My older brother and I have been doing an extreme amount of babysitting and extra chores lately, so Mom was really nice and bought us Gears of War 2! Now I can stop saving for it. :P Anyway, my bro and I are having a blast with the game! I'm going to list a few of the differences between Gears 1 and 2 that I found important, or that kept coming into my mind while playing Gears 2.

1. Running

In the first Gears, Marcus (Or Dom) seemed to be moving with urgency. It wasn't a run, but their movements were fast=paced and they made good time. In Gears 2, their movement has been slowed down a little bit. Not a huge change, but it feels slightly more relaxed, like the Gears aren't in a big hurry anymore. Doesn't detract from the gameplay at all and I got used to it pretty quickly, but it was a noticable change.

2. Roadie Run

Yes, another movement change. In the first Gears, when you used the Roadie Run, you could only go a short distance before your character would start to breath heavily and then they would stop. In Gears 2, so far I have been able to reach any destination using the Roadie Run without getting tired yet! Perhaps this was to make up for the slower movement? It is a welcome addition. (Another minor difference is that the screen no longer shakes back and forth in Gears 2. I actually miss that effect. :P)

3. Levels

In the first Gears, most of the levels took place in dark areas around crumbling buildings or underground. It really set the atmosphere and feeling for what was happening in the game. Gears of War 2 doesn't try to blow that out of the water, but it seems to try to improve on it. The game takes you back underground (Though it is looking quite different), back outside in the rain (And razorhail, another cool addition) and back in crumbling cities and buildings. However, the game also has you *SPOILERS* outside in a really cool truck sequence, inside a giant worm trying to kill it from the inside-out and driving around snowy mountin paths in a Centaur vehicle. *SPOILERS OVER* The Gears 2 levels are much larger and for the most part, longer as well.

4. Guns

There are quite a few differences between the guns and the way the act and sound. I'll start with the Lancer. In Gears 1, it was a powerful assault rifle with a wicked chainsaw attachment. In Gears 2, there are a few differences. First, the Lancer doesn't 'feel' as powerful. It seems to how a sound downgrade. Instead of the primary Locust-whoopin' gun I cam to know and love, it now sounds like a generic machine gun you would grab from an enemy in a lot of games. The chainsaw on the Lancer, however, has received an upgrade. There are now more ways to cut enemies apart and it takes less time. A great addition!

Another really noticable weapon difference is with the Hammerburst assault rifle (The one most Locust drones drop). It now sounds much more powerful than it's Gears 1 twin and so far it seems to pack a bigger punch too. There are other weapon differences and of course there are the new weapons, but these are the biggest changes in Gears 1 weapons I have seen so far.

5. Ammo

In the first Gears, the Hammerburst could hold 780 rounds of ammunition, while the Lancer carried 660 rounds. In Gears 2, the Hammerbust can only hold a pitiful 323 rounds while the Lancer dropped a modest 110 rounds. (550 rounds fully stocked). This isn't a huge problem, because ammo is more plentiful in Gears 2, but I miss knowing I have that extra ammo waiting to be used. Another difference is ammo crates don't give you as many rounds. Not a huge deal, but when you're low on ammo you want to see yourself acquiring 400 rounds at once instead of 81. :P

There are too many differences currently for me to list in a short amount of time, so I will cut them short at only 5. :D My bro and I are a decent way in and dreading when the end will come. :P