Conclusions

So, Gears of War has some excellent multiplayer. It’s got a selection of interesting modes which provide some interesting twists on the classic deathmatch formulas and it even has a co-op mode or two.

At the same time, the game also includes a solid singleplayer campaign which, although starting a little slowly, quickly picks up pace and becomes an enjoyable experience both solo and with a friend.

The plot works on two levels to try and hammer home the brutal reality of war more than the bleak, constantly worn-out and brown graphics ever could. Plus, while the characters are never going to move anyone to tears even at their most emotional, we can take solace in the fact that none of them are played by Gemma Atkinson at least.

The storyline itself is a little oddly placed admittedly, especially in the early segments of the game where it feels like the narrative is unable to find sure footing, it quickly rises to a (ugh) epic climax.


The gameplay is solid, fast-paced and familiar. While on one hand the game is just a straight, out-and-out third person blaster, it also has a definite tactical feel that’s bound to persuade a battalion of twelve year generals that they know more about military tactics than anyone.

Despite the hype though, if not slightly because of it, Gears of War 2 isn’t a perfect game. It maybe edges close to being very, very good – but it’s certainly not perfect and it’s littered with tiny niggles and nagging issues.

The cover system still has a few issues, for example, so that you often find yourself rolling out of cover when you want to dart to a nearby pillar. Grenades are still difficult to aim precisely from cover too, with a lot of areas conspicuously built with enemy cover just out of range of your grenades.

Here’s the core of the issue though; Gears of War 2 is a great game, with a lot of hype around it because it’s (OMG) the sequel to The BEST game since, like, ever! and so on. We don’t think the second coming of Christ wouldn’t have this much hype around it (not unless he wrote a really great press release).


That’s the reason our review has gone up after release instead of before it, when we first had code – because of the hype I mean, not because of the return of Jesus. We wanted time to actually stop and think about how good the game is, not just write based on the heady mixture of anticipation and macho self-gratification.

And our conclusion is quite simple; that Gears of War 2 is a very good game and a very fun game, but it isn’t a perfect game. It is as enjoyable and slicker than an after-hours party at a Vaseline factory…but it’s by no means perfect (you'll never be the only guy there for starters). For one, there’s nothing really new here and for all the fun and laughs you can have with it we reckon very few people will actually be truly moved by Gears 2 like they might have been with other, arguably better games.

This is Gears of War with a new campaign and a fistful of small new features and tweaks. That’s going to be more than enough for many Gears fans and if you enjoyed the first game then you’ll love this one – but objectively speaking, that doesn’t make Gears of War 2 a truly significant or important release and if we were to rate Gears any higher then those would be criteria we would look for.

If you played the first game and want to play some more then Gears of War 2 will do the job fantastically - in fact, you'll probably have already bought it. If you’re looking for something fresh and new though… then you might want to look elsewhere. There’s no shortage of great games this year to spend your cash on.

How we score