Gears of War 2 Preview

As we make our way deeper into the abandoned streets of Landown, we're presented with another route choice - we can either take to the rooftops or soldier through the hotel. We take the rooftops, and get our hands on one of Gears of War 2's many new weapons - the Mortar. This extremely powerful weapon can fire exploding shells from what feels like miles away. It needs to be placed onto the ground to be fired, so you won't be able to run and gun with it. From there a targeting reticule shows the distance the shells will reach before exploding down onto your target - it's up to you to judge it correctly. We found the Mortar hard to use at first. From across the street we were trying to hit Locust and help out our co-op buddy, but missed most of the time, either overshooting or coming up short. It's all about judging distance accurately of course, and we expect it won't be long before players are raining pain down on other players from halfway across the map in multiplayer.

Eventually Delta Squad arrives at the Landown graveyard, where dead soldiers from the Pendulum Wars have been buried. It's soon after this section that we're charged with defending the grindlift from a massive Locust assault (and unlock Dizzy as a playable character). As it looks increasingly bad for Delta, Dom makes Marcus promise to look for Maria if something were to happen to him. Marcus, being the good fella he is, agrees - all part of the new Band of Brothers style emotional feel Epic is aiming at for the game.

It's at this point that the Skorge turns up - the incredibly quick and agile Locust that's surely a distant cousin of the Predator - Epic's clearly been brushing up on its Arnie classics before brainstorm meetings. It slices some armour in half with its spinning blade staff before turning its attention to Delta squad. As you prepare to go underground, Tai takes the Skorge head-on to buy the team time, entering into a chainsaw duel with the intimidating monster. It's at this point that our 360 is turned off. What a ride.

Gears of War 2 inevitably feels very Gears of War. Anyone hoping for a revolutionised Gears experience won't find it here. What you can look forward to, however, is a refined experience, and, even though we haven't played the finished game, we can already tell it's going to be a better game. Epic has listened to its fans and taken on board constructive criticism. The campaign is a much more colourful, varied experience. You'll be able to drive a Centaur Tank right up a mountain, and take on a Brumak with it. You'll even get the chance to ride a Reaver. The War Journal will not only provide access to achievements and collectibles, but screenshots too. The story is more fleshed out, and better explained. The two main characters, Marcus and Dom, now have some emotional drive, something sorely lacking in the first game. And it's a longer campaign, too. "I'm not going to tell you how many hours it is," Cliff says. "It's different for every person. But I can confirm it is longer than the first game."

Is it more Gears of War 1.5 than Gears of War 2? This was a feeling we were beginning to subscribe to as we worked our way through the first act for the second time. The pacing is similar - the change up in blockbuster style gameplay as fast-paced as ever. But something changed our mind. And that something was a sneak peak at a later level in the game from none other than Cliff Bleszinski himself.

Marcus and Dom are underground, trying to rendezvous with the rest of Delta Squad. We get our first sighting of a Rock Worm, a new bullet proof beastie which acts as moveable cover and, somewhat surprisingly, as an integral part of a puzzle. Here, one player needs to shoot a special fruit down from the ceiling in order to tease the Rock Worm to move. As it does so, the other player uses it as cover, protecting himself from incessant Locust Troika fire. Expect even more elaborate use of the Rock Worm as cover later on in the finished game.

As our time with Gears of War 2's campaign came to an end, we were left gagging for more. And that's one hell of a reassuring feeling to have. It's a very familiar experience, but undeniably it's a better one. And we've only played through the first act. We'd tell you to get very, very excited for this game, but we've got a funny feeling you already are.

Gears of War 2 is due out exclusively for the Xbox 360 on November 7.