Gears of War: Judgment

 Xbox 360
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 966 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 365 out of 966
  2. Mixed: 297 out of 966
  3. Negative: 304 out of 966
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  1. Coletrain128
    Mar 20, 2013
    5
    When it comes to prequels, my expectations are lowered as I know I'm buying an inferior product compared to games like Gears 2 & 3 and this rains true with judgment. There is no sense of camaraderie with your squad, character like Colonel Loomis, Sofia and Paduk are underdeveloped and you don't really care about them, many of the declassified missions are recycled throughout the campaignWhen it comes to prequels, my expectations are lowered as I know I'm buying an inferior product compared to games like Gears 2 & 3 and this rains true with judgment. There is no sense of camaraderie with your squad, character like Colonel Loomis, Sofia and Paduk are underdeveloped and you don't really care about them, many of the declassified missions are recycled throughout the campaign making it a chore rather than having fun and the final boss fight is anti-climatic and lacks a sense of challenge. It's like the voice actors from the original gears games decide to spend an afternoon with People Can Fly to do some recording and that's it. It's just odd seeing less smart ass remarks from Baird and Coletrain being awfully quiet through most of the 5-6hr campaign. The whole Cog vs Cog alienates fans of gears as the only opportunity to play as the locust is in the games overrun mode and the fact that most of the game's unlocks are microtransactions is a big disappointment. I can see some buying this as a $20-$30 purchase but not full price. It doesn't feel like Gears and it's title is just slapped on the cover just to make a quick buck.… Expand
  2. Pericles83
    Mar 19, 2013
    5
    The weakest of the series, i personally hate the more arcade feel of the game. Nothing in this game stand out. In my opinion if you are a fan maybe a buy if you are not a fan just turn around and go play Tomb raider!!
  3. ApocalypseBrown
    Mar 28, 2013
    6
    As many other veteran Gears fans have already stated, this latest addition is underwhelming. However it doesn't mean its a bad game outright, though I believe it has no place in the Gears universe. The single/co-op/four player ironically is the best after Gears 1, I do like how People can fly have changed it for the better. The problems though are with the multiplayer, which to many is theAs many other veteran Gears fans have already stated, this latest addition is underwhelming. However it doesn't mean its a bad game outright, though I believe it has no place in the Gears universe. The single/co-op/four player ironically is the best after Gears 1, I do like how People can fly have changed it for the better. The problems though are with the multiplayer, which to many is the reason why we brought it. First the day one micro transactions............ absolutely scandalous! Then the maps, discounting the vastly over-rated over-run there are four maps that I counted where the same map gets replayed over and over until it changes. Then no downs, as the boss guards in MGSPW would say 'WHAT?'! That alone makes certain maps and weapons so unbalanced it's stupid. Then free for all, initially a good premise but with experienced players camping at power weapons spots again there is little balance. Lastly the weapons, I like the Beecher a lot but the old lancer and marzker are way too over powered, plus hit detection is very erratic. All these problems new players won't know or care about, but a vet will be disgusted and frankly I feel I have wasted cash on this. BUT the old Gears of War download was a great touch, but I don't think it has aged very well with several glitches, laggy connections and cheating NOT removed ie crab walking or being invisible in brushes etc. Overall an average game but a extremely poor Gears!… Expand
  4. MCotsalas
    Mar 31, 2013
    6
    As somebody who is a very casual Gears of War fan, I thought i'd go out of my way and give this game a try, given how much I like Gears of War 3 and its predecessors. The game really doesn't do much to change things up, same gameplay and multiplayer. What did change however, is the story and survival modes. What I like about the campaign is that it's told in many different people'sAs somebody who is a very casual Gears of War fan, I thought i'd go out of my way and give this game a try, given how much I like Gears of War 3 and its predecessors. The game really doesn't do much to change things up, same gameplay and multiplayer. What did change however, is the story and survival modes. What I like about the campaign is that it's told in many different people's perspective, which is very interesting. However I don't like the changes made in survival modes. First off, they took out Horde mode. What...? This game mode has risen to huge fame since Gears of War 2 and was turned into a masterpiece in Gears of War 3, and now you take it out. Well in fact they put in a new game mode, which I can't remember the name of, but you're basically defending this cheaply made base that is easy to destroy and hard to defend, a huge letdown if you ask me. They kept the beast mode game type (Now called Overrun) which I still have mixed feelings about, due to the fact that I wasn't a big fan in the first place. In short, if you like the Gears of War series, get this game, if you're casual like me, don't.… Expand
  5. Gibberish12345
    Apr 6, 2013
    5
    I can summarize my review with a passage from my play. "Baird, over here Bair- no over here, not there, here. Yes finally, now, wait Baird, c'mon get me up!... And now I'm dead. Thanks Baird". In short, unbelievably useless AI. In addition to more DLC skins at launch than included ones, nine characters to play as (including two re-skinned characters), FOUR multiplayer maps, and COG vs. COGI can summarize my review with a passage from my play. "Baird, over here Bair- no over here, not there, here. Yes finally, now, wait Baird, c'mon get me up!... And now I'm dead. Thanks Baird". In short, unbelievably useless AI. In addition to more DLC skins at launch than included ones, nine characters to play as (including two re-skinned characters), FOUR multiplayer maps, and COG vs. COG multiplayer, this game warrants a 5/10 in my opinion.… Expand
  6. Ateas_Dhavar
    Mar 28, 2013
    5
    They took way too much from Gears in judgment. The campaign and overrun were the only two modes actually Gears related. Divio, I couldn't agree more. Aside from the two aforementioned modes, judgment just feels like call of duty. To be perfectly honest most of judgment either could have or should have been DLC for Gears 3. There was no real character depth from the campaign either. In theThey took way too much from Gears in judgment. The campaign and overrun were the only two modes actually Gears related. Divio, I couldn't agree more. Aside from the two aforementioned modes, judgment just feels like call of duty. To be perfectly honest most of judgment either could have or should have been DLC for Gears 3. There was no real character depth from the campaign either. In the first 3 Gears you actually get to know Marcus and Dom. From Marcus being sprung from prison and why he was there to begin with, to Dom's wife and kids and up to the emotional peaks of Dom's and Adam Fenix's deaths. In judgment howerever, anyone who hadn't played the original trilogy wouldn't anything about Baird or Cole. Cole would just be some guy that goes "WOOO" a lot. Other than that, most of the other negative review say it better than I could. I deffinately would not recomend this game to any real gears fan.… Expand
  7. SgtPepper93
    May 11, 2013
    6
    Gears of war: Judgment is a likely solid game, but it just fails in every way his predecessors succeeded. As someone who was been playing this saga since the Original GOW, I would say this game is for "fans only".
  8. XxJoseManuelxX
    Aug 16, 2016
    5
    Gears of War: Judgment is a 2013 military science fiction third-person shooter video game, developed by Epic Games with additional work by People Can Fly and published by Microsoft.

    + Fun Gameplay
    + Coop
    - Boring Story
    - Bad Characters
    - Repetitive
    - Boring Multiplayer Modes, boring Waves and Challenge
  9. Chanfan02
    Mar 21, 2013
    6
    I went into this game with average expectations based on some of the reviews, but what i found on the multiplayer side of things was worse than I thought. First off let me state that I am a huge Gears fan, it is probably my favorite franchise this gen. When I hopped online in Judgment it didnt even feel like I was playing Gears of War. The removal of DBNO, no locust, only one main weapon,I went into this game with average expectations based on some of the reviews, but what i found on the multiplayer side of things was worse than I thought. First off let me state that I am a huge Gears fan, it is probably my favorite franchise this gen. When I hopped online in Judgment it didnt even feel like I was playing Gears of War. The removal of DBNO, no locust, only one main weapon, starting out with grenades, and all these juvenile armor skins just made me dislike this game. The multiplayer feels nothing like traditional Gears and maybe that is because they took out everything that made it unique in the first place. I have played around 40 or so matches and I havent had that much fun at all. The online right now is littered with people camping with the Markza because of the newly designed verticality, the Gnasher is very weak, and the aiming in general feels off compared to Gears 3. Also the maps in my opinion are bad. The non-symmetrical layout doesn't play well and I miss the symmetrical layouts all prior Gears games had. One other major problem I have is without locust you cannot tell if the person behind you is a teammate or an enemy. I cannot count how many times baird is yelling behind me and i think it is a teammate only to find out it wasn't and I get retro stabbed. It is too confusing at times having all these cog run around. Also ONLY 4 MAPS! How can you possibly only have 4 maps at launch and think your hardcore fans would be okay with that, its ridiculous. Also the lack of characters is inexcusable as well, and most of the gun camos you have to purchase. I personally hate all the gun and skin camos, i think they make a game feel to arcadey and childish. Overrun though, is a great addition. I have had quite a bit of fun with my friends on this but it might get stale after awhile because it only has 4 maps as well. The campaign isnt great but it isnt bad. It has some cool new additions like declassified missions but these also can ruin the flow of the narrative a little bit. Overall the campaign is solid but lacks on the story side of things, but it will keep you entertained for the 6-8 hours it takes you. Also the additional aftermath campaign is a nice addition. Overall I just feel they dropped the ball on this game. It is by no means unplayable, but in the Gears universe i feel like it strayed too far from what made it unique. It loses some of that appeal for me and I just hope they mae another Gears for next gen that will feel more like prior Gears games.… Expand
  10. DiRTY8SUPER
    Mar 25, 2013
    6
    Mmmmm. What happened here. The Gears trilogy was a fantastic experience. Meaty shooting and an excellent cover system. Something is just not right with this new Gears and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe the way the story is told. Each chapter is broken into 'mini' chapters which really break up the narrative. It turns into simply shoot for a few moments and then walk to theMmmmm. What happened here. The Gears trilogy was a fantastic experience. Meaty shooting and an excellent cover system. Something is just not right with this new Gears and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe the way the story is told. Each chapter is broken into 'mini' chapters which really break up the narrative. It turns into simply shoot for a few moments and then walk to the checkpoint and get your score. I'm really not liking this game at the moment. I'll finish it, but I'm not getting a Gears experience like it did with the previous games.… Expand
  11. Broncosdude
    Apr 2, 2013
    6
    -Campaign review-
    The rest of the review is for the multiplayer but I gave the campaign a try and here's my review.
    So far iv really been enjoying the campaign. I hated gears 3 story, didn't find it interesting at all but something is different in this one. For some reason almost everything missing from multiplayer is in the single player. You can tag walls with grenades, execute    -Campaign review-
    The rest of the review is for the multiplayer but I gave the campaign a try and here's my review.
    So far iv really been enjoying the campaign. I hated gears 3 story, didn't find it interesting at all but something is different in this one.
    For some reason almost everything missing from multiplayer is in the single player.
    You can tag walls with grenades, execute locust, damage boost from drive reload which is all great and I hope they add this stuff back online.
    So far iv played a few missions and for the most part iv liked them, but they are very very repedative. It seems they have added a horde type segment to each mission where you have to hold off the locust for a few waves which brings back good memories.
    I also very much like these declassified missions which are a extra challenge to each extra xp, for example can only use pistoles, or the map is filled with smoke and you can't see well.
    Another thing I like is the voice acting. It reminds me of max Payne 3 for some reason. How your playing and you character is taking in the background. The whole story is kind of weird and cool. Your playing memories and telling the leader of the cog what you did during your mission Ina court since your team disobeyed orders or something. It's new, and and I like how different missions you play as different characters which give a cool insight to your squad.
    Overall it's really good and I like it a lot. Took me 6-8 hours to beat(can't really remember exact time)

    -Aftermath review-
    Anyone who doesn't know aftermath is an additional mission that takes place during gears of war 3. Sounds great, but it doesn't feel like gears 3. New weapons and enemies that are in judgment campaign are in aftermath which is really stupid. But you will see some old locust though. Well after math isn't long, took me about an hour to beat,

    -Multiplayer review-
    I have been really excited for this game for a while. I loved gears 2 and 3 but this game isn't the same at all.
    I guess epic thought since it was a prequel you can take out basically everything that gears is and restart. Well that doesn't work
    First I will list what they took out or changed from gears 3.

    -active reloads no longer give your bullets more damage if you hit it at the right time-
    this was a great thing in the gears franchise. I loved active reload. It was unlike anything in any other games so why take it out?

    -no more rifle-shotgun duo-
    maybe this is for the better but I don't know. I did like having a shotgun and a rifle in the same set up. When your far away use a rifle, when your up close whip out the shotty but it was overpowered. I won't ever use a shotty anymore

    -limited character selection-
    You start off with 4 characters to use online, and can only unlock 5 others! So only 9 fricken characters to choose from?

    -no more mandatory winding up grenades-
    Why the heck would you take this out?

    -spawn with frag grenades-
    This isn't call of duty! You shouldn't spawn with frags!

    -maps are so congested and small now-
    I loved the style of gears 3 maps but these maps are not good. Way too many narrow hallways and alleys.
    Also there's a map where you fly around the map in a fricken helicopter shooting a mini gun. Who thought this was a good idea?

    -no more reviving team mates-
    Yup, you no longer fall to the ground and bleed out or get revived. You die automatically.

    -only three fricken game modes and four maps!
    Team deathmatch, domination and deathmatch and 4 multiplayer maps! That's it! What the heck!

    -no more sticking grenades to walls-
    Why take this out? I used to get tons of kills with doing this.

    -Environment weapons are overpowered-
    Can use rifles and shotguns while hiding behind boom shields? Please tell me how that's fair?

    -no more locust vs humans-
    Why? Just why? I don't want to kill humans. The whole gears of war franchise is based on gears vs locust!! -it's nothing new- Besides a few new guns, there's really nothing new at all. Heck even the fricken menu layout is exactly the same, the awards and ribbon system is exactly the same as well. To me it feels like epic doesn't care what gears fans like or wanted. It really feels like they wanted to please call of duty fans, and make it more like cod. It's sad to say but it's true. Graphics-8/10 Some people say it looks a ton better than gears3 but it really doesn't. Gameplay-7.5 They changed gears so much that it doesn't play like gears any more, Sound-7.5/10 Everything sounds exactly the same as gears 3. Multiplayer-6/19 Limited modes and reduced functions make online a lot less fun and competitive like older gears were. Campaign-8/10 Maybe the saving grace of the game. I really loved it and thought it was special. Overall-6 Its just not true to its roots. It's just plain boring and it already feels old since there's only 4 maps online, and all the features we have come to love are all missing    … Expand
  12. Duskspark
    Mar 25, 2013
    5
    When "Gears of War: Judgment" does what the previous games does, it does it worse. And when it does something new, it feels out of place. If feels like an in and out Gears game for most of the time, but everything feels like it's one big Gears of War 3 DLC. Nothing fresh, nothing for the better, nothing interresting.
  13. True_Reclaimer
    Mar 17, 2016
    5
    Coming from Gears 3 I felt like this was a horrible reversal of all the things that made Gears great. So then I stopped seeing this as a Gears game and pretended it was a sequel to Dark Sector, and it suddenly was much more bearable. Too much COD corruption has ruined the pvp, however the Horde Mode 2.0 was the best yet. Tower defense meets beast mode, definitely the ONLY reason to playComing from Gears 3 I felt like this was a horrible reversal of all the things that made Gears great. So then I stopped seeing this as a Gears game and pretended it was a sequel to Dark Sector, and it suddenly was much more bearable. Too much COD corruption has ruined the pvp, however the Horde Mode 2.0 was the best yet. Tower defense meets beast mode, definitely the ONLY reason to play this game. Hope to see it return in Gears 4.… Expand
  14. AusGamer_Dubs
    Mar 20, 2013
    5
    (Single Player/Co-Op Campaign review only) Very disappointing. All the gruff manly charm has been completely sucked out of this iteration of Gears. Say goodbye to the epic set piece battles of GOW 3 in place for monotonous corridor shooting and score tracking. The core mechanics play exactly the same with a boring suspense-less plot and small bite sized missions with no investment or(Single Player/Co-Op Campaign review only) Very disappointing. All the gruff manly charm has been completely sucked out of this iteration of Gears. Say goodbye to the epic set piece battles of GOW 3 in place for monotonous corridor shooting and score tracking. The core mechanics play exactly the same with a boring suspense-less plot and small bite sized missions with no investment or memorable events. Friendly banter between characters has been replaced with tired, overused dialogue from every action game ever. Even worse, every round ends with a score sheet. Why? Why turn Gears into an arcade shooter? Why break up the action every 3-5 minutes for a grading that is completely pointless to the overall story? One good thing I suppose is the new weapons that do handle well and fill in gaps to round out the already expansive existing arsenal. Still, undoubtedly the low point of the series, dumbfounded as to why reviewers are giving it such a glowing reception.… Expand
  15. Jarcon
    Mar 22, 2013
    5
    It reminds me of "when critics and gamers disagree" situation. This is the weakest Gears game, played them all. It should be dlc instead of full price game. It looks like People Can Fly got clear instruction: create few missions, do not screw up original game mechanics. It sooo the same, campaign is boooring and story is completely flat. Then you have extra campaign mission. I thought:It reminds me of "when critics and gamers disagree" situation. This is the weakest Gears game, played them all. It should be dlc instead of full price game. It looks like People Can Fly got clear instruction: create few missions, do not screw up original game mechanics. It sooo the same, campaign is boooring and story is completely flat. Then you have extra campaign mission. I thought: "yes, it could not be that bad, here is where Gears begins, its dark and feels like Gears" but then it finishes right away. Narration type is of the worst possible kind, retrospection. This means nothing bad will happen to the one who is speaking, and all squad is speaking. 3 minutes short levels do not help either. On the contrary it is very bad idea, becouse all atmosphere is immediately lost. Minor changes to multi and few new maps is much too less to grade this game as high as metacritic average. Weak and boring to me.… Expand
  16. Vandiel
    Mar 20, 2013
    5
    Same old Gears of War, in fact that is not so bad, because you know the basis of the game are enternaining, but is like to play same old Gears games only whit minor graphics improvement the story feels like its only there to have an excuse to make another game in this trilogy, there is not a single emotional moment like in previous instalments. Being a fan since the first Gears am aSame old Gears of War, in fact that is not so bad, because you know the basis of the game are enternaining, but is like to play same old Gears games only whit minor graphics improvement the story feels like its only there to have an excuse to make another game in this trilogy, there is not a single emotional moment like in previous instalments. Being a fan since the first Gears am a little disapointed whit this game..... if u ask me, Judgment is to Gears the same thing that ODST was to Halo, a sad, sad try to squeeze money from our pockets just offering a poor and mediocre game. Shame on you Epic games..... (T_T)… Expand
  17. hansel4150
    Mar 19, 2013
    7
    In this review, I will be reviewing the Multiplayer side of this game only. Now, lets get down to business. We all know about the new additions to MP, such as Overrun and Free For All. I have to say, Overrun is very fun and addicting. However, I do think that Horde should have been thrown in as well. Survival Mode, which is supposed to be the sort-of equivalent of Horde, does not live upIn this review, I will be reviewing the Multiplayer side of this game only. Now, lets get down to business. We all know about the new additions to MP, such as Overrun and Free For All. I have to say, Overrun is very fun and addicting. However, I do think that Horde should have been thrown in as well. Survival Mode, which is supposed to be the sort-of equivalent of Horde, does not live up to Horde. Everyone enjoyed hopping online with their friends and going until 4 in the morning trying to reach level 50. Why screw around with that? That being said, Overrun does help make up for Horde's absence. The mechanics of Overrun are simple and fun. Moving on to the versus aspect of MP, I must get this out of the way: 4 maps is NOT ENOUGH. While I realize that Overrun has two maps to itself, 4 is not even close to enough for MP. Gears 3 had 10 maps, and that was the perfect number. Why was the number scaled back? Surely it couldn't have been for a lack of room. While this doesn't bore me right now, I can see myself getting very tired of these maps in the weeks to come. The problem is is that there just isn't enough. A couple of other things that annoy me: the removal of Down But Not Out and the revival aspect, the inability to carry a shotgun and a lancer, the new "spotter" grenades, and the Cog on Cog action makes it tough at time to single out your enemies. Now, all of that being said, Gears of War Judgment does get a lot of things right. The map design is, as always, magnificent. The maps are now layered and vertical. I think they are the perfect size. Furthermore, the addition of the moving set pieces on the maps adds an interesting layer that was absent in previous Gears maps. Also, I prefer the new respawn sytsem. There's nothing more boring than sitting at a respawn screen waiting to get back in. I came to play the game, not sit and wait. The ability to carry a grenade on your person is a welcome addition but seeing as it replaces your shotgun secondary it peeves me. Some things are tried and true in video games. Why did they feel the need to screw around with that. The action is fast paced and the graphics are pretty amazing. I think this is the current generation of console being stretched to its limits. Wrapping up, I feel that Gears of War Judgment could have very well been a great game. However, its shortcomings really do hold it back. The 4 maps thing seems like a ploy to get more people to buy their Season Pass, which REALLY irks me. For that, I give Judgment a "Good" 7 out of 10.… Expand
  18. codymiller419
    Mar 20, 2013
    7
    This is not gears 1 2 or 3, it is a completely different game and is really fun. The story mode is more geared toward an arcade feel and the declassified missions are fun. While short, story mode has a decent amount of replayability. Multiplayer is a totally new creature, turning from the cqc shotgun battles of old and focusing on a more ranged approach. That said, the gnasher is a beastThis is not gears 1 2 or 3, it is a completely different game and is really fun. The story mode is more geared toward an arcade feel and the declassified missions are fun. While short, story mode has a decent amount of replayability. Multiplayer is a totally new creature, turning from the cqc shotgun battles of old and focusing on a more ranged approach. That said, the gnasher is a beast and many players will choose to make that their primary gun. The stuff that kind of makes you scratch your head: no down but not out, no active reload, and no locust in multiplayer. These to me are just bad calls by Microsoft Game Studios and People Can Fly. I get what they were trying to be original, but removing things that make a series unique and replacing them with nothing does not make for a more unique feeling game. All in all a decent game that is a ton of fun but will never have the die hard competitors and fan base of the first three. Hardcore fans, don't forget we still have the original three and gears 3 is still a fairly young game … Expand
  19. qtaz101
    Mar 19, 2013
    6
    Have played all Gears games since 1. This is by far (as the campaign goes) the least interesting of the series. Overrun is probably the best thing about Judgement. GOW 3 best in the series in my opinion and again, I will probably log more hours in its multiplayer than Judgement. Not to sure where the ball was dropped. Maybe the addition of People Can Fly.... I even thought the graphicsHave played all Gears games since 1. This is by far (as the campaign goes) the least interesting of the series. Overrun is probably the best thing about Judgement. GOW 3 best in the series in my opinion and again, I will probably log more hours in its multiplayer than Judgement. Not to sure where the ball was dropped. Maybe the addition of People Can Fly.... I even thought the graphics were worse than 3. I regret purchasing this game so early... Not worth an immediate purchase like 3 or the others. But regardless a Gears fan will see some excitement from the game. Definitely not the best, but an ok game.… Expand
  20. chewnsp1t
    Mar 25, 2013
    7
    This game stands on the shoulders of GOW 3. I personally think GOW 3 was a wonderful game and EPIC did a good job in that game. I wasn't a fan of the new weapons in GOW 3 but I loved the game overall. GOW 3 vs GOWJ: Campaign: The campaign has slightly improved in terms of game play. The declassified missions are fun and the enemy bots act slightly more smart. Versus: This is the trulyThis game stands on the shoulders of GOW 3. I personally think GOW 3 was a wonderful game and EPIC did a good job in that game. I wasn't a fan of the new weapons in GOW 3 but I loved the game overall. GOW 3 vs GOWJ: Campaign: The campaign has slightly improved in terms of game play. The declassified missions are fun and the enemy bots act slightly more smart. Versus: This is the truly disappointing part of the game IMO. First of all, no execution. The game is super fast-paced when compared with GOW 3. The FFA and domination are a chaos. Overrun is nice, but does not meet up with my expectations from the trailer. I find GOW 3 horde mode more elaborate in terms of upgrades and devices you could use. My main issue with versus, however, is the weapons. You get one main starting weapon: semi-auto sniper, lancer, or shotgun. SOS is back, stinkier than ever. More bullets and longe range. In GOW 3 if you are a few feets away SOS does not do any damage. In GOWJ, I have died because of SOS firing at a 10s of feet away. For some reason it still does a little damage at long range. This has happened to me in domination game type. Also, there is no locus against cog. Its cog vs cog. I hate it. Survival: Nice game mode. Similar to horde expect that cog is defending some strategic points on the map. I would give judgement a 10/10 if it would come to my xbox as a dlc for GOW 3. As a standalone game selling at 60 bucks, it won't get better than 7.… Expand
  21. Captiosus
    Mar 23, 2013
    5
    Four bland and short multiplayer maps, the removal of Horde mode which Gears *made* popular in the industry, a complete control scheme change for more arcade like ("Call of Duty"-esque) gameplay, a forgettable linear story with characters who are subdued, removal of key unique game modes and mechanics (e.g. DBNO, active reloads, executions), and extremely shady DLC practices out of theFour bland and short multiplayer maps, the removal of Horde mode which Gears *made* popular in the industry, a complete control scheme change for more arcade like ("Call of Duty"-esque) gameplay, a forgettable linear story with characters who are subdued, removal of key unique game modes and mechanics (e.g. DBNO, active reloads, executions), and extremely shady DLC practices out of the gate. Frankly, Gears: Judgement is the culmination of the loss of several key Epic developers (CliffyB, Rod Ferguson), the loss of People Can Fly's original founder and creative designer after their acquisition by Epic, and Microsoft pushing to keep their limited number of "exclusive" franchises relevant. The lowest point in the series and it removes nearly all the elements that differentiated Gears from every other bombastic shooter. Rent, don't buy.… Expand
  22. bulkstorage
    Mar 22, 2013
    6
    BAD: Gears of War: Judgement has been a huge letdown thus far. As soon as I first perused the multi-player I immediately felt that I had been scammed into buying a quick cash grab. The changes that were made in Gears of War 3, such as the nerfed melee, so that obnoxious two-piecing was a thing of the past, and the Team Deathmatch addition where once one team is within five deaths of losingBAD: Gears of War: Judgement has been a huge letdown thus far. As soon as I first perused the multi-player I immediately felt that I had been scammed into buying a quick cash grab. The changes that were made in Gears of War 3, such as the nerfed melee, so that obnoxious two-piecing was a thing of the past, and the Team Deathmatch addition where once one team is within five deaths of losing each team member only gets that one life which led to amazing clutch 1v5 scenarios and such, have been discarded. This makes Gears: Judgment a less intense, less fun, and all around cheap experience comparatively to its predecessor. One of my biggest gripes is the game shipped with only FOUR maps for tdm, ffa, domination, and another four exclusively for the new Overrun mode. On April 2nd there is supposedly a free map pack with 2 new maps but even then only SIX maps before having to pay for more is disgusting. Oh and they removed nearly all of the fan-favorite game modes such as Gaurdian, Horde Mode, Wingman. Gears of War: Judgment is such a leap backwards from the amazing Gears 1-3 and the first game i've bought where it was so instantly apparent that it was not worth the $60 price tag plus the $20 season pass i bought before playing once. At the state it is at right now it Judgment should have be nothing more than a $15-20 dlc on Gears of War 3. Good: Despite Judgment being the worst value in the Gears franchise it is still a Gears game which i will play regardless because I'm a big fan. The new addition of a "free for all" mode is great and my favorite game mode currently. Overrun(PvP) and Survival(PvC) mode have been fun and are great additions (but are not worthy of replacing Horde Mode, which they have). The new weapons are great and I cant complain about any balance issues. The campaign scoring system is good and makes me want to go back and improve how many "stars" i can get and the "declassified objectives" you encounter on the campaign missions add some variety. All in all i'm super bummed but its still fun, just not nearly what it could/should have been and is not what the fans deserve after the standard set by the previous Gears games. Gears of War: Judgment is best described by a quote i saw on a forum recently. "[Judgment] is the Halo 3: ODST of the Gears of War franchise."-???… Expand
  23. DrDomVonDoom
    Mar 23, 2013
    6
    This is most definitely, the weakest of all of the Gears of Wars series. To be fair, I am a HUGE Gears of War fan, I have bought all of the games, and love the IP, but you can tell right away that this game is lacking any of that spark that the original Gears of War trilogy had. Pros: Its still Gears, it looks like Gears, and for the most part it feels like Gears. All the Gears weapons areThis is most definitely, the weakest of all of the Gears of Wars series. To be fair, I am a HUGE Gears of War fan, I have bought all of the games, and love the IP, but you can tell right away that this game is lacking any of that spark that the original Gears of War trilogy had. Pros: Its still Gears, it looks like Gears, and for the most part it feels like Gears. All the Gears weapons are there still, the Lancer, the Retro Lancer, theres the Gnasher and the Shotgun everyone loves to hate, The Sawed-Off. The gameplay is pretty much the same, your a muscle bound dude killing hordes and hordes of Boomers and Kantus, and thats all good and fun but thats pretty much where the game ends for the funside. Cons: Where do I start? Lets start with the characters. These are dead and soulless. Baird is supposed to be the engimatic hero of this story, but you wouldn't be able to tell if you played it. There is NOTHING about Baird that resembles the Baird from the main trilogy. He isn't funny, he isnt sarcastic, he doesn't seem to even be competent in his station as the leader. Cole Train, easily a fan favorite. What HAPPENED TO YOU!? Once again, no personality. There isn't no "WOOOO" or "GO TIME BABY!" amid the game. This goes for pretty much all the characters, they all play the sort of flat bland character, and it shows in the writing. Speaking of the writing, the story is pretty lack luster, theres no character devlopment, the story isn't personally or for that matter epic. Lets get away from the campaign and look at another fan favorite, Horde Mode. Its been replaced by a similer mode called Survival. Its much like horde mode in the way that you fight off wave after wave of monsters, but in this mode your constantly protecting some object, like a generator, or a cover to a emergence hole, or something of that nature. This could be fun, but what they have done is created tight roles that you cannot deviate from. Theres a Healer, a Engineer, a Scout and etc. You have set Weapons, and set Nades, and thats it. No switching out, you need ammo? You need someone to drop a Ammo crate. No one can do that? Your screwed. So pretty much you need one of everyone, and instead of creating a play style you want, you have to conform to pretty much a standard team who each has a job. :/

    Overall, its not the best of games. Gears fans will find it entertaining, and at times frustrating. I know their decision to knock down your ability to hold 3 weapons, two main and one handgun, now down to 2 weapons, HIGHLY infuriating. But if your not a big Gears fan don't bother, check out a earlier Gears game, or go play GoW 3. The best part of this game is the Free copy of GoW1 that came with it. 6/10    … Expand
  24. watithink123
    Apr 6, 2013
    6
    Loving the first three games, I had to get this and so glad that Epic Games did not end Gears. So is Gears of War: Judgment shine with the other Gears games? Sadly no! I'm sorry if you love Gears but this game is a dissapointment. Lets start with the campaign. The Judgement campaign is based on year 1 of the war with locasts. Cole and Biard are with us and with two new characters witch areLoving the first three games, I had to get this and so glad that Epic Games did not end Gears. So is Gears of War: Judgment shine with the other Gears games? Sadly no! I'm sorry if you love Gears but this game is a dissapointment. Lets start with the campaign. The Judgement campaign is based on year 1 of the war with locasts. Cole and Biard are with us and with two new characters witch are quite interresting. Really good story, like always with Gears. What ruins it is how every section is you trying to get stars witch just feels like a arcade game or a chalenge mode, witch a chalenge would be a great idea. I see they were trying a new way of gameplay, but it just ruined it for me. After you complete Judgement you unlock another campaign called Aftermath witch is more like a dlc. Its based in the middle of the events in Gears of War 3. Also with Cole, Biard and even Carmine. You meet up with one of the new charactors from the Judgement campaign. It keeps to the original style of gameplay witch I like. Sadly both campaigns are way too short and loved the campaigns in the other games, but not in this ,I don't like Judgement campaign and aftermath was decent... just dissapointing... Lets move on with multiplayer. Multiplayer is more balanced then ever, bit the same but still alot of fun. But what gets my attention survival and overun. Survival is defending objectives from relentless locasts, not a horde 3.0 but quite interresting changes. Overrun witch is players play as locasts witch try and destroy objective, while the COG players try and defend, easily best multiplayer game mode. Overall this game took too many steps back or not trying to push on foward. Just feels too much like other games. Gears of War: Judgement 6.5/10.… Expand
  25. Bagdad_Reviews
    Mar 23, 2013
    6
    First, I played all Gears since the first one, multiplayer matches and completed campaign multiples times.

    This one fell very "meh" to me. I would not recommend it for long time Gears fans. Theses are the reasons why I gave it a 6. Negative: 1 -Changes of controls (Seriously!?, you can't change gears controls!!!). 2 -Only 2 weapons at a time (They removed pistols. What?!). 3    First, I played all Gears since the first one, multiplayer matches and completed campaign multiples times.

    This one fell very "meh" to me. I would not recommend it for long time Gears fans.

    Theses are the reasons why I gave it a 6.

    Negative:
    1 -Changes of controls (Seriously!?, you can't change gears controls!!!).
    2 -Only 2 weapons at a time (They removed pistols. What?!).
    3 -Campaign feel like a bunch of "challenges missions" separated by boring splash screens.
    4 -Multiplayer does not fell like gears anymore. (Where are the locusts, teams death match became humans vs humans?!...).
    5 -Graphics are weaker than previous titles. (Mostly lighting).
    6 -Class system for multiplayer does not make sense.

    Positive:
    1 +Story has some good ideas but badly executed.
    2 +Overun mode is pretty fun.

    Overall, pretty disappointed. It reminds me when I stopped caring about Call of duty...    … Expand
  26. GameBoy95
    Mar 31, 2013
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Its time to be judged. Gears has always been famous for its non-stop, balls out action approach to gaming like many others, however gears is different, especially in judgement. Judgement introduces new features such as the easy weapon swap and grenade throw and removes others such as the three weapon slots. The game feels great to play, fluid and the way gears should be but its been done wrong. These game play features that have been introduced revolutionise the gears game play however they have not been used to their full extent and so instead feel like a little extra as opposed to a "big deal". The campaign is the weakest part of judgement. Straight out there it is the worst in the series. The characters are all well presented however the dynamic is just not there like the others. All of the characters in the original had a back story and felt real, believable and likeable. These don't. Baird is just Lieutenant Baird and Cole is just the stereotypical character we love but less funny than before. In fact, considering the game consists of the two funniest characters in the series, you would expect there to be humour. There is the odd joke that might make you smirk, but other than that it just feels bland and un-natural for the characters to behave like. The boss is almost non-existent in the game as well, he has a couple of scenes and then you don't even get to fight him. Killing him is just a cut scene instead of a bullets flying everywhere gore fest like it should be for a classic climactic gears game. The game also introduces a completely unnecessary scoring feature that interrupts the game abruptly every ten or fifteen minutes, completely ruining the drama and the story of judgement. The one thing that, in my opinion, saves judgement is Aftermath and this only lasts about 2 hours. This returns to the classic gears of war remedy however with less drama and a happy, disappointing ending. On the other hand, Judgement incorporates the same multiplayer like before except with the new fluid game play features making it feel more action packed than before and engaging. Its worth getting if you love the gears multiplayer because it is great, but if like me, you love the story then don't hold your breath, you'll die. In conclusion, judgement was a nice idea it was just done wrong. The developers attempted to try something new which is fair enough, however it seems like they attempted to fix something which was not broken and instead have just made a mess. This is fixable, all they need to do is return to before, maybe introduce some new characters like Barrick to keep it fresh but don't change THE STORY FORMULA! Positives:
    +Good multiplayer, fun and fluid
    +Good game play adjustments
    +Fun customization
    +Aftermath is fun

    Negatives:
    -Aftermath is too short
    -Dialogue is fairly bland
    -Judgement is too segmented
    - Feels more of an arcade experience than a gears game.
    -No boss fight-That SUCKS BTW!
    -Too colourful-looks too pretty    … Expand
  27. MarchMyMinions
    Mar 19, 2013
    5
    The only person i recommend this game to is Call of Duty enthusiasts. It's taken what made Gears a standout shooter, in a market that's been flooded by shooters already, and pushed it into the mold of any fly by night shooter out there. Starting with the campaign, i actually enjoyed it quite much. That's only because I'm a hardcore Gears fan and smile every time a reference is made or aThe only person i recommend this game to is Call of Duty enthusiasts. It's taken what made Gears a standout shooter, in a market that's been flooded by shooters already, and pushed it into the mold of any fly by night shooter out there. Starting with the campaign, i actually enjoyed it quite much. That's only because I'm a hardcore Gears fan and smile every time a reference is made or a old characters voice came over the radio. Other than that, it's just a linear succession of rooms where you pop out and shoot whatever is attacking and move up. This game play is entertaining if only because of the "Declassified" sections of the game. These area's allow you to beef up the difficult for extra points toward your star rank by hindering circumstances like decreasing visibility, restricting you to only a certain weapon or clearing the level in a set amount of time. If offers a slight tweak that allows for some changes in game play that keep it fresh enough not to bore you into submission. Multiplayer, on the other hand, is atrocious to say the lest. The originality that made Gears a staple in online shooters is completely shot in the foot as soon as you get into a match. With an embarrassing amount of playable characters (8), maps (4), and game modes (4), this installment is hardly a Gears of War game. With game modes like Free-For-All, Domination and Team Deathmatch, Judgement could be mistaken for a 3rd Person Call of Duty. The similarities don't end there, unfortunately. With a new control scheme, weapons are no longer accessed via the DPad but instead, you switch weapons with the Y button. Also, grenades are now mapped to their own button, the LB button. While this does speed up the game play by allowing you to switch weapons while roadie running or to quick toss a grenade, it takes all originally away from the game, leaving it, again, looking like a Call of Duty clone. When the first Gears game was released, players were introduced to modes like Annex, Warzone, Execution and Guardian, something they've never experienced before. And when game modes were introduced, like Capture the Leader or Team Deathmatch (GoW3), they had their own Gears spin on things, making it fresh to play. This game feels old as hell and done 100 times over. And to top it all off, it just feels like one of those $40 games like Halo 3: ODST, that are simply fan games to hold you off until Gears 4 comes out. I'm a hardcore Gears fan, i've got all of the books, games, and even a Marcus statue, but there is no amount of fan-dom that can hold this game back from being just a shame to the series in general. Don't waste your money.… Expand
  28. Consortium
    Mar 19, 2013
    7
    I'd be lying if I said GoW Judgement was a bad game, but i'd also be lying if I said it's better than its predecessors- because it isn't. Has Gears of War finally turned its last rotation? The game is the standard you-know-and-love 3rd person visceral shooter that does and offers things right that other shooters can't. The story is beautiful and made me like Baird a little more (But hesI'd be lying if I said GoW Judgement was a bad game, but i'd also be lying if I said it's better than its predecessors- because it isn't. Has Gears of War finally turned its last rotation? The game is the standard you-know-and-love 3rd person visceral shooter that does and offers things right that other shooters can't. The story is beautiful and made me like Baird a little more (But hes still an egotistical A-hole,) the game play is fluid, and two (I think) new modes put into multiplayer that I think are a breath of fresh air, but I do see it getting boring sometime soon.

    ...But what else? That's pretty much it. Other than that, it offers nothing more than the standard a la carte which is pretty disappointing considering the fact that I am a GoW fan. Instead, they opted to take out two things that really got me into GoW in the first place: DBNO, and Locusts. DBNO was so unique in this type of game that other game could not simply do. In the first place, your not supposed to die or get shot, but DBNO gave you that unique fear of getting humiliated- that part is just gone now. Now it just feels like an arcade shoot-em-up with visceral features in it. Another is Locusts- they are gone in multiplayer...soo yeah, kinda sad. Overall, I wouldn't say its a bad game, but its not the best either. They did put thought into balancing which I feel is fine right now, (Save for the sawed off- I still hate that thing) and I think they did a good job. I wouldn't recommend it to any casual shooter- they may end up disappointed, so only hardcore gears need apply.    … Expand
  29. TheAlphaTurtle
    Mar 19, 2013
    7
    I's quite obvious that the Gears series has taken a turn with the latest installment. The new changes may not appeal to the hardcore Gears fans but Epic and People Can Fly took a new approach to avoid the same old same old that gamers constantly hate. DBNO being removed does take away from the nostalgia value of Gears but in non execution modes (which were most played in Gears 3), DBNOI's quite obvious that the Gears series has taken a turn with the latest installment. The new changes may not appeal to the hardcore Gears fans but Epic and People Can Fly took a new approach to avoid the same old same old that gamers constantly hate. DBNO being removed does take away from the nostalgia value of Gears but in non execution modes (which were most played in Gears 3), DBNO barely had any effect to true gameplay. No locust in competitive multiplayer is another change that I see fanboys often complain about. This is also another change that really has no effect on actual gameplay. This is actually improved in Judgement with the ability to customize your character with skins. The thing many will miss about Gears is the lack of shotgun against shotgun battles that Gears is known for. Only spawning with one weapon, even though having the choice helps, really changes multiplayer. It's no longer as much about closing distance with stealth and strategy but more about taking people out in the open from range. The shotgun is still a viable option in Judgement but is not the only option which adds some positives and negatives. The story of Single player is a decent one for a prequel. You get a story that you never really needed in gears but is fun due to the Baird and Cole conversations. Overall, Gears of War Judgement is a good game. It's not quite on the level of previous installments but still a quality game with fun multiplayer and a decent campaign. Just don't expect it to be another same Gears game. They had to make the change for the better of their company, even if it's not quite the game… Expand
  30. kotwr424
    Mar 20, 2013
    6
    I'm a fan of GoW from the start personal favorite is 3. I was very excited for this game since GoW titles are yearly and usually well made. While the game I can tell was well made and they've taken risk's which is appreciated. The Campaign is brilliant and the 10 wave horde redux is great now I can actually play and finish (if I win) However the positives end there. MP the once greatestI'm a fan of GoW from the start personal favorite is 3. I was very excited for this game since GoW titles are yearly and usually well made. While the game I can tell was well made and they've taken risk's which is appreciated. The Campaign is brilliant and the 10 wave horde redux is great now I can actually play and finish (if I win) However the positives end there. MP the once greatest part of the game is now something I personally Loathe! It feels like epic took things from CoD (1 weapon to start) BF3/TF2 (stim grenades/classes). This might work for some but for me this is a negative I can't name how many times I tried switching my gun with the dpad yes i'll adjust eventually, or how many times ive been annoyed by the LB grenade toss from other players or the health regen. I'll end by saying this for I wanted the last gow on 360 to be great its medicore and is probably the nail in the coffin for me in and my xbox 360 which I was already consider trading in, I've kept it for GoWJ. I don't see myself keep either much longer maybe a month more and putting credit towards PS4 or maybe a few PS3 titles. This game is the official killer of my gamertag.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

44
#44 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2013
6
#6 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2013
9
#9 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 81 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 81
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 81
  3. Negative: 0 out of 81
  1. Hyper Magazine
    May 9, 2013
    70
    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]
  2. CD-Action
    May 7, 2013
    80
    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]
  3. GameFocus
    Apr 21, 2013
    78
    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.
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