Gears of War 2 is a direct sequal to the original Gears of War.  I only say that because there's a few different types of sequels aside from direct sequel. But I digress.

May people dislike the game due to it's cliche story, or even that the game doesn't focus on the story and more on the action.  I'm an old-school gamer and so the story doesn't entirely interest me.  I think of it as a plus but not a necessity in games.  But I would agree, the story is pretty cliche and not really focused on.  But that's not what the game is about.


Aside from the forced story, the game is great.  It's a solid third-person shooter.  Has non-stop action, awesome guns, the works.  It makes you feel pretty awesome when you take down a 50 foot Brumak using nothing but an assault rifle.  The game is really nothing short of a game that makes you feel awesome.  It's the equivalent of beating a really hard boss in a classic game (e.g. Megaman) only without the challenge and more of the mammoth proportion.

Gears of War 2 is the type of game where you leave your brain at the door and just enjoy the mindless carnage throughout the games action packed, albeit short, campaign.  But as with most shooters, the true action and excitement lies in the multiplayer and co-op modes. 

In Gears of War 2, Horde mode was introduced.  In this mode you fight wave upon wave of your enemies, The Locust, alone or with up to 3 other friends.  The further you go, the harder it gets and it could be a great time to spend an afternoon with your friends over Xbox LIVE.  Providing people still play it, of course.

In the multiplayer, you take on the world.  Team vs Team, or even Free-For-All if memory serves me correct.  Clever use of cover, memorizing the spawns of all weapons (Offensive or Defensive) and how to use everything to it's fullest to give yourself an advantage over your opponents is the key to defeating your opponents.  If you thought that the campaign was brutal and action packed you should play against other players. It's twice as intense.

Recommended: Yes