Gears of War 2 owners can pick up Dark Corners for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), and All Fronts for 1600 Microsoft Poitns ($20). In the meantime, enjoy the time you have online while you can, Silver members. The free weekend will run until 11:59 am EST on August 3.

A month later I picked the Wii up after deciding I wanted that as well as the PS3 and then would sell my 360. Quite frankly, the Xbox 360 was the next-gen console I wanted the least. A friend had one and I wanted something to keep me going until the PS3 came out which is the only reason I purchased one. I wasn’t a fan of the original Xbox either.

Since then though, I’ve sold my PS3, despite how much I wanted it before release. Yet I still have my 360, and many more games. This isn’t some 360 fanboy or fangirl post about how great it is. It’s an” ex” Sony fangirl praising the 360.

Remembering my mindset back then, it makes me realise, how great a console the 360 really is. I love my 360 now but used to “despise” it. If it can turn someone from disliking the 360 so much to loving it, then I’m sure I’m not the only one, perhaps even other Sony fans turning to the “dark side”.

So, what does make it so great and what changed my opinion on it? The great games, such as Gears of War, Halo 3, Saints Row, Call of Duty 4. Yes Call of Duty is multi platform, but is also why I have my 360. Some other games which may not be considered great to some, are amazing to me, such as Crash Bandicoot, which to me, has always been a Sony brand. Ultimately, it was the last thing that made me sell my PS3. All the games I wanted were on the 360, some of them not even on the PS3.

The other reason being live and multi-player. Having tried on-line on all three next gen consoles, and the PSP, it was clear from the very first moment, that the 360 was made for that. Maybe I tried the wrong game on the other consoles, but first impressions really do count. While they were OK, I found the 360 to be much more fun on-line then off as opposed to the Wii and PS3, which I preferred off-line.

I may get a PS3 again in the future, because don’t get me wrong, I still do love Sony, my PS2 and PSP are close by my side, but I feel for now, they’ve let us down. With Little Big Planet and Resistance 2 though, it could turn things around, but it isn’t enough to convince me to buy another PS3 just yet. Not until it’s at a more competitive level to the 360 anyway price and games wise.

While many look at the genre of games to determine their next game, for me, split screen co-op campaign or on-line is one of the key factors when choosing my next game. As my partner and myself are both avid gamers and love gaming with each other, as opposed to watching, it makes it an extremely important factor.

Of course, we do still play single player campaigns and multi player, but it isn’t the same. Call of Duty 4 for example, great as it is, would have been even better with at least one split screen option (apart from custom games). So naturally, Gears of War, Halo 3, Unreal Tournament 3, are games we play frequently.

Rainbow Six Vegas and other games have been tried as well, so I have a fair amount of knowledge and experience of co-op split screen games. With the release of Gears of War 2, again naturally, this was a game we had to have as we love shooters and it offers split screen play.

It’s clear from the first few chapters, that this game was made for co-op and even split screen. A lot of thought went into the co-op campaign.

With other co-op games, I’ve believed it was more of an added option as well as a lot of fun. Gears of War 2 raises the bar on co-op campaign. You really have to work as a team in this game. As you progress further in the game, this becomes clearer. From moving in time and with co-ordination to carry the explosives to the security door, to driving together. With one driving and the other on the gun, team work is a must to complete the chapter with it becoming more difficult when the lights go out.

With missions like that, where working together is essential, it makes the co-op campaign so much better than others I’ve played. Gears of War also offered the same type of experience, however, Gears of War 2, in this gamer’s opinion, blows it, and every other game, out of the water in this area.

We’ve just finished Act Three, and I can’t wait to see what other missions are ahead, Gears of War 2 doesn’t fail to impress with such enthralling game play.