Gears of War 2 (Epic)

The Story
And so comes the second installment of Xbox 360's oh-so popular franchise. We continue our adventures with former flower-shop owner-turned-soldier Marcus Fenix and his band of archetypal tree trunks as they quest to return the world back to when they were their own worst enemy. These guys are the very
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definition of Patriots! Damn these subterranean invading immigrants!




In the last episode, you, as Mr. Fenix, set off a bomb meant to cripple the Locust, our resident baddies. However, the reality of it was that it was a mere pin prick in there stubby, hardened fingers. In fact, with their already embedded hatred of all things sewing, this pin prick just helped them redouble there efforts. To give them hope that eventually man, and their bleedin' fashion will be sunk forever, and sink is what they do.

Best friend and former multiple-Starbucks-owner Dom is along side you once again in his search for his dearly missed wife, Maria (Maria being the only female Hispanic name in existence). Former Mathlete Baird and former thrashball player Cole round out your fellowship. New characters have surfaced, too. Former-of-the-living Carmine takes the place of his also former-of-the-living brother, Carmine. Former surfer and creepy-quiet Kai (the coolest character of the game) and Current connoisseur of adult literature Dizzy add some needed, but short-lived flavor to the game. You've got a new boss, too; former Rasta Blasta Scourge.

Marvel as you fight wave after wave of locust enemies! Delight in learning wave after wave of new and still confusing information about Planet Sera's past, Marcus' father, possibly his royal mother and Locust culture and cuisine. Cream your jeans as you watch wave after wave of cities sink down down down into the ground ground ground. Did I say giant worm? Yes. Yes I did. Wave after wave of a single gargantuan worm. Did I say blood? Wave after wave of buckets of it.

The Game
The mechanics of the game feel the same as they did in the first - that being a good thing. There were some improvements in the way you take cover. You're not as magnetized to the wall in the way you were in one. It could still be improved, but there's not much room for a complaint about it. The details are a bit more detailed and we've got destructible cover now! The new weapons, such as the shield, flame thrower and new handgun are all very useful in taking out enemies. The only issue I have with the mechanics is if I die and have to go back into the stage, occassionally I die immediately again, making me have to load the whole stage again. The reason? Who the hell knows. It's even happened when playing co-op with friends. Then they're like, "uh... that's not cool." Not cool indeed.

The scale of the game is much better, too. Everything's huge and it fits with the type of game it's supposed to be. The caves are awesome! They're still a bit linear, but there's less of that have to split up and go different way decisions. Those are still present, but they make even less sense than they did in the last game. In one instance, one person has to go into a room and disable the security system, one flame-thrower at a time, while the other has to simply dodge them. In the end of this corridor, you end up in the same room. Why?

A new multiplayer mode has surfaced. Horde, where you fight - you guessed it - wave after wave of enemies. Up to 50 levels of co-op gameplay with up to five players. I quite like it, but it does take some time to get through if you're doing well. The baby doesn't approve, so I can't really dive into it so much. As for the rest of the multiplayer, I've tried. And tried. I have never actually been able to get into a game. I find the lobbies to not give you a lot of option, and the wait time is enormous. Along with a ridiculous amount of game-killing glitches, I've seen no reason to start. They've since the patched it (waaaay too late), but, it's waaaay too late.

In The End...
For at least the single player modes and Horde, this game is totally worth picking up. You're not really playing for the characters, of which there is little. You're not playing it for the emotional relationships, of which they really try to get going, but don't really know how to get going. You're playing for blood, and that, my friends, they get right. Oceans of right.

I give this four out of five wave after waves!!!!