The sequel to the hugely popular Gears of War introduces bigger weapons, smarter enemies, and larger environments. The format remains an incredible, yet familiar experience, heightened by the additional improvements.

In Gears of War 2 Marcus Fenix is back with the Delta Squad. They have to save the city of Jacinto and regain control from the Locust and their ruler, the Queen. The storyline is highly dramatic and will capture your attention from the outset.

In one incident you have to climb into the locust’s mouth and chainsaw the arteries to its heart, it’s extremely graphic and not for the squeamish. The first Gears of War was savagely brutal yet the sequel seems to top that, it will have you sitting on the edge of your seat squeezing the joypad at times.

At the beginning the commander delivers an inspiring speech to his comrades before releasing them to the wolves, “we must take this fight to the locust and we will destroy them, this is the day we ensure our survival as people and give hope to humanity”. It is great for putting you in the right mindset for saving the world.

The character interaction is commendable through out. In the middle of hellish fire fights Fenix can be heard screaming expletives at his comrades, it adds depth to the plot. Other titles in this genre, most notable Halo have tended to delve into the irrelevant lifestyles of the AI characters, thankfully GOW2 avoids this.

Overall the sequel doesn’t disappoint. The interaction between characters was as strong as expected, the audio deserves particular praise. It’s phenomenal, hardcore gaming action, well worth splashing out on. Be a real student and go hungry for a week to save up for this one.