GEARS OF WAR 2 - ARTWORKS GALLERIES

Gears of War 2 is a tactical third-person shooter video game, developed by Epic Games with lead design by Cliff Bleszinski, and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the second installment of the Gears of War series. The game was officially released in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia on November 7, 2008. The game expands technically on the previous game by using a heavily-modified Unreal Engine 3 that includes improved lighting and physics effects on the game. The development team also brought in comic book writer Joshua Ortega to help write the plot for the game.

In Gears of War 2, the human Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) forces continue their fight against the subterranean Locust, who are attempting to sink the last human stronghold on the planet Sera by using a giant worm-like creature to mine the ground beneath it. Sergeant Marcus Fenix leads Delta Squad into the depths of the planet to try to stop the Locust assault but instead they discover the true intent of the Locust actions. The player controls Fenix in the main mission campaign, with the ability to play cooperatively with a second player controlling Fenix's best friend and fellow Squad member Dominic "Dom" Santiago. The game includes several existing and new multiplayer modes including five-on-five battles between human and Locust forces, and a "Horde" mode that challenges five players against waves of Locust forces with ever-increasing strength. New weapons and gameplay mechanics such as "chainsaw duels" and the ability to use downed foes as "meatshields" were added to the game.

On its release weekend, Gears of War 2 sold over two million copies, and within two months of release, had sold four million copies. It was the seventh best selling video game of 2008 and received several accolades. The game received similar praise as its predecessor, with the new gameplay and multiplayer modes seen as outstanding additions, though reviewers noted similar problems with the plot and game structure as were present in the first game.