Game Review: Gears of War 2

Willie Jefferson Jr. - Houston Chronicle

Epic's sequel to the wildly popular Gears of War on the Xbox 360 is as smooth as a perfect Lancer reload. It's a sequel that actually outshines the original in more ways than one.

Gears 2 picks up where Gears of War left off. After the Lightmass bomb takes out most of the Locust Horde in Gears, humanity breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, don't think for a second that even though the Locust were down, they were out. Not only do they come back like Return of the Jedi, they have the ability to take out cities -- from below.

Marcus Fenix and his crew, the COG, return in Gears 2, and a new recruit, Benjamin Carmine.

If you have played Gears, you will find the same control schemes. You know the drill -- take cover. The crimson omen -- Remember? When you get shot and the screen turns red. -- is back as well, and several weapons from the first Gears. There are new weapons as well -- including a flamethrower, a mobile shield and a mortar.

There also are more vehicles to operate this time around. From riding on a Locust Reaver and controlling a huge Brumak, to manning cannons on an Assault Derrick and controlling a small, mobile tank called a Centaur.

The graphics are sweet. Gamers will see a slight improvement over Gears, and they really stand out when you are in the human cities.

Gameplay is awesome. Players will find themselves dodging razor rain, doing the roadie run, taking cover behind a moving rock worm and battling a lake monster.

One of the coolest moments in the game is working through a creature that swallows up players. Get ready for some anatomy and physiology 101. Going down the digestive tract has never been so much fun.

But you can't mention Gears 2 without talking about multiplayer. The single player campaign is sweet, and with the co-op mode, players can have friends assist them. However, the matches on LIVE is where it's at.

Gears 2 offers public and private matches and also lets players know what friends are online playing, too.

On the multiplayer modes, there's "Warzone" (COGs vs. Locust), "Guardian" (you protect the leader of your team from harm), "Wingman" (teams compete until they reach a certain amount of points), "Submission" (capture an enemy, use them as a shield) and "Execution" (automatic respawns).

The experiences in the game -- taking the fight for humanity into the Locust's own neighborhood -- really makes this one awesome ride.

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