. The environments you visit are varied spite the fact that much time is spent underground. You start off in a city, to a mountainous region, underground, inside a giant worm (you read that right), and much more. Like I said, much of the game is spent underground but no two areas look the same and the campaign is a blast to play through. Co-op mode is back of course, and like the first, the campaign is even more fun to play with a friend by your side.

If you've played the first Gears of War back in 2006, you probably know what to expect from the gameplay. Sadly, as intense as it still is, the game takes too few risks in the gameplay department. Most of the game is based around the cover mechanic, forcing you to take on your firefights with more precision rather than running and gunning. Your health recharges when you stay out of the line of fire but trying to rush and avoiding the cover mechanic is punishing. There isn't too much new added as said, but minor things like taking enemies hostage after they are down (yeah, enemies can get knocked down and possibly revived by a teammate this time), multiple new melee that finish off your target, and WAY more weapons than before (like portable mini guns, flamethrowers, mortars, shields, etc.). New enemies join the fight like Grinders (specialize in mini guns) or Flamers (specialize in flamethrowers). All this stuff is nice and it keeps the game varied and interesting, but the core gameplay plays it safe and not much is new. Well, you know what they say: "if it ain't broken, don't fix it".

Multiplayer makes a return with returning modes like Execution, Warzone, Annex and King of the Hill as well as three brand new modes; Guardian (just like Assassination from the first game, where you must eliminate the opposing team's leader, although this time you don't get to respawn once your leader is dead), Wingman (deathmatch that splits all players into 5 teams of 2 instead of 2 teams of 5 like the other modes) and Submission (players must take down an AI controlled enemy and carry him to the goal for a certain amount of time). Multiplayer has some unique modes to offer and can occasionally be fun, but the game's online presentation is weak. It can be difficult to join a game at times and the game lags severely online, ruining any fun to be had. Luckily you also have the option to play against bots offline if you want to see how the multiplayer works.

Probably the best addition to this sequel is Horde mode. This is a survival mode like Halo's Firefight or Call of Duty's Nazi Zombies where your goal is to hold off and survive as long as you can. This time, there is a limited amount of rounds (50 to be exact), you can restart a round if you fail, and you can save and come back later if you want to as well (offline only). Once again, although fun by yourself, you'll find yourself enjoying it a lot more with friends either online or off. This is where Gears of War 2 shines the most.

Gears of War 2 is an intense action shooter that you will surely enjoy if you like third person cover shooters like the first game. Although it is brought down by a poor online performance and it is afraid to take many risks to differentiate it from the first, the campaign is as fun as ever and Horde mode is an excellent addition to the series, as is the ability to play against bots offline. If you like the first Gears of War, then this worthy sequel is worth picking up just to see the story continue (before you jump into Gears of War 3).

Summary

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Contains: Strong Bloody Violence and Intense Threat
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Gears of War 2 is a third-person sci-fi shooter with an emphasis on tactical use of cover that takes place 6 months after the Lightmass bombing at the end of the first game, where the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) continues to fight against the Locust Horde.

The Locust Horde has survived and renewed their war on humanity, and through unknown means have begun to sink entire human cities all over the planet Sera. Even Jacinto, humanity's last stronghold, is at risk. Leading to a ferocious battle that calls upon heroes to complete God's work, Sergeant Marcus Fenix leads Delta Squad into the depths of the planet to try to stop the Locust during the assault upon Locust territory, where the destiny of mankind and their future lies solely in their hands. What is good about the story this time around is that it gets personal, especially for Marcus' best friend and fellow squad mate Dom, who is on a separate mission of his own at the same time to find his wife. The characters, especially the two leads, will certainly get you deeply connected to their efforts, and you'll want to see victory in the face of evil.

Just as last time, Gears of War 2 is a tactical sci-fi shooter played from the third-person perspective, and it keeps a sense of familiarity to the elements of gameplay from the great first game of the saga, and improves where necessary without changing what didn't need to be interfered with. Such as: the core shooting mechanics and cover-based tactics. Gears of War 2 is has solid gunplay, is distinctly bloody, and displays some of the finest cover-based shooting action ever seen. The action is just awesome, and the arsenal of guns you collect and mix around are a blast to use to dominate your enemies with. The wartime, documentary-styled roadie run (sprint) continues to immerse you further to create tension around the events happening around you, and the abundant 'Point of interest' opportunities highlight perfectly what you are supposed to be seeing without pulling away from the action unfolding. Contextual action indicator remains in the same fashion as before to allow you see what action you can perform from cover, such as moving to another piece of cover safely or vaulting over the low wall you're currently behind, and Active reloads are a key aspect of the shooting and keep you in a focused state of mind at all times. With practice you'll be able to gain brief, increased damage benefits for your equipped weapon if you nail the second button press within the little white zone on the bar, but since tension runs unbearably high, it isn't infrequent to cause your gun to jam if you don't time your second reload correctly, leading to some anxious moments that could differ between success or death. And finally, occasional multiple paths to choose which one to take open up for you, and these add replay value to the game. They don't considerably differ from the other path all the time, and usually just give you an alternate perspective on the action from another side or level of the conflict, but they are great nonetheless, and are integrated sublimely into gameplay to give you the chance to be decisive with your decision.

Elements of gameplay that are new on offer include being able to use large enemy shields to carry and walk with, with the penalty of being limited to using your pistol sidearm and nothing else until you discard it. But you also can plant it in the ground for makeshift cover wherever you want as opposed to the cover conveniently placed for you, and this grants you the ability to use either of your weapons. Enemies can knock this down however, if close enough, so paying attention is vital to not lose your advantage from the position you set up for yourself. You'll also be using a few new weapons, and powerful ones include the Mortar, which deploys a group of rockets to rain down where you're aiming, and the Mulcher, which is basically a modified minigun that requires cooling after extended fire periods, and can also be placed onto cover to use like a turret to fend off waves of Locust and potentially flush them out of hiding.

Enemies occasionally get wounded during gunfights, and when they are downed it's optional to go up and brutally finish them off in a number of ways, or to use them as a temporary meatshield to push forward before sickly snapping their neck to ensure they won't get back up. And if you get in close you'll be familiar with the Lancer's chainsaw bayonet that can cut up most enemies in one swift, violent animation of vengeance-fuelled adrenaline and power. But if an enemy has the same weapon as you, and instead of getting them unnoticed from behind but from the front, you'll engage in a brief chainsaw duel to the death where you need to tap 'B' repeatedly to win. All these optional chances are seldom seen because of the ferocious firepower of the Locust army, and so the unique opportunity to get in close and benefit from the implementations is a rare and satisfying moment that makes it feel fresh and memorable to the gameplay when it springs up. There'll even be times when you hear the raw of a motor and realise that one of your closest allies is exacting dismemberment upon a lone enemy, and this is just as delightful as committing the act yourself with the exception of not splattering your screen with blood and guts. In fact, the chainsaw bayonet especially is a feature that is utilised to grisly and purposeful effect throughout the story, packing the scripted sequences with a meaty punch as you carve through fleshy and solid obstacles alike to escape certain peril and subsequent death, or to advance casually past an obstacle.

Throughout you'll realise it's vital to be just as defensive as offensive, and the cover-based gameplay implies this as a crucial part to the Gears of War experience, and demands you to take refuge behind a wall of some kind (or even giant worms at one point) to avoid taking damage. There are plenty of awesome levels during your 11 hour experience in Gears of War, and notable ones like a slow-paced, horror-orientated section in a monstrous facility and a frantic, gore-filled struggle inside a gigantic worm ensure you are keen to see what awaits you next to please your appetite for slaughtering Locusts in an attempt to save humanity. Gears of War 2 fantastically fuses cover-based tactics with third-person shooting, but is punctuated by some vehicular sections that, sadly, aren't that great due to a combined hindrance of difficulty spikes and some awkward controls during them that make them less fun. You'll pilot a variety of mechanical vehicles and wild monsters, and the idea is brilliant, but its just a shame the difficulty is inconsistent and can lead to frustrations.

You'll be pleased to hear, aswell, that you'll be accompanied throughout your missions, and they are great to have when confronting all manner of mean-looking Locusts. Squad mates display some fine attributes that make them worth having by your side during your long battles, and just like before, they'll take cover effectively, shoot accurately from cover, and use their chainsaw attachment when necessary. But this time they also aid you in battle thanks to the revive system that works in your favour this time around even more. In the first game, you could revive a downed team mate, but this time if they get injured, they'll crawl to your position so you don't need to risk your own life to save theirs. On occasions if there are a few of you on an objective, they'll revive each other aswell, giving off a vibe that you're a personally connected team at heart, looking out for each other in the thickest of bloodshed. Enemies also display similar strengths at defence, and will try and flank you now and again if the environment is designed to allow it. You'll also have to be aware that enemies can heal each other too, so sometimes it's ideal to finish them off while they're down from a distance rather than satisfying your bloodthirsty tendency to get up close and personal. Small tweaks to the health system ensure a fair challenge throughout the campaign also, and if you are wounded severely by bullets, you won't necessarily have to restart from your last checkpoint, but instead have a time frame to crawl to any of your squad to get revived and remain fighting.

Superior animations, graphics and environmental detail make the sci-fi setting and mission goal even more believable to accept beyond your subconscious, and you'll be thoroughly immersed throughout because of the technical strengths and artistic delights of the graphics department. Environments capture the perfect grim tone to them, and each level is varied and exhibit's a lot of varying detail to depict the sci-fi horror setting, which is especially noticeable in the last couple of acts when you venture deep into the Locusts lair in which you can directly compare the surroundings to something inhabiting nasty monsters with a suitable, demonic look to it - a vibe that you can directly link to beastly, hellish beings. The exhilarating and tense music score creates a severe sense of urgency, making you feel confined in the clutches of death and willing to push on to the climax in the hopes of seeing the characters you get to know and like, prevail against the Locust horde and restore hope, and when held up behind cover, blindly firing wild bullets in the hope of hitting your adversaries and helping team-mates where possible, you'll get to feel the enormous proportions and the lives at stake thanks to the combined brilliance of both the audio and the visuals.

The whole game has been made with tremendous assiduity, and this is noticeable in the solid gameplay mechanics and outstanding visual presentation, and perhaps most notably, in the intense, threatening story that involves drama and emotion on occasions to blend in with the characters feelings of doubt. They push on, and the action is poised to make you feel immersed in unlikely odds of survival, but nonetheless giving everything you've got, since if you go down, you'll go down fighting, taking as many Locusts as you can before hitting the deck. The cinematic moments pack a dramatic punch and clench your heart tight in its grasp, while the variety during combat boasts plenty of exciting thrills and bloody spills to suck you in to the objective. Terrific sound effects and voice acting, an admirable weapon selection, and solid gunplay and cover-based tactics make the less memorable moments during vehicle-based sections not so much of a drawback because when on-foot everything works exceedingly well flawlessly. Gears of War 2 is an amazing sci-fi shooter that leaves you undoubtedly awaiting to play the final game of the saga.

Story - 3/5
Characters - 4/5
Gameplay - 5/5
Graphics - 5/5
Sound - 4/5
Controls - 3/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Enemy AI - 4/5
Length - 4/5
Replay Value - 4/5

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OVERALL SUMMARY - 9/10
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Good Points: Technically and artistically stunning levels with lots of grim detail, Great cast of characters suck you in to the story, Excellent gameplay boasts some of the best cover-based shooting action ever seen, Neat assortment of powerful weapons, Wounded Locusts can be brutally finished off or used as meatshields, Cinematic moments pack a dramatic punch, Intelligent squad mates and enemies, Chainsaw bayonet is used in a myriad of awesomely bloody and purposeful ways, Terrific sound design, You can crawl to allies to be revived if severely injured and vice versa.

Bad Points: Some difficulty spikes and control issues can hamper the vehicular-based sequences.

Summary

Hello everyone,

Gears of War 2 is a good sequel to the first one and the story line is as addictive as the first one. The game play is as good as the first one except that I have the feeling that they made this one easier than the first one. Remember the final boss on the first Gear of War. Well, no boss on the second one is as hard as that one. The graphic has somewhat been upgraded and the weapons are been made more balance.

The story line pick up a few days after the end of the first one. If you have read the book Aspho Field, you pretty much get an update of what has been happening. Even if you have not read the book, you will not have any problem getting right into the action. The story line is what to be expected of a sequel and it will keep you on edge to find out what will happen. It also raise many question that will be answering in the third game.

For the game play, nothing has really change. The first Gears of War was a winning formula so, there was not many changes in the this one except to make some of the weapons more balance. You will run into some frustrating moment (specially in Insane mode) when the enemy accuracy with the Torque Bow is close to God mode. The multiplayer facet is really interesting and fun (aka stump on the face of a friend. lol).

Conclusion, this is a worthy sequel to the first Gear of War and a great shooter. It is recommended for everyone that is in a market for a good shooter.

Summary

Audio: 8.5/10
Great voice acting. Good sound effects that are a bit recycled from the previous game. Good sound track.

Visuals: 9/10
The look of the game is greatly improved and they look a lot sharper this time around then they did in the previous game. Character models and environments look great. Environments feature quite a bit of variety as well. A few noticeable bugs and glitches though.

Playability: 7/10
Same gameplay as the first game with no real changes to it besides a few new weapons that are fun to use. Its still fun to play though.

Delivery: 7/10
Average lengthed campaign. Story pretty much answers no questions and is just a poorly recycled version of the first story that ends exactly the same way as well. Multiplayer is greatly improved and is a lot of fun to play. AI still isnt the best and could use a lot of work. New weapons are fun to use.

Overall: 8/10
I enjoyed Gears 2 but the story and AI need a ton of work imo.

Summary

What to say about the sequel, brilliant. Although however, there are occasional problems with the game on the 360 and that is frame rate. Sure the multiplayer is fine with added features such as solo or co-op horde which is great fun, but the campaign drops it frame rate slightly. Its still fun however but not as great as the original and tends to disappoint new players to the genre. If I was a professional reviewer, I would say it isn't the greatest sci-fi third person game out there but if you enjoy it you may change your mind. The story is brilliant and continues from the first game but other than that great stuff the sequel suffers from frame rate drops and some slight errors. Anyway, its a great game to buy and offers a long campaign plus with upgraded graphics, but its not legendary like the first. Some missions like the Tank driving mission is stressful and exhausting and you wish it wasn't added to the game cause it was hard, too hard in fact. Good game anyway and will look great on top of your shelf.