With a very fun campaign and the excellent Horde mode, GOW2 is a must-have sequel for fans of the original.
Of course, I am in the minority on that opinion. Most people seemed to have fun with it and it was the big selling-point of the game. Along with the online CO-OP, it kept people playing online for a long time. And as we all knew, a sequel was going to be coming. The first Gears proved to be a huge success, so there was a lot of hype surrounding this next game. For the most part, it delivers on that hype.
The campaign in Gears 2 is great, but it has it's "Wtf?" moments. When I first started playing, I wasn't excited at all. It felt just like the first Gears. Then I got to the level where you are on a big rig and have to man a turret while shooting down Reavers. I didn't get into this level at all and the game seemed to reek of 'expansion pack'. Then all of a sudden, the game picks up. The levels and environments fluctuate very nicely. The storyline then gets going and there all sorts of twists and turns you didn't see coming. With the exception of one level that you play inside of a giant worm (yea, it's as ridiculous as it sounds and the worst level in either Gears game), I really got into the game more due to the variety of the surroundings. There are even a couple "vehicle" missions that are quite fun that offer up a few surprises.
One thing I did notice was that the pacing did feel a bit off at the end of the game. After the end of a climactic boss battle, you would think the game might be ending.....then it goes on for another chapter. And the chapter that follows isn't as good as the one before it and the ending of the game is less climactic for it. It's just a weird pacing issue, so some people might not even notice it or care. But it's something I should mention.
I should also mention the stupid A.I. of your teammates, which can either get them killed or get in the way of your shots. Some of the dialogue is rather cheesy. There is a sub-plot in the game involving Dom's wife which tries it's hardest to make you care, but feels out of place and doesn't work. Don't worry though, Gears 2 never turns into some sappy love story or anything. I just think Gears is at it's best when it just honest about what it is. This is 2-4 gigantic guys, with huge guns, walking around and killing Locust. I relate it to watching the movie, 'Predator'. If you go into that thinking you are going to watch a movie about "feelings", you are insane. It's a movie that is all about testosterone filled dialogue, with great characters with big guns going to kill an alien. Like with 'Predator' , that's how I like my Gears.
A great example? When you go into one of the underground levels, there is a part where it's all dark except the light given off by these strange plants. The scene looks fantastic and then one of the Gears you are with asks a question about the plants. Marcus has this response......"What am I? A fu*king botanist?" Classic.
I have heard a lot of people complain about the campaign being too short. I felt it was the right length and was fun to play all the way through. The game looks absolutely stunning at some parts and is still the best looking game on the Xbox 360. The game also sounds fantastic. And the presentation is top-notch. There is even a handy little achievement tracker thing that pops up every now and then to let you know how close you are getting to unlocking something.
All of that stuff I have mentioned is fine and great to have. But the key new addition in Gears 2 has to the the 'Horde' mode. This consists of you (and a few buddies, if you so choose) killing wave after wave of increasingly tougher Locusts. After every 10 waves, the Locusts get some combat bonuses designed to make them even stronger. As you clear a level, you gain experience that lets you level up. You can also level up in normal multi-player, as well. But the Horde steals the show here as the most fun addition, by far. It's a blast to play with buddies, but you can even play alone if you so choose. It becomes ridiculously hard if you don't have teammates, but it becomes addictive to try.
Epic also introduces A.I. bots to the multiplayer. This is a GREAT addition for people like me, who hate to play this game online with immature idiots on Xbox Live. So you and a buddy can team up with a couple bots to take on a whole team of bots if you want. And the bots can really handle their own, depending on the difficulty you have them set at.
All of this adds up to a really fun experience even after you finish the single-player campaign. You have the campaign CO-OP, of course. Or you have the usual multi-player (which has several game types itself), if you so choose. Or you can hop into play some Horde either solo or with others. You can even just start up a game with just bots and go killing. The choice is up to you.
Add all the DLC maps to the mix and you have a game that could keep you busy for quite some time. I just beat the campaign and now I am playing a bunch of Horde by myself. I am having a blast. I probably won't do much online multi-player (other than the Horde), but that's ok. I am having a great time and getting more time out of this game than I thought I would.
If you are a fan of the original Gears, you will probably love this game to death. The campaign is better and the popular multi-player is still here. With the addition of the 'Horde' mode, Epic has created an addictive solo/multi-player experience that few games can rival. On top of that, you get the best looking game on the Xbox 360 and it sounds fantastic. I highly recommend this for a purchase and now that it's dropped in price, it should be a no-brainer.