Gears of War 2
Marcus Fenix is back and, this time, developer Epic Games is trying hard to put a meaningful storyline to this exploding shooter. What really got my undivided attention was the eye-popping graphics - surely among the best seen in any console game - and the intense action-packed gameplay. Like the original, you control a single character but fight in a team of humans against the alien race called the Locust. You get to choose from a myriad of weapons, human and Locust, including the Gnasher shotgun for short range shots, the Lancer assault rifle which doubles as a melee weapon with its chainsaw bayonet and the Mortar which lets you fire a bomb to decimate the enemy. The multiplayer cooperative Horde mode is also extremely fun as you and up to four other friends can join hands to fight waves and waves of increasingly tougher Locust monsters.