I just recently got Gears of War 2. My friends that had it had been bugging me about it for weeks, so i decided i'd give it a try. I didn't want to because i had tried the first gears of war, and even though it was good, i didn't think it beat COD 4 or any other good shooter out at the time. So anyway, i went to blockbuster and rented it and after about an hour of play i got totally sucked into it. The campaign was much better and since i'm kind of an achievement whore, i really liked the new system that tells you how many more specialized kills or collectibles i need for its achievement. The live play is also much better. horde mode is really addicting and i really like the new modes theyve added. the lesson i learned from this is that you should listen to your friends'. if they hadn't bugged me i would have totally missed out on an awesome game! don't just go with the crowd though, if you see a cool game you should try it out even if one of your friends said it sucked. they're not always right!