3.5/5 ★ – HomeVideoHustle's review of Gears of War 2.

When a sequel comes out, you hope for an even better experience than you had the last time. An even better plot, better levels, more combat options and new mechanics. Gears of War 2 has all of that and is a vast improvement over the original. I still haven’t fallen in love with this series yet though but I can say that this easily replaces the first game. The plot is actually interesting sometimes and it made trudging through wave after wave of enemies worth it to get those nice story beats. The locations are varied this time thankfully and don’t feel like the same rooms over and over again like the first game. They do repeat some areas but not enough to be annoying. I liked that they mixed it up and added vehicle sections, where the game becomes an on rails shooter. Those were fun and nice diversions from the cover and shoot mechanics you’ll use 90% of the time. Some sections still feel like they go on too long and I found myself bored and forcing myself to push through. Didn’t happen as often as in the first game though. I did like some of the new enemy types they introduced, the most annoying being the little bombers that scurry towards you at what always seems to be the worst possible time. It added some freshness to the formula that was really needed. By the time I got to the last few chapters though, I was ready for it to be over. I did enjoy this one more but after so many hours, I was ready to move on. Thankfully the last section of the game has shorter chapters. Good game, better than the first but I’m still waiting to be wowed.