Gears of War 2 is an amazing sequel and worthy purchase for anyone looking for a great addition to their 360 lineup!
The game pics up after the events of the 1st game. I wont get into what happened before, but you are now tasked with attacking the locust stronghold, and defeating them from the inside. This will require lots of killing and action. Luckily the game pulls it off in entertaining fashion. You control Marcus Fenix, and if you choose, co-op with Marcus, and Dominque ---err i forget his last name. Anyways, you will control a variety of weapons ranging from assault rifles, to shotguns, to flamethrowers...all work effectively.
The gameplay follows a cover system, that works as well as the 1st game. You will have to take cover, or risk getting shredded into little bloody bits. Popping from cover is almost completely flawless. Shooting is from a third person perspective, that provides tight control, and satisfying result. You can even use mobile cover, like a downed enemy, or shields from some defeated enemies. The variety of weapons provides a specific style to however you play. Carefully align an attack with the torque bow, or go running and gunning. The gameplay succeeds though, because you have to be smart, and not just run up on every enemy. The game also includes vehicle sections, which unfortunately aren't very fun. They aren't horrible, but they just don't play as well as the rest of the game.
The graphics are superb. Cities look like their at their final stress points, characters are animated beautifully, environments look lush, and destroyed, enemies look angry, and scary, and the list goes on. So far i haven't noticed any real significant graphical glitches.
The music of the game is epic, frantic, and beautiful. The score is wonderfully done, with emotional, and booming tracks for whatever level your on, providing a constant sense of urgency as your running towards your enemies, or in an intense firefight. The voice acting is also solid, but the dialogue just sounds like something from a run and gun flick. Its not bad, or excruciating, and some times its even funny, but in terms of originality, it wont win any awards for that.
The game gives plenty incentive to play again. Collecting journals, and playing on a harder difficulty prove more fun than you would think. Also you can enjoy horde mode, alone or with friends, where you pick a map, and battle wave after wave of enemies. You can chase after achievements too, which the game very nicely keeps track of, (even showing your progress). It also has online with a variety of different modes.
Overall Gears of War 2 provides a great experience. It is a perfect example of a sequel done right, and though it didn't improve on everything, it sure did get close. It is definitely worth picking up.