Gears 2 may have some very very small minor flaws but it never hampered the epic excitement in the game itself.
The Good:
*Plenty of great new weapons to try on, including flamethrowers, shields and burst SMG.
*Tons of variety of Locust enemies which includes 3 new Boomer variants, Kantus healing monk, and many more.
*Healthy number of game modes which includes new Annex, Submission, and many more. Submission is like capture the flag but with a twist, you'll capture a meatflag, a civilian armed with a shotgun, he's neither your sides and his role is as a flag to be captured. The Annex is capturing beacon to beacon circles around the battle field, as long as the team has a control on a beacon they'll gain points. There are many more game modes that will surely keep you wanting it to play more.
* Horde mode gives an instant action and fun for many. Tagging up to 5 players to take down 50 levels of relentless Locust assaults.
*Well adjusted difficulty levels; adding a Normal difficulty and enable both players in co-op to choose their separate likeliness of their level.
*Some tweaked weapons returned with more different playstyle like the Hammerburst was turned into semi auto and Boltok pistols are very effective when doing headshots, such weapons are made for better and distinct purposes. The sound effects are also very distinct, for example, the Hammerburst in Gears 1 shared the same sound from the Lancer, but now it has its own one.
*Story is more emotionally engaging and really picks off where Gears 1 ended, it also has many surprising moments that would keep you jaw drop for at least 5 seconds.
*Same polished cover system.
*Controls are easy to learn. The extensive early game tutorial allows players to take a grip on their controllers.
*Supports both online and local (system link and splitscreen) campaign co-op.
* Tons of new stylish executions which includes beating someone up and shotgun gold executions and other moves like meat shielding and crawling when incapacitated.
*Heartwarming collectibles allows to learn more about the story and the world.
*AIs are implemented for multiplayer matches really increases the value for both local and online play.
*Epic soundtrack.
*Same old great Gears we used to loved and play.
The Bad:
*Several glitches may be exploited easily.
*Multiplayer bugs may sometimes pop up due to laggy connection or unknown reasons.
*Multi-function buttons can be occasionally jumpy as if the A button has many functions it is used for cover, jumping, meat shielding. Other than that the X button is to grab weapons/ammo and to perform a curb stomp execution.
*The final boss was a complete joke, its far worse that RAAM boss fight during Gears 1.
*The ending is very unsatisfactory for the many.
*And lastly, the entire game scrapped the Beserkers from Gears 1 :(
Final Verdict: Gears 2 may have some very very small minor flaws but it never hampered the epic excitement in the game itself. Truly a masterpiece that is worth trading your girlfriend for a copy and a 360.