There's a comparison at gamespot here: http://www.gamespot.com/features/6202581/index.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=picks&tag=picks;story;1

All this time I thought I was crazy for liking the graphics better in the first one.  I'm not saying its a "definite" thing, but for me, the first looks better.  By looking at the comments above, it looks like I'm at least not the only one.

Note that this has nothing to do with gameplay (I like the 2nd better in that respect).  I just think the first looks more realistic.  I'm sure there are many that disagree...are there any that feel the same way I do?

Why is it wierd yellow color on Gears of War 2 pics?

Pfff... the choice of pics is wrong (Gamespot...), GOW2 new chapters are better looking...

You can't compare the game by just taking some pics from the street level... it is not even convincing as it is ...

In those shots the first game really does look better. I doubt that would be the case if we could see both games running side-by-side though.

From actually playing both one after the other I can say Gears 2 looks better. There's also a whole lot more to see than just a bunch of dark levels.

gears 2 is better

@Sardauk
Not convincing? Based on the pics, easily Gears 1..easily. So easy my unborn child could point it out.

That said, I do think it's not a good idea to compare still images for graphics. I'd like to see a side-by-side video of both, sort of like the Bioshock one where it played the intro and half the screen was PS3 and half was X360. Even then, you have to make sure the display settings are the same, because in the Bioshock video, they weren't..the PS3 version had a lower brightness setting. I'm more than sure if I played both, I'd think Gears 2 looked better..but that remains to be seen, because it's a toss-up as to whether or not I'll ever play both!

They only compared the remake maps? That's kinda lame. Compare the campaigns, and compare old maps to the NEW maps. The old Gears was all dark and over shiny. The new Gears added a lot more color, detail, and interest.

Yes, the pics on that site made #2 seem more washed out and grayed... but as a person with both games, GeOW 2 is much better, with lots more detail, a better color pallet, and very advanced lighting features the first lacked.

both games look great, some prefer the pallete on gears 1 some dont.........overall gears 2 is better artisticly and the colours look better, plus gears 2 uses the updated unreal engine.....so id say gears 2 is better