Gears of War 2

Gears of War 2 is the shit. Everything that made the first game great has been improved, namely the story and graphics.

The first Gears was technologically impressive, graphically it blew everything else out of the water at the time. One of the limitations was that there could only be a few enemies on screen at a time so usually you would only be fighting 4 locusts. Kill one, another comes out of the emergence hole. This time around there’s a shitload (‘more like 10 shitloads’) of enemies on screen at any time, which elevates the game to new heights. Because the areas are now bigger, these added enemies can and will be more deadly when they ambush you. Epic has also managed to make the game look even better, most noticeably the lighting effects.

I liked how the story was more involved this time around. In the first game it was very bare bones: they’re locusts, they come out of the ground, they’re trying to kill us, we have a resonator. The first third of Gears 2 is kinda slow which led me to believe it was going to be a mediocre sequel, but there’s a point where you start getting into the thick of things that the game really picks up. As Dom is looking for Maria you end up going deeper underground where the Locust reside. New enemies are introduced and these areas are slick, straight up action all around. It never feels like you’re doing one thing for too long, the game switches it up constantly. Playing with another person is definitely the way to go…. like when a door opens and 10 fuckers are coming towards you, one person can try to mow them down with a mounted machine gun while the other fires off mortars. Sick.

I don’t really like the online multiplayer mostly because people take that shit too seriously and it’s hard to cooperate with them. But Horde… Horde mode is straight gladiator shit. Five guys in one arena taking on waves of monsters to see how long they can survive. That shit’s hella fun and is worth the purchase of the game on it’s own.

Gears of War 2 really did feel like a big budget action movie, but one you can control and play with someone else. Plus the Cole Train’s back, baby!