Well if you didn’t know I like to give myself projects. I finally wrapped up Halo Infinite by playing through all the Halo games. I started an Apple Arcade mission to review all the games in the service and then I started a replay of all the Gears games. This replay is one I am very excited about. After finishing Gears of War again, I was eager to jump into the sequel.

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Reviewed on Xcloud

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My biggest criticism of the first Gears of War game was a lack of story. Gears of War 2 definitely has more story than the first game but overall it’s still lacking in the story department. You will get a lot more backstory on the locust and the characters but as a whole, it’s definitely still light on story.

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The gameplay is even better this time around. The controls feel a little smoother and tighter and the cover system is still perfect. This game does exactly what a great sequel should do. It takes everything the first game does well and then just adds to it. This game went big on some set-piece moments making it a fantastic action game to play and even watch. n

Explosions and bullets fly everywhere and it was frantic and beautiful. This game is the Xbox 360 version and did not get the ultimate edition treatment like the first game but it still looks beautiful. Playing the game I never felt I was playing a game that was released two console generations ago.

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I mentioned there are some big set-piece moments, most notably the worm scene. You and your team go inside a giant worm who is very much alive when you go in and then is very much dead when you leave. The game has you finding all of its hearts, yes multiple hearts, and cutting them with your lancer killing it from the inside. It was as over the top and gory as it sounds.

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This time around there were also a few vehicle segments that mostly felt great. The only time I did not enjoy the vehicle was when you are navigating a very dark cave trying to find the path through.

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When this game finishes you get some closure on a main character’s story and it leaves you wondering where the series will go next. If there’s a locust to kill and walls to take cover behind you can count me in. As soon as the credits rolled I was ready for the third game. This was something replaying the Halo games just did not do for me. n

Verdict

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Gears of War 2 is exactly what a sequel should be. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. That’s what they did here. Gears of War had a solid foundation and adding more story and big moments was the right way to make a sequel.

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Final score 8.5/10