The sequel to arguably 360’s most treasured game to date, Gears of War 2, was probably the most eagerly anticipated game of the year and last week Marcus and co. returned to kick Locus arse once again.

Gears 2 is a constant battle for survival for the humans of Sera. The Locust have been sinking cities through a new, unknown means and now Jacinto is their last beacon of hope. In a final, desperate attempt to destroy the Locust, an attack at the Locust’s home turf is made. Marcus and the rest of Delta squad return to the Locust tunnels to take the fight to them. As humanities final stand, Gears of War 2 involves larger battles with more gears being sent into the action.

On first impressions of Gears 2, there isn’t much evidence of change from the sequel. Take cover-kill-move is still the most effective tactic, the graphics are still beautiful and the many ways of massacring the locust still never get old. Epic boasted of the many improvements and modifications it has made on Gears 1; apart from changing the roadie-run so you don’t jump to cover when simply trying to get from A to B and a stronger cover system, there isn’t much evidence of this. Not that it’s a problem, there wasn’t much in Gears of War 1 that needed improvement and if Epic had messed with the sequel too much it would have lost the magic of the first game.

The two main aims of Epic when they began Gears 2 were better plot and longer game play. By bringing comic book writer, Joshua Ortega on board they hoped to make the game more emotional with a deeper plot. Don’t expect Gears 2 to have you blubbing like a baby, it won’t. But who would buy this game for its emotional content anyway? The length of the campaign has been improved though. I managed to play through it on the normal difficulty in 3 days but that was pretty much constant play when I wasn’t sleeping or at college. Average campaign length is about 10-12 hours but I’m sure plenty of people will be able to tear through it at a quicker rate.

As well as the main plot of ‘kick the crap outta the locust’, sub-plots have also been added, the search for Dom’s wife, Maria being one of them. Many of these plots aren’t finished by the end of the game. The finale of the game is also rather disappointing. The sudden ending is anti-climatic, rushed and as annoying as the ending to Halo 2 but clearly gives the opportunity for a Gears of War 3.

Despite its few flaws, Gears of War 2 is an exceptional game, far surpassing the prequel and can be expected to be under many gamers Christmas trees this December - that is if you can wait that long to play it.

9.5/10

Lewis

Labels: 360, Gears of War, Gears of war 2, Review, Xbox

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