Gears of War 2

Product Description
The gears of war continue to turn as Marcus Fenix and his squad of Cogs go back into action. Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad, locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde for the survival of humanity. It is an epic saga of survival, loss, and retribution. Gears of War 2 raises the bar with the amazing technological advances of Unreal Engine 3, delivering a bigger, badder, and more intense experience.

Party system and skill-based online matchmaking - form a full or partial team with friends and continue together from match to match without the need to reform after each game. A skill-based online matchmaking system groups players of similar skill level together in competitive multiplayer matches

The wait is over, Gears of War 2 has arrived. Ever since the original was released, fans have clamored for this sequel. Developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Epic Games, Gears of War 2, which has already garnered several awards, picks up six months after the events of the blockbuster original Gears of War. Players are thrown back into the role of Marcus Fenix, leading the battle for humankind's survival against the Locust Horde. With innovative third-person tactical action gameplay and unsurpassed high-definition graphics, Gears of War 2 is a must-have game for the Xbox 360.

Gears of War 2 Players: Offline: 1-4 Online: 10 Gameplay Modes: Single player, competitive multiplayer, cooperative multiplayer, system link multiplayer, online multiplayer with voice support. Format: 16:9 Widescreen on HDTV 480p, 720p, and 1080i.

Gears of War 2 offers stunningly realistic, vast environments to play in. View larger.

The enemies in Gear of War 2 are huge and downright nasty. View larger.

Huge Environments, Bigger Gameplay
For those who loved Gears of War, Gears of War 2 builds upon it in every way, but with several major enhancements. There are more weapons, bigger vehicles, and more action. The enemies are more dangerous, and the total experiences is more immersive than ever. And with a revolutionary tactical combat system, the game will require not just fast reaction times and shooting skill, it will also challenge you to devise a strategy that will work against the enemies who exhibit smart AI.

Jaw-Dropping, Realistic Graphics
Just as Gears of War did the first time around, Gears of War 2 ups the ante for graphical prowess. Combined with the sweeping vistas and evocative locales of Sera, where the story takes place, Gears of War 2 offers jaw-dropping graphics that are made possible through advances in Unreal Engine 3. New visual effects include ambient occlusion, dynamic shadows, improved character lighting, the ability to render hundreds of on-screen characters simultaneously, improved water physics, additional blood and bullet decals, advanced destructible environments, new weather effects, and the introduction of fluid objects.

Immersive, Gripping Story
Taking place six months after the end of the first game, Gears of War 2 returns the cast of characters of the original, including Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, as well as several newcomers.

Novelist and comic book writer Joshua Ortega, who assisted with the writing, has created a story that is big on character development and personality. With a new in-game conversational camera system and multiple story arcs, the story is presented in a gripping cinematic style where characters gain an emotional depth that matches their realistic graphical representation.

More Characters, Upgraded Vehicles, Badder Weapons
Those who were impressed by the original Gears of War will be in for a real treat. New characters such as Tai Kaliso, weapons like the burst pistol, and huge vehicles like the COG Centaur tank will give players a whole new dimension and scope of gameplay in both single-player and multi-player modes.

Everything you loved about multiplayer in the original is back, including the classic death matches, but with this sequel there is an added emphasis on teamwork. New multiplayer game modes will require better coordination in order to win. The game also features voice support, so you can communicate with other players around the world -- whether you're on the same team or trash talking!

Gears of War 2 won several awards at E3 2008, where it was first presented, including Overall Best Shooting Game and Overall Best Graphics Technology of E3 2008 from IGN, as well as Best Action Game of E3 2008 from the Game Critics Awards.

Amazon deal is faulty if not checked in detail.
I purchased this game because it was on sale and was supposed to include a free 3 month subscription to Xbox Live. I received the game, but know 3 month xbox Live subscription as promised. After looking at the details they explained that you were supposed to add both the Xbox Live subscription and the game to your cart. This was VERY deceptive! The game it self is fun but I personally would not want to pay for it even with the discount without the Xbox Live Subscription. I hate this kind of falls advertising. Sorry if you wanted more about the game. I know this is supposed to be a review on the game, but I have not yet played my copy, but I have tried the game from friends.

Epic.
Horrible puns aside, the Gears of War series is the Xbox 360's "other" AAA million selling franchise. Halo, however, this is not; developed by Epic Games, Gears of War 2 is a brutal, bloody third person shooter with an emphasis on finding cover and taking out your opponent by popping out from corners, concrete barriers and burned out cars. Beautiful graphics, wonderful sound and excellent, unique gameplay all combine to make Gears of War 2 one of the best games on the Xbox 360.

The graphics are the best on the system, bar none; fantastic looking character models, beautiful explosions and excellent lighting combine to make Gears of War 2 a treat to look at. It looks better than the first game and sounds better to boot. Technically, the folks at Epic have raised the bar for games to come. Voice acting is spot on, and the story this time even plays a bigger role. Don't go expecting anything of Final Fantasy melodrama or complexity, but the tale is well told, and it keeps the game moving along.

The main draw of the game is the gunfights, of which there are many. The controls are tight and perform exactly as you would like them to, although there are still problems with sliding into cover by accident or, say, executing a downed enemy instead of reviving a teammate. These are minor annoyances, but they can lead to some untimely deaths or losses (in the case of multiplayer rounds), so it's worth mentioning. If you've played the original game, you'll be right at home here; not much has changed (there's some new executions, the ability to plant grenades and use downed enemies as meatshields), asides from the levels, which are varied and fun to dash through. The Locust aren't particularly smart, but they put up a decent enough fight on Normal. The campaign only takes about 6 or 7 hours, which is too bad, although it is good enough that I want to play it through more than once. Replayability is enhanced by the fact that insane mode is unlocked AFTER beating the game. There are some terrible vehicle portions in the game, where you're required to either man the gunner seat, drive or both. The controls in these are almost universally horrible, and it's difficult to aim with your ride bouncing up and down all the time. Some segments are better than others, but none of them are particularly endearing. Thankfully, they're short, but please Epic, cut out these awful parts; the vehicle chapter in Gears of War 1 was terrible as well.

Multiplayer is the core of the title, in my opinion; there's only so many times one can finish the story mode, however good it may be. The hosting process of the first game has been replaced with a Halo 3 style matchmaking system that is hit or miss; it takes awhile to get into games sometimes, and it really shouldn't, considering how many people are playing. We're talking 4 or 5 minute load times here, although it usually finds a match within a minute or so. Also, sometimes the game will drop you mid-match, saying "connection to the host was lost." This is irritating, and although my internet is spotty (so some of the blame lies there), other Xbox Live games don't do this. The highlight of the multiplayer options is the new Horde mode, easily the best addition to the game. A team of 5 is pitted against a swarm of Locust that gets bigger and stronger every round; every ten rounds, they get a boost to their health, accuracy or damage. There are a total of fifty waves, and your high scores are tracked on the leaderboards. It's a great new feature, although not without its problems; it's a pain to hunt down the last Locust of a wave - oftentimes they'll be stuck on some object or hiding halfway across the map. The game essentially forces you out of position to go and hunt down these stray enemies, which can screw you for the next round. It'd be nice if the last few guys tried to kill you more often, instead of camping. Other multiplayer options from the original Gears are back, including Warzone, Execution and Annex. New multiplayer modes include Meatflag (capture the flag with a live person as the flag...) and Wingman (essentially Multi-Team). I highly dislike the versus multiplayer aspect of the game; it's very shotgun/power weapon centric, and latency ensures that if you're not host, you're at a severe disadvantage. There are some people who love it, though, and it's certainly not bad; I just prefer Halo 3's multiplayer. That, and Horde is so much fun that I can't tear away from it.

If you're a fan of shooters and you don't own this game, buy it immediately. Even if you don't have Live, playing through the campaign either solo or with a buddy is great fun. It's well polished, well designed, and has enough variety that it doesn't get stale. The singe player game is slightly short, but it has some decent replay value. The multiplayer aspect of the game is wonderful, matchmaking/lag issues not withstanding. Horde is a great addition to the game and adds a ton of replay value. Gears of War 2 builds upon the original's solid foundations, and the result is one of the best sequels in recent memory. One of the Xbox 360's marquee titles, and a game almost everyone will enjoy.

Gears of Awesome!
GOW2 is a great game. Epic didn't mess with everything that worked on the first one, they just made the world seem much bigger, and developed the story further. It has some really intense game moments. Very emmersive. Beautiful environments. Great Multiplayer. 5 stars, a must play, definitely on my top 5 games of 2008.

Terrific Sequel to the first
If you liked Gears, you'll love Gears 2. The story is better than the first. The game overall is on a much larger scale, where you actually feel like your in a war, not just little skirmishes like Gears 1. The gameplay is almost exactly the same, with new weapons...to be honest I had a difficult time dropping my old favs to try out the new ones...but the new weapons are welcome additions.

The fact that now you can carry big weapons (like Halo 3) breaks up the combat with some really fun tid-bits.

Cons: I did have a few bugs with the game. I got stuck a few times in co-op. You still move really slow when you're on the com, which is frustrating, but that's about it for me.

This game is a must-have for any Gears of War fan.

Gears of War Amazon.com U.S. Exclusive Locust Drone action figure

Call of Duty: World at War

Fallout 3

Fable II

Left 4 Dead

Xbox 360 Live 12 Month Gold Card plus 1 Month Bonus

Gears of War 2 & More...