For anyone who missed this first time, I really reccomend you grab a copy and play through it.  I've not touched Gears in over a year, but I just played through again, and i have to say, I enjoyed it so much I felt I had to put pen to paper and write a review.
 
I'm going to have to have a few nights off gaming now unfortunately, last nights 1:30, mowing down General RAAM has pushed my long suffering wife to breaking point... It's been a fantastic experience playing through again though, you can download it now for 2400 points I think, I mean, I suppose 99% of 360 must have played it - bar the under 18's... But if you haven't - give it a go, it's a great game!

Gears was, and will probably be, the only game that i consistently played online for over a month, no other game has done that, its so amazing i hope gears 3 online doesnt suck as hard as gears 2's did.

Trying to get my hands on a copy. I want to play through 1 & 2  before 3 drops. Now I have to just drum up $50 for them and I'll be set.

It is a terrific game^^

It's still one of the very best cover-based third-person shooters. Aside from Gears of War 2 and Vanquish, nothing in the genre comes close.

" It is a terrific game^^ "

" It's still one of the very best cover-based third-person shooters. Aside from Gears of War 2 and Vanquish, nothing in the genre comes close. "

" @Icemael said:

" It's still one of the very best cover-based third-person shooters. Aside from Gears of War 2 and Vanquish, nothing in the genre comes close. "

Vanquish or this? "

Ill always have a slight hatred for Gears 1 and its glitchy achievements just because I put so much time and effort into getting Seriously just for it to never give it to me even though i have like 14,000 kills.

I actually got Gears 1 & 2 in a bundle with my XBOX.  The irony is my wife is very against violent games, I'm not fussed either way - I just like good ones violent or not.  Then she goes and buys me an XBOX bundle with 3 cert 18 games for Christmas!
 
Playing through 1 and 2 back to back was an epic experience, and a great way to start XBOX 360 ownership!  Can't wait for 3, anyone thinking of playing this - you really should!

Gears 1 has that sort of Halo: CE quality about it where it ages really well. Maybe it's because we're only just coming out of the throes of the "cover-based shooter" fad in game design, but the first Gears plays tightly, regardless. 

I love the level design of Gears of War 1 particularly. It's so finely honed that I think the 2nd diluted the brilliance a little bit with endless vehicle segments and underwhelming boss encounters. It's a superb game and my favourite shooter franchise this generation regardless, and I expect 3 will be amazing given the time they've had with it.

The Campaign in Gears 1 is Gears at it's best. Its especially fun playing with a friend in co-op.

" Gears was, and will probably be, the only game that i consistently played online for over a month, no other game has done that, its so amazing i hope gears 3 online doesnt suck as hard as gears 2's did. "

" I think the 2nd diluted the brilliance a little bit with endless vehicle segments and underwhelming boss encounters. "

" @Icemael said:

" It's still one of the very best cover-based third-person shooters. Aside from Gears of War 2 and Vanquish, nothing in the genre comes close. "

Vanquish or this? "

For me, Gears is one of the best games ever.  No other game had me on my headset teaming up with strangers and yelling at people like Gears.  Annex was just sublime, an evenly matched game of Annex was the best multipler ever.  Gears 2 ruined that by forcing the action in close by focusing on executions, meat shields and allowing planting mines.  That and adding the smoke/knockdown grenade.  Grenades were strategic in Gears 1 and just spammed in Gears 2.

" @Raymayne:  I wasn't saying boss fights or vehicle sections comprised the entire experience, but what was there wasn't that great, and in some cases overlong. Thanks for focusing on infelicities of expression rather than my main point, that Gears of War 1 is a better-designed and more tightly focused game. "

For me, Gears 2 is one of the few sequels that has actually been better than the original though maybe it's because I played through that one completely in co-op unlike the first which I'd finished once before anyone else wanted to buddy up. 

First one was solid.  Too much bullshit in Gears 2.

" First one was solid.  Too much bullshit in Gears 2. "

I was like 2 years late the Gears of War party, and Uncharted had left me spoiled. When I finally did play it, the graphics were underwhelming, the characters unlikable and the game mostly forgettable. It felt slow and sluggish, and I seemed to have been issued peas instead of bullets.

" @Jimbo said:

" First one was solid.  Too much bullshit in Gears 2. "

There were more F-bombs in Gears 2. Which, I don't know, that seems like a plus to me.  
 
"THAT'S FIVE, MOTHERFUCKERS!" "

I never cared for the original Gears much. I just don't think it's very good.

Don't mean to be a buzzkill but the game was pretty underwhelming and boring, however I quite liked the night-time level thing, nice atmosphere to it or something

I have been seriously considering playing through both Gears 1 and 2 again before number 3 comes out. 

" I was like 2 years late the Gears of War party, and Uncharted had left me spoiled. When I finally did play it, the graphics were underwhelming, the characters unlikable and the game mostly forgettable. It felt slow and sluggish, and I seemed to have been issued peas instead of bullets. "

man, I totally missed this game. I don't know why I wasn't interested before. I guess that I have prejudice on MS? now, it is wrong. this game is kick ass. even it was out 2007. it looks great on my laptop. max setting, 60fps. whatever I run. I can't just believe why I didn't pick it up before.  I just bought it from games for windows marketplace $19.99. from now on, I have more interest for shooting game along with dead space 2 which I preordered.  very excited. 
  
by the way, I don't understand why MS stopped making for gears of war 2 PC version. I believe that it has been sold lots of copies, made decent profit. why not? will they make PC version for gears of war 3 or not?