Late to the party

I never jumped on the Gears of War bandwagon when it rolled into town two years ago. Back then I was convinced I was going to get a Wii, until my mates went all 360 on me and Wii at launch didn't exactly inspire a hardcore gamer did it? Wii Sports was good for a laugh with the missus, though Zelda: Twilight Princess still evades me to this day. I'll be getting a Wii then. *adds to Amazon wishlist*
So it was with the launch of Gears 2 the other day that I picked up the original for £8. I was planning to play co-op with a fellow n00b, but I've been dumped in favour of Mass Effect, so it's single-player Hammer of Dawn for me.
Using scenery for cover has been talked about for months, so I won't go into that here, except to say that it's great to see a game hang on this premise. Monsters are quality B-movie behemoths though I'm sure I saw something similar in Armorines.
I'm not loving it though. Maybe I need to get my head down and stop ducking out for a game of FIFA 09, which is the best version I've seen in a decade.
The jury is still out on the new avatars. Yes, it's too much like the Wii, but I've got a monobrow so it scores well so far. Check me out next time you're on - Tiny1976 is the name.