"The only reason I would write a sequel is if I were struck by an idea that I felt to be equal to the original."

Beginning a videogame article with a quote from Dean Koontz may not be conventional practice, but since playing Gears Of War 2, the topic has been weighing heavy on our minds. Does the videogame sequel have more worth than its literary and cinematic counterparts? Well, if Epic’s return to Sera and the muscular might of Marcus Fenix is anything to go by, the answer has to be yes.

Gaming sequels are blessed with a number of advantages. Standard elements like character and setting are already in place, as is the norm, but gaming’s technological dependence means sequels benefit from being able to reuse an engine, reuse assets, reuse gameplay mechanics, and then refine and embellish what’s already there. In other words, Epic has taken Gears Of War and, to overuse a cliché, turned everything up to 11.

It’s evident from the opening scenes. Unreal Engine 3 has been injected with a shot of pastel colour, and the detail has been ramped up to unprecedented levels. Even from the relative quiet of the opening five minutes, it’s clear that this is no normal videogame; it’s something very special indeed. Taking control of Marcus Fenix again feels like coming home; that cover system that felt so bewildering at first is now so natural. Epic has made him move slightly faster, turn slightly quicker, and react slightly sharper, making everything that bit more intuitive.

But enough about that; getting bogged down in the technicalities of Gears 2’s gameplay is like talking about The Godfather’s mise-en-scène. In this instance, it’s far better to see the forest than look at each tree, and what a forest it is. Gears 2 lives up to the name of its creators like very little else. Epic by name, and epic by nature. Everything just has such size to it – the characters, their personalities, the triumphant score, the explosions, the blood, and, of course, the incredible set pieces.

Embargoes and polite requests on the part of the developer and publisher mean that we can’t go into too much detail, and who are we to spoil one of the finest action games of all time, but be assured that if Gears Of War’s brand of machismo, noise, and raw aggression appealed to you back in 2006, this will feel like an endorphin rush of almost Biblical proportions.

Carrying on from the slightly tepid ending of the original, Gears 2 sees Fenix, Dom Santiago, and the team take the fight straight into the heart of the Locust uprising. You’ll be underground, over ground, on foot, on wheels, and, most of the time, caked in the blood of your friends, your enemies, and yourself. And while all of this is going on, there’s a desperate search for Maria Santiago, the wife of everyone’s favourite co-op partner, Dom.

Much of the criticism levelled at the original Gears lay at the feet of its story and its characters. Its detractors struggled to get past the muscle-bound heroes, their adolescent dialogue, and the gaping plot holes that threatened to pull the whole thing apart. They’re fair criticisms but somewhat short-sighted. Fenix and his cohorts may not be Gordon Freeman, but in a game about marines, these Aliens-inspired archetypes seem to fit the bill quite well. In an action game, there’s something to be said for simplicity, and Gears’ brilliant enemies, good-versus-evil plot, and casual political subtext served its cause far better than many make out.

Launching the same accusations at the sequel will be harder, though. Yes, it’s still a game about hulking space marines and guns, but you already knew that. What you perhaps didn’t know is that the story and cut-scenes have genuine emotional resonance. They’re directed with flair, well-acted and well-written, and never outstay their welcome. All of the major players have been fleshed out considerably. John DiMaggio, in particular, is in captivating, snarling form as Marcus Fenix, lending him a gravitas and personality lacking from the original. If before he was an aggressive avatar, now he’s a ferocious hero, albeit one more in the Kratos mould than, say, Link. Or Spyro.

The rest of the cast do an admirable job in backing him up, too, and beyond the guttural roars and blood-curdling screams, there are moments of humour, self-reflection, drama, and even emotion. It’s not revolutionary, just a good game plot executed flawlessly. As it crescendoes towards its raucous finish, there were moments where our collective jaws were literally agape, so impressive are the set pieces and the spacing between them. Fear not, they’re not for us to tell you about; they’re for players to discover on their own. Be assured that there’s no corner-cutting, no Gears-style disappointment. The campaign is longer, stronger, and races to the end at a terrifying pace.

Of course, Gears Of War is not just about campaigns and single-player modes. Primarily, this is a franchise that’s designed to be played together. The AI of your fellow COGs has been improved considerably: while Dom will still run into your line of fire occasionally, he’s a far greater asset to the team than he used to be. We lost count of the times he pulled us up to our feet when we had been ‘downed’ by the Locust horde – a mechanic that is used more frequently in Gears 2, backed up with a new-found ability to crawl when on your knees. Also, when you’re in a squad of four or five, your collective firepower feels almost unstoppable. It makes those moments where you’re alone that much more affecting.

Matters are improved again when you have a real-life buddy in tow. The levels have been designed with more natural splitting points, so there’s plenty of scope for tactical combat and replay value, but it’s the drama of cutting down the swathes of Locust with a buddy that makes Gears the phenomenon that it is. There’s something so tactile and innately satisfying about crashing into cover, blindfiring as you notice your team-mate hammer into the wall in front, scrambling for a grenade to take out that Troika gun in the distance, then noticing a flanking Grub just in time, grabbing your shotgun, spinning around, and then boom. Blood, viscera, and body parts everywhere. It’s horrendously violent, but there’s something strangely euphoric about it all. Guess that’s what great game design does to you.

Talking of great game design, our lengthy time in multiplayer has demonstrated once again just how proficient Epic is when it comes to this side of videogaming. Over four or five hours, we sampled a handful of the new maps, all of the new match types, and more than our fair share of bloody victory. As is so often the case, the true nuances of a multiplayer map only reveal themselves over time, so we’ll reserve judgement on our favourites just yet, but the one covered in lasers worked brilliantly with the King of the Hill-like mode, and the rest appeared to feature the perfect amount of cover, choke points, and high ground to make them future classics.

More interesting in the short term were the match types. Along with Warzone and Execution, we now have the aforementioned King of the Hill equivalent, along with Guardian and Wingman. Guardian is similar to the Assassination mode of the original, but it’s now five-on-five, with the aim to kill the opposition leader, because while they’re still alive, the opposition team can respawn. Kill the leader, then pick off the scraps. Easy. It’s more balanced and enjoyable than Assassination, as everyone can pick up weapons and there’s no over-complication.

Our favourite, though, was Wingman, which features five teams of two and is capable of throwing up moments of amazing drama and chaos almost every game. As long as you stick with your partner, you have a good chance of surviving as you back each other up, revive each other when you’re downed, and keep good comms over the mic. Split up for too long and you can expect a chainsaw through your spine.

Epic has promised a fully functioning community website for Gears 2’s multiplayer too, as is now the accepted practice, featuring full stat-tracking, your in-game screenshots – players in the ‘dead’ lobby now have a camera – and all sorts of other exciting information. A full party system for ranked games has been incorporated too, meaning that teaming up with friends to take on the Americans is far easier and more gratifying now. This will be the first serious challenger to Halo 3 and Call Of Duty 4 at the top of the Live leaderboards, believe us.

There’s so much to admire, so much to discuss, and so much to relive in Gears Of War 2 that we here at 360 can’t wait to get stuck back in on 7 November. Four difficulty settings, co-op, multiplayer, Horde mode (see ‘Horde Focus’), and so much blood. 2008’s been an amazing year for gaming already, and this could well be the best of the bunch. An amazing piece of work, and proof that in the world of videogames sequels don’t just equal the original; they blow them out of the water. Absolutely superb.

Jon Denton