S&S Review: Gears of War: Judgement

Title: Gears of War: Judgement
Format: Xbox 360
Release Date: March 17, 2013
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Epic Games, People Can Fly
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M

Gears of War: Judgement is the latest game out of the series, and it comes to us from Epic Games and People Can Fly, a couple of great studios.  The prequel to the original game doesn't do a whole lot new in the series, but it's still a great shooter.

Story and Presentation:The prequel for the Gears of War trilogy ditches the rugged persona of Marcus Fenix, and it stars the bromance between Baird and Cole.  I've always admired the chemistry between the two friends, and it was really cool to see how their stories began.  Since the game takes place over a decade before the first game, these guys aren't the war hardened men anymore, they're young men who want to save their homes from the persistent Locust Horde.  I was surprised at how much they fleshed out two of the more  hollow characters in the series, but they did a good job at making me feel attached to them.  I was always a little down on Baird as a main character, but he actually served as a good lead role.  The narrative in Gears of War: Judgement does a good job of pulling you in from the jump, showing you the end, and then having the characters narrate how they ended up in their current predicament.  It's an old storytelling technique, but it works well in Judgement.  Visually, the game does not disappoint.  The visuals didn't take a huge visual leap from the last game, but it still ranks as one of the best looking games on the aging system.  The music and the voice acting are just as superb as before, but that shouldn't be a surprise to any fan of the series.  The Locusts' shouts and moans are still as epic as before, and who can get tired of a Boomer yelling out BOOM as he blows you to bits.  Judgement shows that you can still pump out some power from the Xbox 360.

Core Gameplay and Multiplayer:

The core mechanics in Judgement haven't really changed all that much, buy why would it, Gears of War has always been one of the best cover based shooters around.  One of the biggest new additions is the new Declassify system, which you can activate before most of the enemy encounters, that triggers a new variable that will handicap your squad.  You might have the option to decrease your visibility, or add stronger enemies, either way, it'll tie in directly with the new scoring system.  The more different ways you dismantle the Locusts will grant you stars, and if use the Declassify system, you'll gain stars at much faster rate.  The cover based mechanics have been much more refined, if you can believe that.  You and your A.I. squadmates move in and out of cover a lot faster, and thanks to the Unreal engine, you'll have to adapt a lot more thanks to the destructibility of your dilapidating environments.

The level design is also something to marvel at as well, with huge open environments, the aggressive enemies will give you a real challenge.  The campaign will keep you engaged, but thanks to the weak main villain, the ending ends up being a but anti-climactic.  General Karn could have used a bit more screen time, it just seems like you don't see enough of him to get to attached to 'em.  When you get done with the campaign, the multiplayer will keep you coming back for months, just like the last game.  The new OverRun is the highlight this time around, as you try and defend key defensive points from invading Locusts.  If they succeed in taking a point, you and your soldiers will have fall back and defend the next point.  It similar to Horde mode, but it's more competitive than it.  Multiplayer is just as robust as ever, with smoother online play as well.

Final Thoughts: 
Gears of War: Judgement doesn't do a whole lot new with the series, but the new changes does make the game feel fresh.  The storytelling is strongest in Judgement, and the gameplay has been refined even more.  Any fan of series should definitely pick this up, even if you're not, this could be a great starting point for you.

S&S Rating: 9/10

@whatsPlay