Gears of War 2 probably has a better story than its predecessor from an emotional standpoint as Dom's search for Maria certainly ends tragically. However, I think the first two acts are superior to the rest of the game and the level design isn't all that inventive. It kind of feels like just a recycling of the original's missions more or less. The gameplay also gets rather repetitive as I don't think enough was added. The AI for Dom is also really bad like he almost never revives you and the boss battles are extremely underwhelming compared to the ones in the first game.

The voice acting, music, and graphics for the time are still pretty great. I also like the new character additions like Benjamin Carmine, Tai and Dizzy plus Cole has some of his best moments in this entry. I loved this as a teenager when it was first released while I still think it's good it's just not as replayable.

I sunk a lot of hours into Horde mode too. That was a load of fun!