Gears of War 2

First off, I would like to note that i am a HUGE gears of war 1 fan, I almost was going to review this giving it a 4.5/5 but instead changed my mind. With that being said, lets get down to the review.

For the campaign, you play as a part of delta squad, Marcus Fenix, to be exact. Anyone who is familiar with the first game will know the background info., and if you don't, i suggest you go play the first game! The story, while great, is somewhat of a mixed bag. There is great plot development, but also sets the game up for a sequal, and doesn't answer enough questions. First you're trying to help Dom find his wife, Maria. At the same time of this, you are fighting the Locust Horde, and trying to end the war once and for all. The characters have great personalities, my favorite being the cole train, but you can develop a sense of realism within their personality. Voice acting is also very great, and improved from the first. The campaign should last around 10-12 hours.

Graphically, this game is absolutely beautiful. Not only from a technical level, but from an artistic level as well. The game is colorful, and sets the tone for what you are doing. Im glad the game isn't dark with major contrasts, and gray, like the original. There is also great depth with good blurring in the appropriate places. Character detail is improved from the original also. Gears of war 2 IS the best looking game out. This is not an opinion, it is a fact.

Multiplayer is also somewhat of a mixed view from me. I love what they did, with stopping power, smoke grenades, etc. What i don't like is that the skill that was requried in the original is no longer there. In gears of war 1, it was

basically a shotgun fest. in this game, it is a chainsaw fest. It is a lot easier to hit b than it is to aim and shoot your shotgun, which takes away from gears of war 1. But with that being said, I believed that they added enough to balance out this problem. Tons of new weapons like the mortar strike, improved hammerburst, and stun grenades. It can seem somewhat more strategy with grenades which i really do like. Also they added a whole lot of new multiplayer modes. Horde is one of them, it is a coop game with up to 5 people. You face 50 waves of enemies, and it really is a blast.

While this may be a dissappointment for some, it also will bring a lot of newcomers to gears of war. People who were frustrated with the original will have some relief. If you're looking for a game that has great multiplayer, great story, and brilliant graphics, then i would suggest this game to you. Even if you don't like the chainsawfest online, its still a good game that you should have in your collection and you will probably still enjoy it.