It's all in the developers name......Epic
This game is what I like to call just pure unadulterated fun. Get Gears of War 2.
The visuals are probably the best I've ever seen in any game. They're crisp. They look amazing, but the biggest thing for me is that they're much improved over Gears 1. The sound is excellent, the weapons sound great all the crushes and clashes, and the score is amazing. The score takes the game to a whole new epic level.
The story is incredible, and you really get engrossed in it. They through the " emotional card ", because Dom is looking for his wife. Some people disliked it, but I loved it, because I feel that it added to Marcus' character, because there were points where Marcus' had to succumb to Dom's Passion for his wife, which I think is a big step for our tough and rugged hero.
The characters are awesome, and you find yourself loving each character differently by the end of the story. Even minor characters like Dizzy and Carmine, just are so well drawn out that you almost mourn their deaths. This is one of my favorite aspects of the game, the fact that you can become so attached to all these characters in a video game.
Thankfully Epic doesn't follow in Bungie's path, by leaving you with this cliffhanger ending in the sequel. Instead in Gears 2 they make a very clear and good ending, but there is obviously room for a sequel, and there better be one.
The gameplay is outrageously fun. Gears 2 amazing control scheme is back, and they've added some new tricks, such as the Chain Saw duel, which is really just a reflex test of who can tap "B" faster. If you get an enemy down, but he isn't dead, then you have the choice to either finish him, or pick him up and use him as a meat shield, which makes you pretty much invincible.
The weapons are excellent, and they feel excellent. You have the good old lancer with it's beastly chainsaw. You have the flamethrower, which is a ton of fun, though I like COD WaW's flamethrower better. They've added a new pistol, which is awesome.
By 2008 you'd expect a shooter to have a solid Multi player system. Gears delivers in this category as well. There is two player online or local co-op, which I would've liked to be four player, but you can't get everything in life. There is Horde Mode, which is a shitload of fun. In Horde mode you and four players fight wave after wave of locusts, and you just pick up ammo from downed locusts. You have your choice of several maps, so you never really get bored of Horde. Then there's competitive multi player, which is really good. There are some great modes, but nothing new or fresh. We've pretty much seen most of these modes before.
So as you can tell Gears of War 2 is an amazing game that's earned its stars. I definitely reccomend this game to anyone with an Xbox 360, and if you don't have one...buy one or steal one, because you owe it to yourself to play Gears of War 2.
