DHGF: Gears of War: Judgment is a classic example of the old adage “one step forward, two steps back.” The concept of a prequel game holds a lot of potential, but the opportunity is squandered by a forgettable plot and sub-par writing, while the short Aftermath campaign that feels like a Gears of War 3 expansion steals the show. Some ideas, like the class system used in the Survival mode are genuinely good, though are overshadowed by the short ten wave length of the mode. Also, many of the modes that have become standard for the series have been chopped out, such as Horde. With only four maps available on disc for each mode, and only half of the modes of the previous games, the entire experience feels like a phoned in effort and does little to justify the $60 price point. Especially during a release calendar with so many worthwhile alternatives. If you’re a Gears of War fan, you’ll likely enjoy it, but finding it on the cheap is highly recommended.
WTMG's Aaron Price: "Revisiting Judgement is always a treat, especially now, ten years after its release. It received a lot of hate for its changes upon release, but it has aged like an average quality wine. It’s not perfect, but it’s more than worth a playthrough, which leads me to the last thought on the game, as little as I’m looking forward to it… it’s time to try for all the challenge stars in the campaign on Insane difficulty. Pray for me."
Gears of War: Judgment launched 10 years ago today, and quickly became one of the most misunderstood titles in the series.
Easily the best control-wise of the series. Judgment introduced melee-ing with the lancer and is still the only installment of the series (to date) which enables you to change weapons while roadie running simultaneously.
Gears 2&5 are the worst controlling in the series.
The Arcady aspects of the campaign should have been unlocked after completing a campaign play through. Seeing score screen after battles caused awkward pacing. The multiplayer was too different from other Gears games.
Judgment felt more like an expansion than an actually game. To me, I was fatigued from the series at that point. The story was ok, over all it wasn’t bad.
The Gears of War series has been a consistent deliverer of quality for Xbox, but which games are the best?
Gears of War is my favorite video game franchise, and the Locust is my all-time favorite faction.
My rank list:
1. Gears of War 2
2. Gears of War 3
3. Gears of War 1
4. Gears of War 4
5. Gears of War 5
6. Gears of War Judgment (No Locust in multiplayer was a disgrace)
Agree 100% with this ranking. The campaign in Gears of War 2 is among the most fun campaigns ever made. It’s been downhill from there.
2 is still my favorite but 5 is also up there (for me). Then I'd say 1, 3, 4 and Judgement. Tactics isnt the same type of game, so it seems odd to rank it among TPS when its a strategy game. So I make that one all its own. Pretty fun game too.
The first is and has always been the best one imo - the story, the levels, the set pieces, the soundtrack - as close to perfect as a campaign can get.
I’d say the series had been on a continual downhill slide until 5.
3
5
2
1
4
Judgement
I love the series as a whole, but 4 was pretty by the numbers, and Judgement was just ok.
I played them all since picking up a Series X about 7 months ago. Personally, I don't think time has been kind to the earlier games and they feel very slow and repetitive to play. Whilst the newer games may be prettier, they stick with the original gameplay mechanics too much in my view so as a whole series of titles, I think they are pretty average games.
Not to say they weren't fun and I have a lot of nostalgia for 1 and 2, I just think there are far better action games out there.
