Gears of War 2 takes very few risks but its extras and small improvements keep the series moving forward
Gears of War 1 followed a more B-movie war movie approach while this game changes it up a bit and goes for a more "humanity's last stand on earth" sort of feel to it. Taking place six months after Lightmass bombing at the end of the first game, the Locust Horde has survived and has renewed their war on Humanity, and through unknown means begun to sink entire Human cities. Even Jacinto, humanity's last stronghold is at risk. With the COG army continuing to lose large numbers to Locust raids, the COG start the Operation: Hollow Storm, a counter-attack against the Locust by sending gears in Grindlifts deep below the surface to kill the remaining Locust that survived the Lightmass Offensive. The story isn't the greatest, but it's more interesting than the story in the first game with a better told story and more intense action.
Like the first game, you take control of Marcus Fenix and are assisted by Dom (player 2 in co-op) throughout the campaign. There are a total of 5 acts to play through again but the whole game will take you around 7-8 hours to complete (time may vary depending on difficulty). The whole campaign is intense and the game looks as good as the original, although the improvements in visuals are almost unnoticeable and there is still a lack of color and too much brown and grey. The environments you visit are varied spite the fact that much time is spent underground. You start off in a city, to a mountainous region, underground, inside a giant worm (you read that right), and much more. Like I said, much of the game is spent underground but no two areas look the same and the campaign is a blast to play through. Co-op mode is back of course, and like the first, the campaign is even more fun to play with a friend by your side.
If you've played the first Gears of War back in 2006, you probably know what to expect from the gameplay. Sadly, as intense as it still is, the game takes too few risks in the gameplay department. Most of the game is based around the cover mechanic, forcing you to take on your firefights with more precision rather than running and gunning. Your health recharges when you stay out of the line of fire but trying to rush and avoiding the cover mechanic is punishing. There isn't too much new added as said, but minor things like taking enemies hostage after they are down (yeah, enemies can get knocked down and possibly revived by a teammate this time), multiple new melee that finish off your target, and WAY more weapons than before (like portable mini guns, flamethrowers, mortars, shields, etc.). New enemies join the fight like Grinders (specialize in mini guns) or Flamers (specialize in flamethrowers). All this stuff is nice and it keeps the game varied and interesting, but the core gameplay plays it safe and not much is new. Well, you know what they say: "if it ain't broken, don't fix it".
Multiplayer makes a return with returning modes like Execution, Warzone, Annex and King of the Hill as well as three brand new modes; Guardian (just like Assassination from the first game, where you must eliminate the opposing team's leader, although this time you don't get to respawn once your leader is dead), Wingman (deathmatch that splits all players into 5 teams of 2 instead of 2 teams of 5 like the other modes) and Submission (players must take down an AI controlled enemy and carry him to the goal for a certain amount of time). Multiplayer has some unique modes to offer and can occasionally be fun, but the game's online presentation is weak. It can be difficult to join a game at times and the game lags severely online, ruining any fun to be had. Luckily you also have the option to play against bots offline if you want to see how the multiplayer works.
Probably the best addition to this sequel is Horde mode. This is a survival mode like Halo's Firefight or Call of Duty's Nazi Zombies where your goal is to hold off and survive as long as you can. This time, there is a limited amount of rounds (50 to be exact), you can restart a round if you fail, and you can save and come back later if you want to as well (offline only). Once again, although fun by yourself, you'll find yourself enjoying it a lot more with friends either online or off. This is where Gears of War 2 shines the most.
Gears of War 2 is an intense action shooter that you will surely enjoy if you like third person cover shooters like the first game. Although it is brought down by a poor online performance and it is afraid to take many risks to differentiate it from the first, the campaign is as fun as ever and Horde mode is an excellent addition to the series, as is the ability to play against bots offline. If you like the first Gears of War, then this worthy sequel is worth picking up just to see the story continue (before you jump into Gears of War 3).