Just finished playing the
Gears of War 2 on the XBox 360, the campaign is epic and entertaining with a great storyline and awesome gameplay and it took me around 10 hours to complete. The game picks up the story six months after the end of the first game, now, i didn't play the first game so i'm somewhat lost here, but after playing the second game i kinda get what the game is all about, so it didn't matter anyway. So back to the story of the second game, the Locust becomes so powerful that they can sink an entire city from below the ground using some kind of giant worm, whereas the humans are becoming even more desperate thanks to the spreading of the disease called rust lung. With fears that the last city of Jacinto might fall, it's up to Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago to take the fight to the Locust in a desperate last stand against their aliens foes. Survival is all what the
Gears of War 2 is all about, but there's also personal drama, such as family, death, and even love interwoven into the main plot. This sheds some light on the characters and the universe, and though it ultimately uncovers more questions than it answers, the game has a much grander premise than its predecessor.
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| Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago return in Gears of War 2, heading underground to bring the fight to the Locust. | | | | | | |
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In terms of gameplay,
Gears of War 2 is fundamentally the same as the original game, but fans of the series should be able to spot some key improvement. The cover system has been honed so that you cling more accurately to surfaces, and the weapons have received subtle alterations to make them even more balanced than before. The revival system has also been tweaked considerably. Not only can your AI teammates heal you if you're injured, but now you can also tap A to crawl toward them more quickly when you're injured. This makes the game a lot fairer in terms of difficulty and allows for some heart-pounding moments as you race to your teammates to avoid a fatal curb-stomping from the opposition. New in the
Gears of War 2 is the flamethrower, which doesn't have a great range but is excellent for dealing with groups of enemies that get a little too close for comfort. Then there are the heavy weapons, which stop you from being able to roadie run but make up for this with their immense power. The mulcher is a high-calibre chain gun that can cut through even the biggest enemies in a single burst, whereas the mortar rains down a shower of explosives from afar. Grenades have also seen improvements; you can stick them to surfaces so they become proximity mines, there's a new model that gives off noxious gas, and the smoke grenade delivers a concussive blast that knocks surrounding players off of their feet.
The
Gears of War 2 has a lot in common with its predecessor, but the new environments, darker storyline, and epic scale certainly have a lot to offer fans. The new weapons, melee attacks, and co-op options make for a campaign that you'll want to complete a number of times. Simply put,
Gears of War 2 is a superior shooter that no action fan will want to miss out on.
Here's a video review from IGN, enjoy!
