Gears of War 2 Review

Alright, since this is my first review, lets establish as to how I will rate the games. I'm gonna' rate in 5 categories, Story, Gameplay, Graphics, Concept, and Execution. I use a scale of 1-10, 1 being ultimate suck and 10 being beyond excellent. So, let's begin!

Gears of War 2 is one of the most anticipated sequels to one of the most amazing 3rd person shooters ever, Gears of War. Released in early November, Gears of War 2 hit the top of the best sellers list on Gamestop.com and become instantly loved by almost all game critics. It received positive reviews across the board, but will I give it one? Lets see.

Gears of War 2 takes place almost exactly where Gears of War ended. The Light Mass Bomb did not work as the COG Army expected it would, and the Locust are still as strong as ever. With Jacinto being the only remaining strong hold for the humans, its time to bring the fight to the Locust's doorstep.

The player still follows the action of Delta Squad with our two favorite BFG carrying badasses Marcus and Dom, and don't forget the Cole Train and Baird! This time around, however, we are treated to some new characters that have their own little loveable quirks. First off, we meet Tai, a mysterious Hawaiin(?) who seems to believe heavily in fate and destiny. Next, there's Dizzy, a southerner that has some hilarious dialogue. New and old faces alike, all characters are enjoyable. Also, these new allies add some more meat to the story.

The story as a whole is an improvement over the first, but even so I could've written it, and I'm 15 years old! However, with what it is, it fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the game, but don't be expecting any mind blowing twists. Also, the story is perfectly timed, clocking in at about 10-13 hours, depending on your abilities, the game ends just as you are getting fed up with blowing up wave after wave of aliens and the like. This is also plenty of time to admire the graphics of the game.

I'm sure we all remember how gray the first Gears was, but nobody cared, because the detail was incredible! Luckily, we are treated to the same level of detail, but with even more colors this time around. The sights in Gears of War 2 are simply breathe taking, and as far as I'm concerned, I've never seen a more satisfying head shot animation than the one in this game. Speaking of head shots, how 'bout that online play?

Like all games, the online does have a learning curve, because it is much more fast paced than the campaign, but once you get used to it, online is blast. With Deathmatches, Horde, King of The Hill, Capture the Flag, and everything else, the online can keep you busy for hours.

With so much good, how can there be any bad within in this game? Well, nothing is perfect, and GoW2 is no exception. Although problems are scarce within this game, the one that bugs me the most is the slow loading of pixels in online matches, and sometimes even in the game. What I mean by this is that sometimes, your characters have absolutely no texture for anywhere between 5 seconds to 30 seconds. This might not bother some people, but the perfectionists might get a lil' annoyed with it. Also, the gameplay to me doesn't seem nearly as fierce as the first Gears. There were only a couple times in the new installement where my adrenaline was pumping beyond belief, while in the first it was going almost all the time. But as one can see, none of these flaws are major and they won't take away from your gameplay experience by much.

All in all, Gears of War 2 is amazing, and deserves all the attention its gotten. Even with the small flaws it has, it still provides a blast to any shooter/action genre fan. With 4 difficulty modes and online play, Gears of War 2 will keep you busy well through the holiday season.

Story: Humanity is getting desperate, and with only one outpost left, it's time to go on the offensive. Even though it's a simple plot line, it fits perfectly within the contexts of the game 8.5/10

Gameplay: The controls in Gears of War 2 are almost exactly like it's predecessor's, but even more rock solid. Actions almost never lag, and the button layout is perfect. 10/10

Graphics: In Gears, the amount of detail is insane. From characters to textures, to the high amounts of gore, everything looks amazing. 10/10

Concept: Take giant guys with biceps as big as their heads, and give em some guns with chainsaws attached, and then give em some alien hordes to fight and you have GoW2. It's a tried and true formula and it's still as fun as ever. 9/10

Execution: Gears of War delivered everything it promised. From visceral thrills to even more action, the game just works. 10/10

Final Word: Gears Of War 2 is a down right amazing shooter, even though it doesn't have the most original story, it still works out perfectly

Overall Score: 9.5/10

Getting The Most Mileage Out of Your Game

As we all know, game's main stories are getting shorter and shorter, and unfortunately, most of us don't have the power to change it. However, you know those little side quests in game text is always mentioning, or the sweet hidden treasure your friend was talkin' about? These are things that really give you the most bang for your buck.

As most of you know Fable for the XBOX was an insanely good game, a perfect mixture of action and strategy, creating one of the best rpgs I've ever played. Unfortunately, it's story was beatable in about 10 hours. It's successor, Fable II for the 360 is no different. The story is still only about 10-15 hours long, depending on your skill level. But wait! Did you ever notice that little exclamation point that keeps popping up every 5 minutes? Those are side quests my friend! I did almost all of them, and it turned a 10 hour game into a 40 hour game for me. These side quests, fluff if you will, are the key to getting the most mileage out of your game.

Wanna know another secret to getting more mileage? Explore! Most gaming worlds are free to explore and usually contain hidden treasures that range from useless to 1337. Like in the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, you can spend hours upon hours just traveling, finding hidden dungeons and treasures, without even paying attention to the main story. There is one drawback to these diversions though, if executed poorly, you will have no idea what you are supposed to be doing! So don't get too carried away!

If you are one of those gamers who really wanted a game like Fable II to be as epic as Oblivion, but was dissapointed with the short length of the story, do some sidequests! Find those ultimate weapons (Final Fantasy=Perfect Example!). If you do this, a 10 hour game could become 40 hours, hell, I turned Final Fantasy 7 into a 100+ hour game! Before you know it, you'll be able to make any "gas-guzzler" game into a "fuel-efficient" game.

Hello Everybody!

Hi peoples! I'd just like to introduce myself, this being my first blog and all. Might as well start with some info. Ok, so, this blog is gonna be kinda like my own "gaming magazine" cept its a blog, cool huh? I'll do the reviews of games I play, and don't worry, I will try to be unbiased. Also, I'll write articles every now and then over some interesting stuff. So, I hope you enjoy, whenever I put up my first post, until then, sayonara!