XBOX 360 Game Review: Gears of War 2

Game Details

• Title: Gears of War 2
• Developer: Epic Games
• Released (UK): 07/11/2008
• Typical Price (UK) : £40
• Age Rating: 16+
• Game Type: 3^rd Person Shooter
• Online Multiplayer: Up to 10 players

One Sentence Summary

Superb 3^rd Person shooter it’s a pity I don’t enjoy playing them

Game Overview

I have a problem with reviewing 3^rd Person shooters and that is that I don’t really enjoy playing them, probably because I am useless at them, I played the original gears of war, and thought it was a good game but not my cup of tea, and it is a similar sensation with its sequel, so it’s a good job it was a Christmas present and not my own cash that bought it!!

Gameplay

Standard 3^rd Person shooter, and seemed very similar if not identical to how the original Gears of War played

Graphics

I thought the graphics were some of the best that I had seen for any Xbox 360 title to date, they were highly detailed and fairly realistic. I also have not encountered any graphical pop ins to date that blight so many xbox 360 titles

Sound

Again the sound was of a high quality and atmospheric along with good voice acting and music

Difficulty and Learning Curve

If you are familiar with the original Gears of War then the learning curve is fairly short, there is also a bot mode to help you get familiar with the multiplayer modes and to practice if you don’t fancy going online

Lifespan

As normal in shooters the single player campaign is relatively short, there are several multiplayer modes and it is likely that Gears of War 2 will be one of the top games on Xbox live for some time to come

Achievement Design

Overall I think the achievements are well designed, for achievements that require you to do multiple things you can find out how far along you are in the process from an option in the menus

Overall

I found Gears of War 2 to be a highly polished game, with superb graphics and sound. I also liked the bot mode which will allow less competent players (such as myself) to practice modes and maps without getting killed every 10 seconds. The single player storyline is also good and if I enjoyed 3^rd Person shooters I doubt that other games would get much of a look in for a while.

Rating

5/5 – One of the best shooters on the Xbox 360