Gears of War
=== Setting ===
Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb at the end of the first game. Though most of the underground army of the Locust Horde was destroyed, the explosion also caused much of the liquid Imulsion underground to vaporize, causing a fatal disease called Rustlung to spread among the diminished human population. After months of peace, the cities of Tollen and Montevado suddenly and mysteriously disappear underground, leading the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) to suspect the resurgence of the Locust. Soon after, the once impenetrable Jacinto, one of the last remaining safe havens for humans, begins to show signs that the same fate awaits it. To stop the fall of Jacinto, the COG responds with a large-scale counter-offensive against the Locust. Senior Producer Rod Fergusson says "In order to save Jacinto, [the COG] have no choice but to take the war to the Locust."
=== Characters ===
Returning characters includes the main protagonists of the series Marcus Fenix and Dominic (Dom) Santiago and others from the first game, including Marcus and Dom's fellow Delta Squad COG soldiers, Augustus 'Cole Train' Cole and Damon Baird. Also returning in supporting roles are radio dispatcher Anya Stroud and senior officer Colonel Hoffman. Lead designer Cliff Bleszinski confirmed that the character Carmine would be returning, but did not reveal how or in what capacity as Carmine was killed in the original Gears of War. It was later revealed that the original Anthony Carmine would not be present in the Gears of War 2 campaign, but rather his brother, Benjamin, would make an appearance. The game also introduces several new characters. They include Chairman Prescott, the noble, yet near-dictatorial military leader of COG; Tai Kaliso, "a spiritual and meditative warrior from a tradition of honor bound fighters;" and Dizzy Wallin, a former Stranded who joined the COG to keep his family safe. Dom's wife Maria also makes an appearance, and Dom's search for her plays an important part in the story.
=== Plot ===
As Gears of War 2 begins, the COG army is mobilizing to send forces into the depths of Sera to assault the Locust directly. The COG deploy several units into the Locust Tunnels, known as 'The Hollow', despite sustaining heavy casualties. Delta Squad, consisting of Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, Benjamin Carmine and later Augustus Cole and Damon Baird, continues to search the Hollow and discovers that the Locust are using a giant Riftworm to sink the human occupied cities. The Locust plan to destroy the rock structures at the outskirts of Jacinto, the last major Human city, in hopes of sinking it into the ground.
Delta Squad kills the Riftworm before it can sink Jacinto and returns to the surface. They are ordered to investigate a nearby abandoned COG outpost where they encounter experimented creatures of unknown origin and learn of a back door entrance to the Hollow in the nearby Kadar Mountains. They find prisoner cages and Dom convinces Marcus that Maria (Dom's wife) must be inside one of them. They manage to find her, but the Locust imprisonment and torture has left her severely disfigured and traumatized, unable to communicate. Faced with the nigh-vegetative state Maria is in, Dom tearfully chooses to euthanize her. Marcus and Dom then charge into the Locust stronghold.
Inside, Delta Squad discovers the Locust Horde is locked in a civil war against the "Lambent," or a group of Locust who have been exposed to Imulsion. They decide to destroy both the Locust and Lambent forces by detonating a bomb under Jacinto, which will sink the city and flood the Locust tunnels. Marcus and Dom battle their way through the Locust tunnels, while Cole and Baird use a helicopter to transport a bomb into the cavern. A Lambent Brumak destroys the bomb before it can be detonated. Marcus improvises by using a satellite targeting solution to bombard the Brumak with an orbital laser, which causes it to violently explode. Jacinto begins to sink and sea-water floods into the sinkhole, destroying the remaining Locust forces. As the COG forces and civilians evacuate, a voiceover of the Locust Queen talks about unintended legacies. After the credits, a last voice over of Adam Fenix is heard, a radio transmission of a call for help, and a cry of desperation, revealing he is still alive.
good versus evil