The most anticipated XBox360 sequel finally hits the shelves - and was it worth the wait? Yes. Kind of. Maybe. Why am I unsure? Well, it is essentially more of the same, albeit with some minor improvements. If you're expecting Epic to have reinvented the game then you'll be sorely disappointed: Gears of War 2 is more the upgrade, the “pimped ride”.  It's bigger, better, harder and faster.

Which isn't a bad thing - after all, it wasn't broke, so it didn't need fixing.

Gears of War 2 is set six months later - and surprise, surprise, the light bomb from the original game didn't do the job intended. In fact, the bomb caused much of the liquid Imulsion underground to vaporize, causing a fatal disease called rustlung to spread among the human population, slowly killing everyone. Add to this the mysterious sinking of whole cities, and it's time to take the war to the Locust.



Once again, you plat the part of badass Marcus Phoenix, and spend most of the game with (or, in co-op mode, potentially as) your buddy Dom Santiago, as well as sections with some more familiar faces - and the banter is as witty as ever. Possibly in direct response to criticism of the first game and its over-the-top, badass macho characters, there's an attempt to add more humanity to the game for the second outing, mainly in the search for Dom's wife Maria.  The Gears still shrug off bullets and eviscerate enemies in all their hardcore glory (the signature Lancer weapon still thankfully splits enemies in two), but Epic has added some softer sides to the characters. There are a few moments that almost bring a tear to your eye – except that Gears are, of course, far too macho to cry. There's more back-story as well, although full details on the mysterious Pendulum Wars are still vague.

So what's changed? Well, the cover system is still pretty much the same, although it does seem to flow smoother this time around. It's easier to get into the cover you wanted to, as opposed to the first game which would occasionally decide you wanted to be here, when you actually wanted to be there. There also seem to be improvements to the AI of the other Gears - they tend not to get in the way so much this time around. You can also finish off enemies as they crawl away with a deadly neck stomp, or pick them up and use them as shields.

"...the banter is as witty as ever..."

New weapons include the flame thrower, which is great for close-quarters battling, and the rather difficult-to-master mortar; find your mark with that weapon, however, and it's great for taking out large groups of Locust, although this only really comes into play at specific, pre-set points.

Visually, the majority of levels still give the impression of being very brown, but pay enough attention and it's actually a very pretty game, with more greenery and even a snowy level. The gore has been turned up as well - one of the more memorable levels sees you literally swimming in blood.

As in the first game, there are some excellent set pieces - though the full scale battle you see on one of the levels, although happening in-game, still feels like a cut-scene, a background setting to your ride-on-rails. Just when you're getting ready to join the good (and massive) fight, you end up back in familiar Gears territory with just the usual small squad. The obligatory driving level is there, and is much more fun this time around, giving you the opportunity to take down some of the enemy’s larger troops with more ease, and in larger numbers than when on foot. There’s another “driving” level which I won't give away here – needless to say, when you realise what's in store you'll probably whoop just as loud as I did.



One of my favourite levels has you fighting your way to your destination and trying to keep under cover from the dreaded “razor rain”. It apes the Kryll level from the first game: step outside for too long and you'll be torn to pieces.  There are also some attempts at stealth, be it actually avoiding an enemy patrol as opposed to fighting them, or one imaginative level where you have to avoid various booby traps, or cunningly turn them on the enemy. Overall, though, Splinter Cell this is not.

Enemy troops are mostly more of the same, but with added Brumak! (You know, the one with the gun on its back that you couldn't fight in the original - unless you got the PC version.)  But, disappointingly, no Berserkers! The Berserker encounters were some of the tensest moments the first game had to offer. Why they've left them out this time, I don't know. A glaring omission.

The pacing is mostly excellent - quiet, suspenseful moments segue straight into frantic battles, then wind down or ramp up at just exactly the right pace - but the game does start to fall a bit flat near the end, with the last act managing to drag yet still end far too abruptly. The new big boss - who looks like a Locust take on the Predator and supposedly makes the original’s boss General Ram look like a push over – seriously disappoints. I was certainly expecting more from the finale: one lesson the team at Epic haven't learned from the original, seemingly.

Split-screen co-operative mode is still in there of course, and still ranks as one of the most fun games to play with a friend – if not the best co-op game this year (I’d refute that claim; see my Left 4 Dead review – Lewis). It's a pure joy, and nicely balances the story and the tasks between the two main characters. You can also play on different difficulty settings, which is great for the less well-versed at shooters. Added to the mode this time around is the option to crawl when you're down. The faster you hammer the button the faster you crawl, hopefully towards a team mate who can heal you, although it's somewhat disorienting and I often found myself going in the opposite direction.

There are other new multiplayer modes as well – the most stunning of which is the marvellous Horde mode, in which you and your team mates are thrown together on a small map and face horde after horde (50 in total! Survive that!) of Locust. It really is something special, and has immense replay value. Oh, and they've also added proper chainsaw duels!

Overall, while not breaking any new ground, Gears of War 2 remains a stunning game, and an improvement on the already excellent first outing. It’s still a little short, as many modern titles are, but the improved multiplayer offerings make up for that.