A weak prequel to the GOW series
User Rating: 7 | Gears of War: Judgment X360
The latest entree in the GOW series is a prequel to the first game. In Judgement, you play as members of Kilo squad, which features beloved characters of the series, Baird and Cole, as well as some new characters. The story itself is centered around flashbacks and a trial on Kilo squad. The flashbacks tell how Kilo squad got in the situation they are in now. I didn't mind the muddled story so much as I minded that something was missing in this GOW game. Sure the game still looks like a graphical achievement, though not as good looking as GOW 3, but the missions feel fragmented and don't seem to work well with the story. Before each mission or big fight sequence, you come across a Declassified challenge, which is difficulty modifier which limits what you can do in a combat situation, it's a nice idea but some just don't make sense in the game and make the plot awkward. It makes it feel more like an arcade game than a story game. Also some of the controls of the game are changed and for GOW fans it might make it feel awkward at first. There are new guns in the game, such the markza rifle, and new enemies such as the rager. Ragers are tough Locust beasts that can attack like a normal Drone, or become enraged and act like a Berserker. There is an aftermath campaign, which is more like the traditional gears games, but its slow paced and feels like an after thought. Multiplayer is fun with new classes, solider, and new modes, survival and overrun, but they got rid of horde, and beast mode to bring these new modes in. It makes me wonder, "If it ain't broke why fix it?" Gears of War: Judgement is not a bad game but it feels stripped of what made the series so good. 7/10
