[Munkey Boy]

Gears of War 2 then. How does it play for you? Is the campaign cinematic or unimaginative? How do the new online modes add to the experience? Love the new features or hate the matchmaking?

Please vote in the poll and leave comments in this thread once you've played the game enough to judge.

[DpM]

Blimey first to vote

Excellent vote here.

The story is superb, multi player is awesome and the only reason it did not get the top choice is due to the poor amount of time it takes to get a game going in matchmaking.

This will be like the first a game to keep coming back to till the next installment is out.

[shagaboopon]

I voted outstanding as the campaign alone was worth the cost of the game yet we also get Horde, coop and online into the bargain too. For me its a big step up from the first game which was the game that made me buy a 360.

[kopchoir]

Its a more polished game from the first and im sure all these bugs will be ironed out with a patch, as always so as i voted 10 for gears1 gears 2 must get a 10 but you already knew that
kop

[MarkyPancake]

It would have been Outstanding but there are a few niggles that make it get an Excellent for me.

[JonnyConcrete]

9 from me, what a great game.

Wonder how many spoiler votes this will get, got a feeling there will be a few.

[stepneg]

Excellent game but let down by the poorly executed multiplayer, they should have done a beta test where all the problems could have been sorted. Also Cliffy B likes to come across as the gamers fan and loves talking his games up which is great it's a shame he hasn't come out now and admitted there are problems and let us know they are doing something. Gears 1 was no where near as bad as this at launch

I love the game but the technical problems with it are a real dissapointment, lucky there is COD5 until the patch comes out.

[Dr Force]

I voted excelleny, its a great package for £35 and will be excellent VFM.

Everything is slightly improved, love the Horde mode and the better weapons.

I know there are glitches but for the size of the game, the variables, the graphics, the online and brilliant sound, it is very easy to overlook these. Improved in almost all area's, not more you can ask of a sequal

[jamienufc]

I gave the game oustanding, because as a complete package it outshines everything in Gears 1 and that was an amazing game!

The solo campaign is bigger, badder and on a grander scale, at times you feel as if your in a movie! Love the variety of the new weapons, and the gameplay tweaks such as the ability to take a meat sheild. Touches like this really open up the gameplay and make the whole game feel fresh and exciting. I never felt oh I've done this 100 times before whilst playing.

Achievements - These are alot more attainable now, for example seriously 2.0 is counted based on everything you do. I know some hardcore players will moan, but for guys like me who's play time is limited, this is a welcome bonus.

Horde is a fantastic new mode, that adds to the longevity of the title. I love how tactical it is and cant be beaten playing with friends. Well done epic!

The training grounds and the ability to play local bot matches is also a welcome edition. Like the achievements it makes the game more accessable and allows people to hone thier skills before going online, or gives them that multiplayer experience without ever having to go online in the first place.

Online multiplayer itself, like the single player campaign is bigger and badder. I love the new game modes and new maps and can see me playing online for a very long time.

So is there anything negative? Well, no games perfect and gears 2 does have some problems such as drops in framerate and slight screen tear, but I feel this is a slight given due to whats going on on the screen. Also there are issues with the match making that epic will need to patch, which I'm sure they will. I hope epic do what they did with gears 1 and periodicly release some new maps etc to keep things fresh until gears 3 arrives!

All in all a fantastic package and a massive improvement from Gears 1, which in its own right was/is a masterpiece!

Outstanding! This is a game to buy a 360 for if your still sitting on the fence. (plus left 4 dead is out soon too!)

p.s any av forums guys want to add me im JamieNUFC82

[Yemeth]

10/10 outstanding.

Single player is fantastic, a real treat, enjoyed every minute of it. Lots of interesting plot twists, plenty of action and not one dreary moment/level (unlike a level or two in gears 1).

Great vehicular additions to the game, it truly is bigger and more 'badass'.

It would get a 10 even without multiplayer imo, but the multiplayer is just the cherry on top.

One of the best multiplayer experiences I have ever had. After the disapointment that was Gears 1 online, this is a true rendition of online multiplayer, gears style. Maps are accomidating, varied and weapons are truly utilised to their 'real' potential. In gears one, you'd have to use the sniper like any old gun and hope for a head shot, but now with people sitting in cover MUCH more, you can sneak in unsuspecting heashot snipes from an angle. I just love how the sound effects of heads popping sound like watermelons bursting. The chainsaw is ever more brutal, chainsaw duals are epic and grenade tagging adds a new dimension to the tactical side of things. The shotgun is still lethal and gib-tacular despite what many others think.

Tactics tactics tactics, the only word you will truly appreciate in value, is really reminiscent of Rainbow Six which is what I love about it. This is the first game where I dived into the multiplayer before the story mode.

For me, game of the year (but I havent played Dead Space or Fallout 3 yet), and at £29 at launch, certaintly bargain of the year for me.

[1LeeDenton]

It's an Excellent 9 from me. The campaign is fantastic....it's not perfect, and there were times when I was praying to stop faffing about flying/driving various things and getting back on foot to shoot locusts.

Horde is superb entertainment, hours of a day can just fly by playing that.

MP is great in Private rooms (with fellow AVFers), but not so great in Public matches. I'm certain Epic will address any issues though, so it won't be long until that's all sorted.

Ltd Edition package is really nice as well, if like me you like that sort of thing.

[EEC3]

9 from me.

Only thing that stops it being a 10 is that Halo 3 beats it in most departments.

[Lezman]

Outstanding from me. I loved the first one and this is better, and with the addition of Horde its just superb

[sdb123]

I voted Very Good.

The SP just doesn't feel that much of a progression from GoW in all honesty; the later levels are good fun however I found the driving sections very boring (too much filler IMHO).

Not interested in MP so will be trading this once I've completed it.

[pandy92]

I cant decide.

To be honest the SP is great much better than the first.

The MP sucks so bad and there are problems with almost every aspect of it to the point once i have my online cheevs i wont be playing it again.

[kismet110]

A nine from me, after initial concerns over certain aspects (most of which'll hopefully be fixed via a patch or two) it's showing more and more replayability and Horde is an inspired game mode addition

Also, 10/10 to Lee for not mentioning another shooting game in a Gears Of War 2 Review but 0/10 for our good friend from the Northern Territories for doing so ...

[featherhall]

Originally Posted by sdb123

I voted Very Good.

The SP just doesn't feel that much of a progression from GoW in all honesty; the later levels are good fun however I found the driving sections very boring (too much filler IMHO).

Not interested in MP so will be trading this once I've completed it.

I agree with all you said. An 8 from me,

positives are 'its more of the same' and totally gorgeous with a good story.
negatives are the fact there are a few enemies missing from the first game and also the driving sections are frustrating and boring for me.

[Jay]

Right it's review time

In it's own right Gears is good, the single player campaign, is good fun, the game is a technical achievement, normally there are always graphical glitches etc, but gears 2 is very solid and very rarely slips.

This is better than Gears 1 and gears 1 was outstanding......

But that was nearly 2 years ago and the bar has been raised.

For me personally (someone that has played the first one solidly since release) I have somewhat gotten bored of the gears gameplay, and to be fair, I can't mark a game down for that, as it's not a flaw, I don't like rpgs so I know if I play oblivion or mass effect that I won't like them, but I can't mark them down for that, as for rpg fans I can see their merits.

However Gears 2 is broken in some ways, fair enough a patch could fix some issues, but I can't mark a game on the what if's, for all we know it might not ever fix it.

As a single player game it's an 8 (very close to a 9)

Horde mode is great fun and the campaign co-op is as great as ever.

The longevity of gears for me was the online though, and for the time being gears 2 hasn't got it right yet for me personally.

A real shame as I was really looking forward to it.

I'll most likely re-visit once a patch arrives

[digital zombie]

gave it a 9/11

its worth a eleven compared with most games out there however I agree that the first raised the bar just that little bit higher, just as expected its a great game but I think there are a few areas which could be improved and IMO the first is slightly better or at least in the single player.

After completing the first I felt that the story was complete and despite there being a few grey areas I could lie back and think that the game was totally worth the time spent playing. don’t get me wrong the second is great but I could not help feeling the ending was a bit to easy (I played both on hardcore)

However I am being very picky, defiantly one of the best games that I have played this year maybe even this decade . I think the online is fantastic and will keep me playing it for months to come. The new "horde" game is great, nothing better that meeting up with a few friends online and seeing how far you can get. The number of new maps and different modes provides heaps of variety.

[Bilbob]

Just a comment from me, as someone who never got on with Gears 1, and wouldn't class themselves as a player of this sort of game typically...
Managed to get caught up the hype, and thanks to game beign generous with a saints row 2 trade in, got this cheap...

And loved it. Best single player shooty game I've played since half life 1, and I include half life 2 in the time span too...
Not got involved in any online shenanigans yet, but looking forward to doing so. But finished the SP yesterday, and had a far better time than I expected. And to me, graphically, it's epic. Oh, no pun intended there.

[Tetlee]

Now I've completed the main campaign I'll add my vote. Excellent 10/11(hehe, I know, but that's how the forum polls work out) from me.

The main campaign is just superb, I loved the original campaign but this is just so much better, epic is the word that comes to mind(won't go into any spoiler details). Completed it on normal single player, already over half way through co-op on hardcore, then it'll be back once for for insane co-op(I don't replay many game campaigns three times so that says alot for how great it is).

Horde is a lovely addition to the game, doesn't get me hooked for hours on end but I do find myself keep coming back to it for the odd blast away hour and can see me still returning back to it for weeks if not months to come.

Only area it falls short for me is in the general multiplayer, just don't find it such addictive fun as the first one. It's almost moved slightly into CoD4 territory(I know, but hear me out), with all those smoke grenades flying about and knocking you out(usually to be followed by a chainsaw as you get back to your feet), the stuck grenades on corners(reminds me martydon or whatever the CoD4 perk was called), mortars(air strikes?) etc. I hated CoD4 online and I'm not keen on this either. Add to that the matchmaking issues and general sluggishness of the lobby system and I'd take GoW multi any day.

All that said, I can't deduct any more than 1 point as aside from the single player, the co-op and horde modes give me as much replayability online as pretty much any other games I can think of(with exception GoW which I played solid for years!), so a near perfect Excellent it is. Just hope they take the mutiplayer a bit back to it's roots for GoW3, it wasn't broken so why fix it, it just needed some minor tweaks and some new maps and play modes IMO).

[buckowski]

I really disliked the original, so wasn't expecting great things from this...

Got to say though, this has to be the best sequel ever, an amazing single player game, epic in every sense of the word, lovely controls, awesome graphics, user friendly in the way it saves your game auto, checkpoints close to each other so repetition never sets in, half decent story, superb sound.
My fave game this year is still uncharted, but this runs it very close, fantastic game.

[Droogie 2001]

Just completed GOW2 this evening on Hardcore.
Absolutely loved the single player game, even more so than the excellent first one.
It has so much more variety, more locations and more locusts (both types and shear number)
The length of the single player seems right too, not too short but doesnt overstay its welcome either.

The graphics from both a technical point and artistic point are first class. I would often find myself just admiring the scenery, particularly enjoyed watching rain drops running down the outside of windows.
The music, sound effects and story are also great.
Now onto multiplayer.
I haven't played much rank game play but have played a fair amount of horde.
Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. Extremely tense and nerve racking at times.
It is also great to see bots this time. The fact that you can play all of the game types as well as customising your own games is great. It gives people a chance to practice the maps and different modes before venturing online. You can also play horde on your own with fellow bots, didn’t realise this until the other day. The bots AI are fairly tough even on normal, having now unlocked insane I will be interested to see how tough they are now...
When you also add in co-op, split screen, photo captures, 10 player multiplayer, Internet stats and the ghost camera they really have made an already great game into something really special.
This is why I am giving it an outstanding. I don't think I have ever given an outstanding (10/10) (not even my beloved Halo 3)
Epic stuff.

[shagaboopon]

Originally Posted by Dan 800

A recent IGN Article compared GOW2 vs Halo 3 and put them head to head based on gameplay,graphics,sound and multiplayer and HALO 3 won ! in my opinion i strongly disagree - Whats Your thoughts GOW2 or HALO 3 ?

Take that to a thread in the games forum, don't polute the review thread mate.

[kopchoir]

I also see 8 cocks went and gave this a 1 some sad ps3 owners about surely we have better things to do children

[Jack-Deth]

Originally Posted by kopchoir

I also see 8 cocks went and gave this a 1 some sad ps3 owners about surely we have better things to do children

Or maybe they just didn't like it?

I hate that sort of vote spoiling, really childish.

[shagaboopon]

Now we have 16 childish fanboys voting

[crocodilemick]

great game, just wish I could win the occasional chainsaw duel! I suspect a lot of rapidfire controllers will be on sale with B button wired in now

[Yemeth]

Wow, 26 '0' votes. Shameful tbh...

[Jay]

Originally Posted by Yemeth

Wow, 26 '0' votes. Shameful tbh...

Why is it not showing who voted 0