Bigger and Better:
The first Gears of War offered a uniquely combat experience, everything was big and brutal and not much has changed. GoW2 follows the golden rule of sequel making, “More”. More weapons, more enemies, more characters, more story, more levels, more vehicles every. If you liked the first one, there is all that and more to love this time around.
Gameplay mechanics:
As i said before gears of war 2 hasn't change much compare to its prequel but Epic did come up with quiet imaginative stuff and expanding on a simple system. Rather than simply executing enemies, downed enemies now crawl around, meaning you can either feel extra cruel by delivering the killing blow to a Locust as he pathetically drags his stumps around, or take him hostage it restricts you to handgun but gets the job done , although I personally found the latter a rare occurrence(Because of the distance most enemies are engaged at) .You can also engage in chainsaw duels with enemies, which requires furiously jamming the B button, and you can crawl to your teammates when downed and they revive you instead of starting all over again from the checkpoint.
The cover system has been really define this time around like Portable cover (Mauler shields), living cover (Rockworms), automated cover (levers and weighted).
Enemies:
The new enemies really go a long way toward freshening up the campaign experience. Reavers, the deadly flying creatures from the first game, now land and must be dealt with all throughout the campaign. The new Tickers replace the first game's Wretches for the most part; these suicidal creatures run toward you before exploding in to fire ball. Brumaks ( My personal favourite) are all over in this part. There is also a host of new Locust soldiers that stem from the new weapon additions, including Mortar Locust, Flamethrower Locust, the particularly deadly bloodmouths, and more, and a variety of Boomers, some of which melee with giant maces and shields.
Weapons:
The weapons have been rebalanced, making some feel weaker than they once did, which has its disappointments, but new weapons such as the Mortar launcher and turrent chain-gun, packs a real punch. The Hammer of Dawn has been all but eliminated from the game, showing up only at the end which was a let down. Other heavy weapons include the new Flamethrower and the Boom shield, an actual metal shield that can be picked up and used defensively or rammed into the ground and used as cover. Lastly, there are new ink grenades which unleash poisonous smoke on detonation.
Story:
So, with all those cutscenes and hand-ear dialogue sections, what was going on? The story this game was arguably better, quashing complaints the first game just touched on its story elements by rounding off most of the plot threads left hanging by the original. Strangely though, Gears 2 weaves a whole new bunch of unanswered plot threads by the game ends, setting up half a dozen story elements and never explaining what any of them mean. This time though, it seems more deliberate; implying a definite Gears 3 in the pipeline. (If that wasn’t obvious before) The tone is also much darker, making a decent stab at some truly harrowing scenes, anyone who played will know what I mean, anyone who hasn’t will be surprised at how grim it actually gets.
Lasting Impressions:
So there you have it, Gears 2 is still big and brutal fun, gears 1 was well paced right up until the end, when I assume Epic ran out of budget or time and the game had to burn to an unconvincing and rushed finish. Gears 2 does not have that problem, it is of a much more satisfying pace and length in fact going on far past the point I expected it to stop. Plus, Gears 2 gradually keeps you abreast of your progress towards a big achievement, so it’s satisfying to collect a kill with every weapon. I’d go as far as to say this new feature gives the game life it wouldn’t have had without it.
Luckily the game ended in a glorious run of unblemished combat in classic Gears environments. Ironically, 7 hours in, I felt like the game had only started.
Gears of War 2: 9.5/10
