I never did have the first Gears of War, although i have played it, so there's not much comparison for me to analyse between the previous game. But this game doesn't need the success of it's predecessor. This game can stand on it's own. Wether you're a GOW Veteran or a Carmine Rookie, you'll find entertainment in this game.

For those who have played the game before, you'll recognise some characters from the previous game. You obviously have the storyline surrounding Sergeant Marcus Fenix, although, and not to spoil the story for those who haven't played it yet, Marcus' friend Dom has his own little story in the game. You are also joined by the usuals Cole, Baird and Tai, along with a few people you'll meet along the way. Most of the time, you (Marcus) and Dom will be fighting it together, lancers blasting.

Talking about weaponry, Gears of War 2 features a pretty hot flamethrower, capable of melting the Locust to a nice, crispy pile of ash.

You can now also go chainsaw to chainsaw with the Locust, with new chainsaw duels (of course both characters need lancers). These are won by tapping 'B' faster than your opponent, and they take care of most enemys in 1 cut (very handy for 'Elimination' matches).  You of course have the Locust equivalent of the COG lancer, the Hammerburst. The Hammerburst does not have a chainsaw, though it is more accurate and more powerful than the lancer. Although slow firing, it can be fired fast by simply clicking the right trigger faster, although then you lost accuracy. Personally, i prefer the standard lancer, as it makes short work of enemys, and the sound of a revving chainsaw can make people run for miles.

The most fun thing about the chainsaw i feel is the fact that wretches seem to be lured in by them. Here's the situation; you're faced with 10 wretchers clambering towards you. What to do, you're out of ammo for all guns, and you haven't even got a grenade. Well, quite simply- stand there and rev. I play online and see people on Horde mode shooting at these fast, little wretches, wasting ammo. Wait for them to come to you, and as soon as one is near you, you'll be splattering blood automically before you can say "Hello Dolly".

Of course, who needs chainsaws and flamethrowers, when you can still access the Hammer of Dawn (just don't try to use it in a building! Amount of people i've to tell online that it works using a satellite is uncountable).

Down to the Locust. You've got all sorts from the easy to shred with a chainsaw wretches, to a massive brumak or corpser. Not to spoil the game again, but you'll actually end up enjoying brumaks in this game eventually.

One member of the Locust family i've been annoyed by is the bloodmount. These are beasts ridden by a locust master, and before you've had time to say "Hello Dolly" a second time, your heads been ripped off. Little tip, try not to kill the locust master first, as if you kill him, the bloodmount doesn't have anyone controlling it, and goes into a rampage for human flesh.

The one thing that dissapoints me most about the Gears Series is the lack of vehicles. Alhough the vehicles that are in the game are cool, there's just a lack of variation. You've only got 4 land vehicles (APC, Assault Derrick, Centaur Tank andJunker) and 1 air vehicle (King Raven), and they all seem pretty much the same. Obviously the King Raven is excluded here as that is a helicopter, but the 4 land vehicles and all pretty similar, they're all fast and have got big guns. I just wanted to see more from them, perhaps a vehicle just for fast travel instead of running, or maybe underwater travel featured in the game.

In conclusion, when i first got this game, i didn't put it down, i was so engrossed in the storyline, i had to see it all done in one night. There are unlockables in the game, and little mini quests, which features collecting war journal pages etc. Not very fun, but at least EPIC Games had there thinking hats on to include a few mini achievements.

Overall Rating: 9/10