Gears of War: Judgment

Overall, Gears of War: Judgment is a brilliant addition to the Gear of War series. While some gamers may question whether the short campaign and the few changes to the multiplayer is worth the hefty price tag, there’s hours of enjoyment to be had, just like its predecessors also offered. With the inevitable summer drought approaching, this is most definitely a game to consider purchasing.

This prequel isn't just a visual delicacy. Gameplay-wise it reaches heaven-like levels. We especially enjoyed the Declassified missions. And although the single-player suffers from some minor AI issues, the co-op mode manages to satisfy.

Gears of War 3 appeared to exhaust what third-person, cover-based shooters do best. Judgment makes Gears of War feel young again.

Gears of War returns with Judgment, and as in 2006, it shows that it is a hugely entertaining game with great visuals and a strong multiplayer component.

Judgment places itself between tradition and innovation for the series, with an adrenaline-fueled story and a completely revolutionized multiplayer winking to the most popular online titles. Due to this it probably won't please the most conservative fans but surely deserves to be tried. People Can Fly undoubtedly did good work keeping up the series' high standards.

A diligent approach to ensuring that no two encounters are the same keeps it from ever feeling stagnant or like a waste of your time. You're always moving, constantly pushing through the next enemy stronghold, never sure of what you'll face, and it's always harrowing.

OverRun alone is worthy of praise, but there's just so much stuff going on in this package, there's something for all followers of the series. A few of Judgment's experiments may not be as fondly received as others, but overall it's hard to complain about a game that tries so much, and succeeds in almost all its endeavors...This is Gears of War back, unquestionably, on the winning path.

Gears of War: Judgment is a great example of how a huge exclusive can become bigger and better even after its (virtual) final episode. Epic can have nice dreams because Gears of War is in good hands.

Despite the almost fractured feeling that Gears of War: Judgment carries, it’s still a fine package and a must have for Gears fans. Two great campaigns, some innovative new modes and plenty of Locust stomping action. It’s just a shame Epic and PCF had to take away features from the title to add new ones.

Although it’s in no way game changing, Gears of War: Judgment is a fast paced, satisfyingly violent, action shooter.

The quality of this new Gears is outstanding and the new approach certainly suits it, but the overall feelings we've got are not that good. Maybe it's just that Gears of War 3 is too close in time, but, in any case, People Can Fly has done a great job that will satisfy the fans of the series and anyone looking for lots of action.

A solid effort from People Can Fly and a game that will entertain you along its fast, if a bit short, ride. If you think you'll find the time to play it over and over with your friends on Xbox Live, this is a game worth checking out. If you are a lone wolf, be warned that your adventure will be over quickly.

The same tight third-person combat as the last three games, but just a bit less special. [May 2013, p.66]

Worth checking out for Gears of War fans.

Gears of War: Judgment marks a successful return to the GoW universe. The declassified missions, as well as the Horde ones, fit beautifully in the game and makes it a strong FPS with a nice Arcade touch, similar to what we saw in Bulletstorm.

It is hard not to appreciate what People Can Fly has done with this revered franchise. When we consider this is the fourth game in six years, it might be hard to imagine it still having any steam left. While the changes make all the difference, they don’t sacrilegiously alter the core mechanics; in fact I found them to be refreshing in almost every sense.

Despite its questionable approach to the campaign that abandons huge set piece moments in favor of smaller skirmishes, Gears of War: Judgment remains a polished, replayable experience. Even if you never touch any future DLC, the game disc has enough content to keep you busy for the better part of 2013.

Maybe the game is not as epic as the last entry in the franchise, but People Can Fly didn't cut back on the quality. The new weapons, multiplayer modes and the new enemies in this game make this Gears of War a worthy addition to the franchise.

It surely wasn't an easy task, yet People Can Fly proved their talent by creating a highly energetic, madly entertaining and brutally fun new entry in the Gears of War series. A surprisingly bold episode that's full of little big revolutions, one that despite a few flaws is surely a must-buy for all the action fans. Fenix & Co. might have recently lost their father and creator, yet the future of Sera seems brighter than ever in the hands of the Polish dev team.

Gears of War Judgment is exactly what you’d expect in a Gears of War game - a few tweaks here and there, but basically the same game it's been for six and half years.

It’s pretty darn respectable package. The difficult-but-fair single-player was very satisfying and well-paced, with extremely well implemented co-op, something rare in games these days. Overrun is a welcome addition to the Gears multiplayer suite, even if there’s little variety among the modes.

The Campaign might only last around 6-7 hours, but there are plenty of reasons to go back, ensuring that Gears of War: Judgment feels more than just an expansion pack to its predecessors.

The newest addition to the Gears of War franchise is for the first time a true evolutionary step for the game series. There's finally some dynamic to the warfare and although the story is the same kill-em-all-macho-badass thrillride, it's certainly an improvement to the weeping Marcus Fenix we saw in the third Gears of War.

Judgment is a step back for the series, even though the fight against the Locust is still enjoyable. But the most fun you’ll find in multiplayer: The campaign gains momentum in co-op and the versus modes will keep you glued to the pad for hours.

Gears of War: Judgment has the strong points of franchise: frantic, funny and well designed campaign (coop included). Adds a great Survivor mode, but fails with too-limited multiplayer modes and little new in general.

People Can Fly's take on Gears of War is a good game although one poorer than its superior forebears.

Gears of War: Judgment is far from perfect and falls disappointingly short on the single-player front. But almost everything else about the game is well worth a look and goes a long way to showing that the Gears of War franchise still has the kind of allure that’s worthy of its reputation.

It’s solid, it’s capable, it fits with the identity of the series. In short, it’s Gears.

Judgment shows that the People Can Fly team knows its way around triple-A titles. They managed to squeeze a lot out of Unreal Engine 3 – the game looks great even compared to Crysis 3, which set new standards in terms of visuals, also on consoles. And when the technology restrained them, they creatively found a way around limitations. [CD-Action 05/2013, p.60]

A prequel that the series desperately needed. It's not the epic story you've anticipated, but it delivers a strong punch, and with the addition of the Smart Spawn System and the Declassified missions, it is the fastest paced - most action packed Gears yet.

Gears Of War: Judgment is like a crown with no jewels; it’s still solid gold, sure, but that something is missing is all the more obvious for the size and magnificence of the gems which were once there.

Judgment is not a revolution, but a nice ending (for now) to one of this generation's most emblematic franchises.

While the new weapons do have a place in Gears Of War: Judgment, none of them have enough impact to encourage players from abandoning the traditional Lancer plus Gnasher combo although that dramatically changes in multiplayer.

Gears of War: Judgment is the period at the end of the Gears of War sentence, and in creating it, Epic Games, People Can Fly, and Tom Bissell have created a masterpiece in video game punctuation. Personally, I look forward to their next sentence, when dust-choked, declassified chaos is the default, not the option, and Bissell’s huge talent is deployed in favor of something truly innovative.

I didn't get what I initially wanted: A great campaign. What I got instead was something that was almost better. A multiplayer mode that birthed quite a bit of enthusiasm and some challenging and thrilling trials deeply engrained into the core gameplay.

Only its brevity and the limited multiplayer modes keep Judgment firmly in the ‘not a real sequel’ world, but it’s a template for the next generation of Gears and a licence to experiment with the series’ most sacred mechanics.

It’s Gears at its very best, fierce gunplay mixing with a fabulous ebb and flow across smartly designed maps. It’s nothing revolutionary, rather existing elements melded into a satisfying whole. It’s the kind of thing that makes Judgment a more long-term investment than its campaign demands, but even the single-player’s familiarity and conservatism can’t take away from the base thrill of pulling the trigger or revving that chainsaw.

I was ready to expect “just another Gears game,” except I was pleasantly surprised by what I got to play. Sure it’s not completely new, but People Can Fly has moved Gears of War in an alternative, more arcade-feeling direction that I can totally get on board with.

For all its larger than life swagger and cartoonish bravado, it’s actually kind of refreshing to see Gears of War take a less-is-more approach with this game. Size certainly matters, but what you do with what you’ve got counts even more.

A great game with enough to please fans of the series and even welcome new players. A new control scheme might add a bit of frustration, but this is quickly forgotten when you dive into the great multiplayer. Team Kilo Squad and the addition of a new star system which awards special play throughs of levels in single player mode add to an already enjoyable title.

As a side-experiment with class-based multiplayer and more aggressively arcade-influenced shooting, Gears of War: Judgment doesn't feel essential in the same way its predecessors did. If three games in five years left you with your fill of Gears of War, Judgment may not be enough to change your mind. But as a well-executed supplement to its parent series, Gears of War: Judgment is easy to recommend.

Judgment doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to either Gears or third person shooters in general, but with just a small change in perspective it does help to reframe it as something identifiably different. It is still the same game underneath, and we probably didn’t need four of them in six years, but arguably Judgment does more to justify itself than either of the two direct sequels.

While the emphasis on fast-paced replayability and a more intimate, nuanced narrative do wonders for Judgment‘s single-player campaign, the game is ultimately held back by its surprisingly meager multiplayer offering.

It is a good game, but not a great game. It does some good things for the series, but yet misfires a few steps along the way. Sure, the visuals and sound are solid, and there is an interesting story, but this same story manages to miss a beat now and then, like the lack of a details for Baird and Cole at this juncture in the Gears timeline, and not enough of a story at all for the new characters Sofia and Paduk. At the end of the day fans of the franchise will no doubt enjoy much of what is offered, as will newbies to the series, but I can’t help but feel that it is somewhat less than the games released before it.

Judgment is gorgeous in its destruction and the gunplay is simply unmatched, as has been the case with every Gears title since its inception. The fact that the game doesn't offer anything significantly new is definitely a point against it, but it remains undeniably fun to play.

Not only an incredible action game, but the most enjoyable Gears of War game yet--plot holes be damned.

Even with the pall of over-familiarity lingering over it, Gears of War: Judgment is a timely reminder that ruthless focus on gameplay, generosity towards players and good old-fashioned design craft can still pay dividends at a time when big-budget action games are at risk of fragmenting into splinters of mindless busywork. Sometimes, being a bloody good shooter is all that's required.

Its engrossing multiplayer modes make Judgment easy to recommend, even if we found its main story campaign weaker than its predecessors’.

Both its strengths and its weaknesses are the result of a vision of how the experience of slaughtering tunnel-loving bogeymen should be, and while the results aren't as spectacular or generous as we're used to, they put up a damn good fight.

While Gears of War: Judgment is perhaps burdened by the pall of over-familiarity, the changes that developer People Can Fly have implemented are enough, for now, to keep it feeling fresh – and certainly worthy of your time.

Judgment feels a bit like an excuse to provide the Xbox 360 with one last first-party game for what is likely to be its final year as Microsoft’s flagship game platform.

Gears of War is a saga that is slightly off in the course of this generation, and his star does not shine today as it did in 2006.

If it were just the campaign with co-op, Judgment would seem difficult to justify for its triple A asking price, but with the addition of the excellent Overrun mode - and a couple of friends - it's a worthwhile purchase.

My middling expectations of the solo-adventure seem to be just: it’s not bad, but obviously a step back when compared to the previous installment. Variety is nowhere to be found and the story never blossoms. The Aftermath campaign only makes up for that a little. It’s the multiplayer where Judgment shines. The action feels fresh, is wonderfully fast and the OverRun and Survivor modes offer a strategic experience that’ll soothe Horde-fans and newcomers alike. With that said, Judgment isn’t the complete package we hoped for, but it is an accessible and brutal multiplayer gamer.

Gears of War: Judgment is an attempt to freshen up the series, but without messing with core gameplay. Declassified missions are a cool little thing, but a very superficial one - it's meant to persuade you to complete the campaign one more time. And the campaign seems a little out of ideas and has a mediocre story that teases a big bang at the end, that turns out to be a small firecracker. Still - there's an additional, fun mission and an excellent multiplayer mode. Judgment is worth buying, but not necessarily right now.

It still stands in the shadow of those that came before it, and little flaws like loading hiccups and soft textures underscore the fact that Judgment feels like a lesser achievement. Still, it's a heck of a lot of fun, and if you still enjoy utterly destroying hulking monstrosities with one blast of the sawed-off shotgun, you'll find a lot to like in Gears of War: Judgment.