Gears Of War 2

What can I say. The original was hands down my favourite game for the 360, the 2nd installment builds on this and makes the follow up my new favourite 360 game.

The campaign is double the size of GOW1, taking me over 10 hours to complete on single player. The campaign takes you through numerous environments from fending off locust in the heart of Jacinto, to taking the battle to their undergound lair on the back of a brumack! The array of weapons has greatly increased with additional arsenal. The mulcher is my personal favourite, ripping any enemies apart that you pont it at.

The creators have added some brand new enemies as well. You finally get to fight a brumack that was so missed out of GOW1. There are a number of different variations of the boomer now, ones with flamers, shields, mulchers etc.

I seem to remember the original's story line wasn't quite fluid - through most of it I didn't understand exactly why I was trying to get to where I was told, but the gameplay just absorbed me. ~This time the storyline is very flowing and kept me captivated.

Horded is another great new addition - play with 3 friends on a ,ultiplayer map fighting off 50 waves of increasingly hard locust. One word of warning though, if you seriously want to finish this mode, set asside an afternoon at least - I got to level 20 which took me 2 hours!

To conclude, this is an amazing step up from the original and I would not hesitate to recommend at all. Can't wait for number 3!

I remember seeing the TV adds for GOW2. They looked fantastic. The game didn't quite meet my expectations but none the less it is still a very good shooter.

If you have played the first GOW, you will feel at home with this one. It is set 5 years on. In fact, there is nothing radically different about the sequel. Pretty much more of what you got from the first one. Most of it is set underground but the combat, weapons and controls are all the same. I am not sure whether it is better than the first game. The controls seem a bit heavier and sluggish. However, if you like blasting the bejeezuz out of alien creatures then there are few games that can top this.

Horde mode is a good addition. You trawl around the map killing a set number of locusts. The number of which increase each level. Good simple fun.

Can't say the same for the multiplayer. It takes an absolute age to join in a game. Most modes are round based and don't feature instant respawns. You have to sit it out until the next round and that is downright boring. Then you find that the rather clever cover system gets in the way in the heat of the moment. One of the most frustrating MPs I have come across.

Get this primarily for the single player experience. Even better, play the first game first. Well worth it.

:)

This game has great graphics and action. The story is manageable and the enemy pretty tough if you play it on hardcore (as are most games). I am not disappointed I played this to a point. But I have a few big beefs with the continuity. Unlike Halo (awesome in every way) GoW puts ' check points ' just before story updates and character interaction. This means that if you get killed you HAVE to listen to the same update and character interaction over and over again! At on point you are at least a two minute walk to the action and if you get killed you have to walk over and over again for two minutes before you can have another go!! What the hell was the point of that?

Next the placement of weapons and ammo. You arrive at a check point. You then have to walk all over the place to get weapons and ammo which is off the path. Then you have to find the path again to go to the action. If you get killed, guess what? You have to run all over the place to get the ammo etc before having to go through the chat bits and the walk before you get back into it. I mean, WHAT IS THE POINT?! I spent 1/3 of the game waiting to get back to where I started or wanted to be. Talk about dragging it out.

Lastly the characters don't seem to understand what you want them to do. You want them to crouch or hide behind something and they ' roll ' towards it instead! You want them to ' roll ' towards a point and they hide or crouch behind it instead! can't tell you how rubbish that is.

I gave this game a 3 star because it really drags out simple concepts. The graphics got the 3 star. They are very good. It's just a shame you have to watch and listen to the good graphics when really you have just been killed and want to get back to the action. Halo avoids this and puts a check point right near the action and after the chatty bit. Bless them!