Gears of War 1 ballparked around 6 to 9 hours. For some, that's a little on the short side. So for Gears of War 2, lead designer Cliff Bleszinski wants to make it a tad longer. Says The Cliffster:
We definitely want it [Gears of War 2] to be longer. We won't specify a number of hours right now, but it will be longer — I can guarantee that. And it'll have a little bit more drama too... I think that, with campaigns like in Gears, Halo or Call of Duty, my personal preference is around the 10+ hours mark, with a co-op and a multiplier you can play in the longer term.But I find a lot of games are filled with padding to make them seem longer. They do stuff like, at the half way mark, demand that you play through all the levels again backwards, and you think "kiss my ass." We'll never do that. We'd always rather push forward and provide new experiences.
Added value! That's because The Cliffster cares. He really, really does.
Interview Cliff Bleszinski [CVG]