by B. Ender

Created on: December 06, 2008

2008! With multimillion copy sales and several perfect score reviews, 2008 has shaped up to be a great year. Several games released this year are worthy of the "Best Video Game" title, but based on my own experience, I have chosen my favorite: Gears of War 2.

Just like the original, Gears of War 2 is a fast-paced shooter with simple but well polished cover mechanics, chainsaw-guns, and plenty of violence. The game is centered around the story of Marcus Fenix, a hardened war hero who helps mankind save itself from extiction from the enemy, the vicious Locust Horde. The original game was magnificent, and this game proves even better.

The sequel offers a lot of new and enhanced features that will bring action-lovers running to get themselves a copy. One of the biggest things that are new to the franchise are chainsaw duels. The lancer, an automatic gun with a chainsaw bayonet, is the main icon of Gears' weapon list. In Gears of War 2, if you raise your lancer at an enemy, if that enemy also had his lancer ready you will lock in a three second long chainsaw duel, where the person with the fastest reflexes wins the kill. More features include more enemies, the ability to crawl when down but not out, and several new executions, including an improved curb stomp, a brutal punching finisher, weapon-specific executions, and even the ability to use your enemy as a shield. If you want to show your merciless skills as a warrior, this game is for you.

The storyline is also much more improved over the original. The Locust Horde has managed to sink entire cities into their doom, and the only way to survive is to travel deep into the Earth, where the Horde resides, and fight back. You'll find yourself in amazing underground environments, extremely original characters, and you'll have plenty of variety, with vehicular levels and even a part in the game where you are inside a giant Locust worm-type creature! The story is around twelve hours long, so it should also be much longer than the original's five hours of gameplay.

Multiplayer is by far the best part of this game. The maximum player cap has now been increased to ten players in total, and the maps have been enlargened to accomodate the extra players and action. Along with the original multiplayer modes, there are new ones such as submission, a CTF-type game only the flag is an unwilling armed human, Guardian, where two teams each have a leader and the characters respawn until the leader dies, Wingman, where there can be several teams of two who battle against all other teams, and horde mode. Horde is easily the best multiplayer mode, where up to five players can fight against increasingly numerous and difficult enemies. This mode requires intense teamwork and cooperation, and you will have to fight hard to reach wave 50, the final wave.

This is an amazing game for the Xbox 360, and it is well worth the money. If you're in need of a shooter with plenty of action then this game is perfect for you this holiday season.

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