the game lives upto every expectation.....but little niggling bugs ruin the online. (edit) the online is fixed (sort of)
as with gears 1, the story is very good and thrilling and the twists and turns like the killing off of plot characters (not saying which though) keeps you on edge right to the very end.
Gameplay:
not much to say here other than its gears 1 with a good deal of improvements. but you have to change your tactics this time around. due to the shotgun being nerfed to about the same usefulness of a fuzzy dice (less, even) and the inclusion of stopping power means that running anywhere is suicide if enemies are about. sniper is your friend for campaign along with the mulcher and mortar and the new larger amount of enemies means alot more one-hit kills is needed before the chainsaw frenzy begins.
Graphics:
substantially better than gears 1. if i was to be bold enough to say that its probably the best graphics and blood effects ive seen in a while (better than far cry's)
Online:
ah, this is where we hit the snag.
its almost impossible to find any public games using the matchmaking system (which is poor) so you'll be stuck with the bots or private matches with friends which isnt so bad but it is advisable not to get into any shotgun battles with the bots since they can kill you from a fair distance away with it but you cant kill them point blank.
***********update***********
the online matchmaking has been fixed with recent patches and the shotgun has been brought up so it can now one shot people at point blank rather than shooting the floor 90% of the time.
i would still say that the versus part of online has alot of improvements to be made (laggy games are too common for my liking) and the melee needs a thourgh going over due to it being hit and miss at best.
the new XP system is useless. other than giving us more achievements to feed the achievement junkie within us all, it does nothing. it has no effect on matchmaking as the devs have told us as i frequently get pitted against a superior team (if the levels are to be believed)
probably the most fun to be had with the online is horde. this is where the game shines through and blasting through waves of enemies with 5 of your mates is hilariously fun at points.
overall:
a recommended buy and a definite rent if your not sure. just dont expect to get into an online match as soon as you get it.