Gears of War 2 is a third-person shooter built around tactical use of cover. Players fight through a campaign as a soldier of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, carrying a limited loadout of weapons and using cover, melee attacks, and the series' chainsaw bayonet against enemy forces. It supports cooperative campaign play and a range of competitive multiplayer modes, and introduces Horde mode, in which up to five players survive escalating waves of enemies together.