Obviously, Delta squad is one of the groups sent on the mission. Marcus and Dom team up with Tai Kaliso—a big, tattooed man with a spiritual side—and Carmine—the younger brother of Anthony Carmine, who died in the first title. Their mission is to make their way underground, figure out how the Locust are sinking the cities, and then find a way to wipe them out for good.

It’s after the initial defense of Jacinto Plateau that Gears 2 begins to kick it up a notch above its predecessor. From the ride in gigantic vehicles to the subterranean launch point, each area the campaign progresses through is meticulously detailed, and far beyond what other games accomplish. Even if you don’t care for the gameplay or violence in the Gears of War franchise, it’s impossible to deny that watching the action on the screen is like watching an epic Hollywood film unfold. The presentation and visual wonderment of the game makes Gears of War 2 the Xbox 360’s first answer to the PS3’s until-now dominance when it comes to cinematic presentation.

Unfortunately, while the game feels and looks epic throughout the first half of the title, the narrative cannot keep this pace in the second half. We all knew the Gears story would continue past this game; anyone who thought this was it obviously hasn’t read anything about the franchise until now. Still, I was hoping for more resolution with the issues presented in Gears of War 2. Instead, the game wraps up with several unanswered elements (including some which are added in the last 5 minutes of the game), and even more uncertainties. While the game wraps up on aspect of the 10+ hour tale quite neatly, the other six or seven are left hanging for the sequel(s) to pick up.

The result is an end much like Halo 2’s—cut off so abruptly with so much left unanswered you can’t help but feel cheated by the finale. The ride is fantastic, but it feels a lot like you rode the log all the way to the top of Splash Mountain only to be told by the operator that the drop was closed until they finished reconstruction next year, so you have to get off now and then walk down the stairs instead.

What doesn’t help is that the final boss fight is much more of a visual wow than a gameplay one. What kind of final boss takes about 20 seconds to beat, and offers almost no risk of death? This one. For multi-console gamers who are trying to decide between this and Resistance 2, the lack of epic, gigantic bosses in Gears 2 will certainly be something to consider.

My other main gripe with the latter half of the story is the vanishing act Dom and the other supporting cast members seem to pull, as Marcus becomes the main guy. For most of the first portions of the game, Dom is finally given the treatment he deserves, and his story is arguably the focal point of a good three or four hour chunk of game. Then, once it wraps up, it’s back to Marcus mode. I don’t mind Marcus being the focus at all—he is the main character—but the switch to a Dom-centric story just makes it more obvious that there could have been so much more depth to the tale of the Delta Squad, and it makes me wonder how different it would have been if we saw more of that side of the coin.