Gears of War 2

I was fortunate enough to be able to finish two great games this weekend. Mostly due in part to not wanting to be idle and needing to get my mind off things. Gaming is a great way for me to relax and escape for a bit. I tackled Gears of War this weekend along with Shadow of the Colossus. Two very different games but two very good games in their own right.

Gears picks up right where the last one left off as the humans of Sera continue to fight off the locust invasion and protect one of the last human strongholds of Jacinto. If you've played the first game then you should be able to hop right into this one with no problem. I didn't really notice too many significant changes to the gameplay this time around. It still follows the duck and cover style of gameplay. Of course there's nothing wrong with that. It works well for the game and why fix what ain't broke right? Story-wise, the sequel does do a great job of making you feel like your part of a much larger world and there's much more at stake than the first did. You really feel like the fate of humanity hinges on your shoulders in this one. The addition of the sub-plot involving Dom's search for his wife was well done and made you feel for the guy. It gave the game more character and depth than the first. 2nd game I finish this week that has a guy trying to be reunited with his lost love. Parallels anyone? It usually takes me awhile to finish a game as I like to take my time. It took me a couple months to finally getting around to finishing Shadow of the Colossus but I was able to finish this one in 2 weeks. I don't know if it's because I played it more than I normally play or if the game is just short. I think it is a little a both but the game still sucked me in and made want to stick it to the locust and finish them off.

While not much was done to change the gameplay from the first, they made some pretty significant additions to the mulitplayer portion. Instead of 4 on 4 matches, they now allow for 5 on 5 games which makes the game more well-rounded. They also added some clever modes to play online including Guardian and Wingman. Look them up if you don't already know what they are, you are already on the internet anyway. The addition that'll probably have the biggest impact is the addition of Horde mode. It basically pits you and however many friends you're playing with against a crap-load of enemies coming at you in waves. I've had a blast playing this mode and when you get to the tougher waves, you'll get toasted fast if you don't use teamwork and strategy. If you liked the first game then you definitely need to pick this one up. Even if you never played the first one this is still one you should play if you own a 360.