Gears of War: Judgment

It's Gears 3, minus pacing and ambition. It's still fantastically enjoyable, but it's easily the least interesting Gears game. [June 2013, p.64]

Judgment is a worthy addition to the franchise, but it’s a shame the campaign falls short of the high standard of those that preceded it.

In refusing to slap a number 4 in the title, Epic Games itself is admitting that Judgement categorically isn’t the next great leap for the series, and we’re assuming that will come with the next generation. But as a reminder of why Gears of War became one of the most influential shooters of its generation, Judgement is a welcome curtain call, even if it isn’t the grand finale that some would have wanted.

Judgment is a prequel that no one asked for. The story campaign is worth a go if you play it in co-op with friends and take declassified missions – although it adds nothing to the story of Sera. The new multiplayer modes are okay, but overall all these ‘changes’ are just a game of musical chairs.

Gears of War: Judgment isn't actually a bad game by any means - it performs admirably and takes a few risks with the series' conventions to provide a unique (Gears) experience for players. The problem here is that the experience just isn't memorable enough - this is essentially a Gears of War game done by the numbers with all tactical involvement completely removed or made superfluous.

That isn’t to say this is a bad game. Even a bad Gears game is a good game; it’s just unfortunate that this series has to end – on this console generation anyway – not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Safe to say though that as commendable an effort as People Can Fly have made here it is getting a bit stale. We are at the stage now where we are seeing tweaks and iterations as opposed to must have fundamental changes and it will be interesting to see where the franchise goes from here.

Gears Of War: Judgment comes across as an enjoyable stopgap in a series that seems unsure where it’s supposed to go next. This is more of the same with a few new features thrown in for good measure. But when the same equates to arguably the best cover-based shooter on the market, it’s hard to be too judgemental.

Beautiful, efficient, but burdened with a poor story, this GoW: Judgment lacks innovation for sure, but also its more vivid casting and its new multiplayer mode don't really cohere with small teams and arenas. It still remains a high quality TPS, though, but not one that will make memories.

Gears of War Judgment looks like a transition episode and something bigger is probably waiting for us on Xbox 720. In the meantime, we'll have to deal with a disappointing campaign which only allows us to destroy waves of Locusts without being entertaining. Gameplay is still very accurate but some better things have been made elsewhere since the first Gears of War, and Judgment seems to be the game too far.

While there have been refinements, the core Gears machinery whirs on through another solid singleplayer campaign. More has been altered in the game's multiplayer component, but it's finally a case of diminishing returns for the cornerstone franchise.

Gears of War: Judgment shines in multiplayer as well as single-player through the way it controls and the typical, but entertaining action. The big downside is that there isn’t much to do in the single-player. The story hardly plays to the strengths of previous installments, which is a missed opportunity. The multiplayer plays great as usual, but seems lacking in content with only four maps. Judgment is an entertaining shooter on many fronts, but a disappointing Gears of War game.

Gears of War: Judgment just doesn’t have a lot of epic moments, which an unfortunate irony when the developer calls itself Epic Games. While the series has taken a big step forward by reining in its worst excesses, it also takes one back by shying away from what made it great to begin with. As such, Judgment is a familiar experience that, at this point in time, is just treading water.

When all is said and done, Gears of War: Judgment offers up exactly what it promises on the cover: a romp through the world of Sera. Aside from the multiplayer modes, Judgment doesn't really bring anything new to the table.

Judgment just might be the game that drops Gears of War out of the triple-A tier. It is competently done and no more. The rock-solid gameplay returns intact — virtually identical, in fact — and the Declassified options bump the entertainment value up a few notches, but the epic scope and precision level designs that elevated the franchise beyond its mechanics simply aren’t here.

A solid effort that, in some ways, changes the Gears formula for the better. Whether it will be remembered as anything other than a stopgap is questionable, but small qualms aside, it's a good one.

The game mechanics are even better than the third game, but it still lacks quality in the story and this time even in the AI. Play this with your friends or get ready for gears of frustration.

Despite some of the technical flaws and the lackluster multiplayer content, Judgment isn’t a complete bust. The campaign is a blast to play through, echoes the original game nicely, and gives a neat little side-story that doesn’t add much plot wise, but also ends up being a welcome departure from what we’ve seen so far.

These are mostly the same guns, monsters, and combat sandboxes you already played, just arranged differently. Same gameplay, new framework. But given that this is currently my preferred way to get my Gears on, I can’t complain too loudly when I’m so busy trying to three-star each of the levels.

As a package, there's plenty of good to recommend to fans, but it'll never live up to Gears of War 3's bombastic and dramatic finish. "What's left, Anya?" Apparently there's still war left to fight, but it's up to you if it's worth it. As a reluctant fan of the series, I'm sad to see it go out like this, but Judgment seemed dead set on opening old wounds just to feel the sting.

There's just enough exposition there to keep things moving and just enough of a gameplay tweak to make you wish they had made these changes two games ago. It's a fun but feature-light shooter for people who already enjoy the basic style of Gears of War. Nothing more, nothing less.