Gears of War 2: What you need to know.

Set for release on November 7th 2008 - Gears of War 2 is probably one of the most anticipated game sequels on the Xbox 360. The original Gears of War featured one of the most heavily emphasized systems in a first person shooter of using cover whenever possible and its sequel is expected to be no different. It is also loved by many gamers for it's intense graphics and storyline - and I haven't even mentioned multiplayer yet. You can expect the single player storyline to be more graphic in terms of blood and gore. You will have a variety of ways to finish off an enemy locust when they are injured: you may 'use the sniper rifle as a sledgehammer' or even more brutally 'use the torque bow like an axe' to decapitate disorientated enemies.

Players when embarking on co-op story mode will be able to choose a different difficulty to their buddy if they want a tougher or easier fight. In Gears of War 2 getting achievements will be made slightly easier than its prequel due to the majority of achievements being available in multiplayer and the storymode. There will also be an increase in the number of vehicle associated missions in the campaign and there is believed to be a number of achievements associated with these also.

So what about multiplayer? The Gears of War 2 multiplayer is said to feature 3 game modes:

'Guardian': Similar to Assassination in the previous GoW - players will be able to keep fighting after their leader is killed - but will no longer be able to respawn.

'Wingman': This has been likened to multi team in Halo 3 - wherein 10 players are split into 5 teams of 2.

'Submission': A version of CTF where human players face tough AI bots and must kill a certain target and pull his body to the flag while defending against some pissed off bot teammates.

Gears of War 2 will feature the Unreal 3 game engine - which will hugely improve the visuals and effects in the game for a more cinematic experience on and off-line.

Overall we can expect a more badass storyline, more badass enemies, some badass graphics - but above all some badass guns.

Bring on November 7th.

Tags: Gears of War 2, GoW2, Gears 2, gears of war, unreal 3 engine, game modes, xbox360