I just think the mechanics of certain games lend themselves to MP more than others. I think Gears is a great single player game but those mechanics unless radically changed aren't necessarily the most conducive for a competitive MP enviroment.
I feel the same way about Dead Space 2 for instance.
I disagree. Like I said, GeOW1s multi-player was really good while GeOW2s multi-player was really bad.
Also, the single-player in Gears -while good- isn't that great of an experience. Especially when you take story into account.
Aside from Uncharted 2, there's pretty much no competition for Gears of War 2, as far as blend of great gameplay, great action set pieces, great pacing, and a story that ties it all together.
Don't know where you are basing your standards on, but Gears of War 2 told a simple story pretty well, which is more than i can say for 99% of games out there that either have a simple story and still can't tell it, or have a stupidly complex story that is unbelievably shitty.