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Gears of War 2
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Epic Games
Genre: Third Person Shooter
Release Date: November 7, 2008
Platform: Xbox 360
ESRB: M - Mature
Reviewer: Eric
 The
biggest year in the Xbox 360s history continues with the second game in the
Gears of War series. Gears of War 2 takes everything from the first game and
expands on it. Just because this is the second game in the series does not mean
you should avoid it. This is the first game this year that should be in your
collection or it should convince you to finally buy that 360.
Earth has been at war for almost one hundred years. When the first war started,
the Pendulum Wars, it was man versus man. Once things got tended to it was man
versus Locusts, a breed of creatures that are like no other. Marcus Fenix, the
leader of the Delta Squad, is still around and he is here to finally stop the
war with the Locusts. Marcus will stop at nothing.
Things didn’t work out and time has passed since the first game. The last
standing city, Jacinto, is on the verge of total destruction. The Gears are
ready to stop at nothing to take down the Locusts. Familiar faces help out
Marcus again while some new ones are ready to do what it takes to make sure the
humans are victorious.
Most of Gears of War 2 takes place at the heart of the Locusts headquarters.
While heading to the creature’s base you will take part in some of the best
looking stages in the games history, which if you have been counting this is the
second game in the series. Epic Games has outdone the games graphics by so much,
Gears of War 2 comes to life from the games opening sequence and it never lets
go.
Two stories sort of take place in Gears of War 2. Marcus’s best friend, Dom
Santiago, has his own problems. His wife, Maria, is missing and Dom has a
feeling the Locusts have something to do with it. The game switches on and off
between cut scenes with these two stories, but the main aspect of the game is
dealing around the war. It is nice to see that Epic went ahead and added more to
the game rather than just a straight “kill’em all” storyline.
 The single player experience in Gears of War 2 is just like the first one. The
games controls have gotten better but the cover system is still a little weird
at times. All of the basic functions are still intact and the campaign takes
much longer this time, almost 20 hours if you are new to the series. People
complained about the games shortness in the first game, there is no reason why
they need to do this again.
New to the second game is the ability to play the campaign online with friends.
You can also play with a friend with a split screen, which only really works
well if you have a bigger television. The main attraction with playing a friend
though has to be doing so online, it feels like you are playing with another
person in your living room.
With all of the expansions in the second game there is a huge difference online.
Online campaign in not the online function you can do online. The new Horde mode
lets you and other friends play through hordes of Locusts. It might not sound
like much but the computer AI gets harder as you go through them. This mode will
test your strength and with all the different options you can mess around with
you might only want to play Horde and nothing else.
Submission mode is another new mode and takes Capture the Flag to a whole new
level. You either pick up a human or a Locust and you must take them to the
designated area. The person you have to save will fight back at first so make
sure you beat them up a bit before you capture them. This is a definite
improvement to the Capture the Flag rules that we have been use to for all these
years.
 Gears of War 2 has a lot of little touches that make the gaming experience
great. You can click a single button to see if any of your friends are playing
online, giving you an easy way to join their game if possible. There are also
ways to see your progress with the games many achievements and you can unlock
new characters online by completing different parts in the game. Anyone who
played the first Gears of War will be treated to a few character unlocks too so
if you haven’t played the first game you might want to do so at some point.
Final Verdict
In the biggest lineup in the 360s existence I would have to say Gears of War 2
is truly a masterpiece and it is one of the best games of the year. I have given
other games perfects before and I sort of regret it now (Halo 3 and Grand Theft
Auto IV are my two big regrets). For as long as I’ve played Gears of War 2 so
far I have no problem giving this game a perfect. If you don’t own a 360 yet and
you consider yourself a gamer then you have some real problems, BUY THIS GAME
NOW!!!
Rating
10 out of 10
Gears of War 2 Trailer
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