 War never looked so bleak. Marcus and Dom are back to bring the fight to the Locust. However, things aren't all going to go as planned. The Locust have a few cards left to play...
1. Gameplay
 All aboard the Cole Train, baby! The Gears of War series shows combat in a somewhat unique way. War is not for profit, power, or politics, it’s all about survival. Humans who do not fight for the survival of the species will eventually be wiped out. Gears does not paint war as pretty or show characters who love combat, it paints hardened, tired, but skilled soldiers who are fighting because there’s nothing else they can do. That’s not saying that the players’ characters are run-of-the-mill soldiers. The players will systematically carve their way through hordes upon hordes of Locust (the enemy species). Marcus and Dom are the best of the best. They’re better than thousands of common Gears. Much better.  WHO WANTS TOAST?! The highlight of this game is the fully cooperative gameplay. The Gears of War games are designed with cooperative gameplay in mind. The campaign has been created for two players to fight together and the storyline fits both players very well. There are a few multiplayer modes that allow players to play with each other both against computer opponents and other human players.  The Locust have some ugly creatures at their disposal. I cannot emphasize how awesome it is to have a game that is not only truly cooperative but has a compelling storyline with characters that the players actually care about. Yes, this game is very, very violent, but it’s the kind of violence that two people can share together. I’ve played this game cooperatively with two different people and had an absolute blast both times. This game definitely is in my “Best Games I’ve Ever Played” list.
The game also includes multiplayer game modes. All of these game modes require cooperative gameplay, which creates an entirely different experience than games like Halo or Call of Duty. The Horde mode in particular offers a completely different experience. The player (and up to five cooperative allies) fight against progressively more difficult waves of Locust. It’s fairly addictive but can get very difficult at the last 10 waves. Overall the combined length of the main campaign and the greatly improved multiplayer modes can keep gamers playing for quite some time.
However, there was one problem that occurred that was extremely frustrating. The game frequently updates a player’s information with a central server. If that player is split-screening with another player (meaning there are two people playing on the same Xbox) the game sometimes tries to update the players at different times. Unfortunately this causes everything to freeze up and the second player’s Gears of War account will break. The account is fixable, but it requires a tedious process of resetting all of the information on that account. This means that whatever the player has done in Gears on that account up to that point will be gone. Achievement progress, campaign progress, and a player’s online level are all erased. As of this point this problem still hasn’t been fixed. It has meant that I have unfortunately stopped playing Gears 2 entirely because the person I normally play with has a broken account that can’t access the game at all. 2. Parental Notices
 Ewww, bloody. The developers also spent time including unique kills for some of the weaponry. In Gears 1, the player was able to curb-stomp a downed enemy (smashing the head of the opponent with the player’s boot). Gears 2 includes that as well as a number of other extras depending on what weapon the player is using. The player can use the “Boom Shield”, a large, heavy riot shield, to decapitate an enemy. He can also use the torque bow’s string to do the same thing.  Chainsaws in the back generally don't feel good. There are lots of different weapon-based finishing moves, but those were the most graphic.
3. Other Factors
 I don't think that's a friendly massage.
The Locust are seen to have kidnapped and tortured both Cog civilians and Stranded. Two characters in the game (Tai and Maria) are found and expose the extent of the torture. The characters have entirely lost their minds because of the torture.  Tai is an odd guy, but I don't think he's so odd to leave his back in that kind of a state. Mutilation Mutilation occurs twice in the game. The first is the notable mutilation Tai has undergone, seemingly as part of his torture. The second occurs later when Carmine falls into the mouth of a giant worm. Half of his body is disintegrated in acid. He lives long enough for the players to find him and to tell them some final words, but his entire lower half is gone.  Carmine, how are you still alive? Euthenasia When Dom finds his wife Maria, she has clearly been tortured by the locust and is extremely emaciated. Dom kills her to put her out of her misery. As with Tai, this is meant to make the player feel sympathy toward the Cog / human forces and anger towards the Locust.  Maria after the Locust captured her. Suicide After the player releases Tai from the Locust prison hold, Tai kills himself with a shotgun. It’s a very powerful tool of motivation for the player, and makes the player realize this is more than just a normal war.  Tai, no!
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