GameSpoon - Gears of War 2

Gears of War 2, I love it!

So I came to the party a little late for Gears 2; you can't blame me, I was obsessed with Fable 2 at the time of launch. When Gears 2 came out, I knew I'd play the game, but I didn't really have a drive to go out and get purchase the game. I was wrapped up in my Fable 2 world, engulfed by that storyline. Upon completing Fable 2 with one character, I quickly started another. It didn't take a long time before I felt a little burnt out on RPGs and with Fallout 3 in my sights, I knew I needed to take a break before engaging myself into another massive RPG world. Gears 2 was the fix I needed and I knew it.

I remember the launch of Gears 2 well, to me, it seemed to have launched very "quietly." This surprised me, to be truthful, perception might be one thing, but facts are another - Gears 2 sold over 2 million copies in it's opening weekend! Well deserved numbers for an outstanding game.

Gears 2 is a fantastic game with epic battles and an intriguing storyline that captivates your attention and at times, is creepy as hell. I often found myself quite reluctant to put the controller down while playing through the game; hours would pass like minutes.

PROS

• Right off the bat, upon loading up the game for the first time and noticing in the menus that I had already unlocked characters because of my achievements in the original Gears of War, blew me away! I love the fact that you are rewarded for playing the original. It's great to know that those of us who have stood by the series, benefit in some way. Sure, it might be a business method to make people purchase the original, but not in my eyes. To me, it says, "thank you for being loyal."


• The challenge and intensity of the game. You can't go wrong with the epic tale of humanity's survival against all odds. This game does that well and brings Marcus Fenix and the rest of the Delta crew through one hell of an adventure.

CONS

• I think the controls for Gears 1 and 2 are very good, very thought-out and react perfectly; however, I continued to experience the same issues in Gear 2, that I did in Gears 1 - "attaching myself to cover." On more than one occasion, I found myself being shot to shreds as I "ducked and rolled" instead of "grabbing cover." I'll give Epic the benefit of the doubt and place the blame on myself, I can imagine that the physics that went into building that element of gameplay is quite complex. However, it resulted in the downfall of Marcus Fenix; can you put a price on Fenix's life?


• Delta team, the dealers of death. They are reliable, fierce and sometimes, just sometimes, they are in the way and blocking my shot! Ha, I love it though, they'll tear the Locust to shreds, even if they are preventing me from helping.

SCORE - on a scale of one to super-fudge, I'd give this game a 9.5! Hands down, best Xbox 360 game I've played to date. Cliff "dude huge" Bleszinski (as Kotaku calls him) and his team did a great job with this game. Thank you everyone.

BUY, PLAY AND RE-PLAY THIS GAME!