Gears of War 2

2 years after the first installment, and Gears of War 2 is revved-up and ready to rock! Those of you familiar with the first title will feel immediately at home with the basic control set, and the welcome return of all the weapons from the original game (one or two with a few modifications). Whilst I obviously haven't completed the game yet (having owned it a mere 5 hours), I thought the spectacle of the mission's I HAVE played through warranted very high praise, and a brief review for those umming and ahhing about buying this title. The action and excitement has been notched up 10 fold, as the first few missions see you defending a Hospital full of wounded COG soldiers, venturing into pitch-black tunnels whilst 'Tickers' scurry at you out of the darkness, and defending a giant vehicle known as a Derrick from Brumak, Drone and all manner of other Locust attacks! If you have played the 1st, this is a no-brainer. However, if you haven't, GoW2 is the most complete action game that has yet been created. Top-notch voice acting, character driven emotional storytelling, and most of all, an epic sense of scale all serve to draw the gamer into the world of Sera and the COG's struggle to survive....Epic games have done it again, GoW2 is a watershed in action gaming.

After a decisive victory over the vile General RAAM, Marcus and co are taking a breather. But the Locust Horde were not defeated and so they returned with a vengeance on humanity. However, there is an even greater threat from below.

I can't describe into words how enraptured and exhilarated I was when I played Gears of War 2. Twice the action, twice the suspense, twice the plot and character development with some fresh faces thrown into the mix and terrific voice acting to boot. This game is like a Hollywood action movie on steroids. GoW2 is simply MUCH BETTER than it's predecessor in every way, shape, and form. The story is much better and coherent than Gears of War, making you care more for the characters and the game. This was sorely absent in GoW, which despite having impressive game-play and graphics, never really made you emotionally invested in the game. Not so here.

More importantly is the length. While the first game was rather short, the second game really gives you more bang for your buck. This is evidenced by having a more thorough single-player campaign which can also be played Co-OP. For those that don't know, that's like two players tackling the single-player at the same time. Not the most convenient feature but if you got some buddies around, then it's a blast from there.

In addition to Co-Op, you can also play death-match online not just with buddies, but also online anytime, anywhere in the world. There's a new mode known as Horde. Similar to Firefight in the Halo series, this mode lets you mow down as much Locust Horde as you can and form teams to take them down.

Speaking of action, this game has it in spades with dozens of wonderful action set-pieces sprinkled impressively throughout. One moment you're defending a hospital of wounded soldiers from enemy forces, another has you defending a roving transport from not just ground enemies, but aerial threats as well. I'm not going to spoil anymore surprises but lets just say that as you progress in the middle and near the end of the campaign, things REALLY get a LOT crazier and crazier.

Visually, the game features even more detail than GoW1. Powered by the impressive Unreal Engine, the game is able to display more realistic physics and animation to unprecedented levels. Your jaw will drop more than once as creatures and characters come to life in painstaking detail the likes of which has never been seen before. And it helps to have a nice, big-screen HD TV to truly witness the marvel of Gears of War 2. The game's atmosphere, combined with fantastic sound, really gives you the feeling of being in an epic war against a brutal and savage enemy and you will feel rather emotional at a crucial part in the game.

I'd say Gears of War 2 is a much better sequel to the sleeper hit of 2006; a superbly made cinematic action game that has oodles of gravitas and raw blood-soaked carnage. If you're new to the franchise, I suggest you pick up GoW and Gears of War 2: Collector's Edition. Only a fool would miss out on one of the greatest sci-fi gaming epics of this generation of video games.

Greetings from Lithuania.

I played "Gears of War 2" (2008) for the first time in 2022. So my experience with the game isn't fresh so to speak. But considering that this is not 14 years old game, and games unlike movies do age in my opinion, this was a fantastic game. I loved the shooting mechanics, story was solid, and i like characters in this one. Great settings, interesting level design and one hellova blockbuster shooter game. Excellent in my opinion!

Não possui legenda em português, isso atrapalha as pessoas q não são fluentes em inglês.

Gears of War 2 is a game that excels the first and continues the story of Delta Squad, a four-man team comprised of soldiers with their own pasts and specializations in combat. I'd say its pretty good and a well-made sequel to the first Gears of War.

Solo Campaign - This takes you to the story of Gears of War 2, which is quite good, but, as usual, short. The thing is, usually games go by level, going from level, to level, to level. Games like Fallout 3 or Fable II are RPGs, which mean their story can last forever as long as you like playing with your character and keep roaming, getting money and jobs or whatever. The story is progressive and quite complex, but with the same feeling and concept every single firefight; enemy appears, you take cover, kill them, move on. The story is nice and you get to receive new experiences, but just plainly the same again and again. 8/10.

Co-op Campaign - A nice feature, this is exactly the same as Solo Campaign except you can now play with a sentient player as a teammate instead of a computer. The co-op features limit to only two players, though, due to the amount of time its just two characters in the mission. 7/10.

Matchmaking - Could've been better, with few game modes and a third-person cover system which doesn't really fit in with player vs. player styled combat. There's not much to say except that Matchmaking is much better, but still quite amateur. 6/10.

Horde - Gears of War 2's Unique Feature is fun and exiting, with waves of enemies pressing in onto you team. This is a fun team-orientated feature which beats most with its adrenaline-filled moments. 10/10.

A game for tactical gamers who can deal with massive levels of blood and gore. But there is a filter for that sort of mature stuff.

Total Mark: 8/10

By HowlingRabbit334