If you can overlook the patriotic propaganda garbage being consistently shoved down your throat, it's not that bad......
Let's get this out of the way: I've never played a game so full of patriotic sewage...it's amazing how much this game series is stuffed full of it. I half expected to see a video of American soldiers raising the flag and begin singing "God Bless America" as the end credits rolled. GRAW2 is so full of itself sometimes it's cringe worthy, and lines like "You're the best damn soldier I've ever had under my command" are excruciating to sit through. Oh, the goosebumps. Where's that recruiter?
Patriotic warts aside, GRAW's main strengths lies in it's presentation and gameplay mechanics, where it truly shines. The game is beautifully crafted and vast (flying over an entire city being torn apart by war in Hi-def with a great sound system is pretty impressive), and the game just feels overall very solidly built. There are some curiosities that stand out considering how everything else looks. For example, when you change magazines, there is no actual magazine exchange at all; the animation happens but the magazine itself is not swapped. A bit strange as every little detail is modeled otherwise. The controls take some getting used to....at the start they feel a bit sluggish but after a while it's not too bad. One thing I did end up wishing for was an option to increase the speed of the aiming reticule. It's simply too slow, and I've died more than once because of it. Besides that, no complaints.
Oh yea, the story. Basically the same old stuff. Separatist rebels with a rogue nuke, blah blah blah......the other side trying to stop a major disaster blah blah blah.....it's simply a mold to fit all into, which is unfortunate as what fits into that mold is so well done. If this game didn't have such a generic story, it would be ultimately incredible.
Combat can be very intense at some points, though the enemy A.I. is moronic and they are easily picked off, especially considering cover is assured protection and the enemy soldiers can't flank to save their lives. Hard difficulty is tougher, but only due to the fact that the enemies' inflict more damage and have better accuracy, not due to their tactics. Speaking of A.I., your squad mates are overall useless, suicidal imbeciles, and the only reason to keep them alive is to heal. I'd kill all of them myself if I wasn't penalized for it.
If you're into military 3rd person shooters, GRAW 2 is absolutely worth a rental, if not a pickup. It's intense, engrossing, and despite a few flaws, quite an enjoyable experience.
Just remember to salute that flag afterwards....