I have quite a history with him Gears of war franchise. I bought them all at midnight, played countless games on Xbox Live, and even almost shed a tear during the death of a certain character in Gears of War 3. Sure, this franchise isn’t for everyone, but it’s a lot of fun. This time around, you’re not playing as Marcus Fenix, but as dry, sarcastic Damon Baird and his Kilo squad. do this Gears of war prequel hold a candle to previous titles? Short answer: yes, and it’s a lot of fun.

I was just a little excited to get a chance to play this title. I’ve been a Gears of war fan since the first one was released in 2006, but for me, Gears of War Judgment It seemed more of the same. Fortunately, he was proven wrong. The campaign introduced a new way of telling a story, the grubs you fight are familiar but different, and the multiplayer mode remains one of the best in the business. Sure, one could argue that Gears of War Judgment it is nothing more than an expansion pack for Gears of War 3 but in reality it is something else. You get more content than other shooters at the same price, and the $ 60 price tag is more than justified.

At the beginning of the game, the Baird and Kilo squad are arrested for disobeying direct orders. Throughout the single player experience, you will give a testimonial recalling each step that led to the arrest. You will play as all four members as they describe their brutal encounters. This is not going to attract you like TellTale Living Dead game, but you will enjoy your stay with these characters. Not everyone is a super soldier in a mask (ahem, Master Chief).

During your game, you will find declassified objectives. These are optional options that you will have to decide between that will make the missions even more difficult. Additional objectives are challenging but never impossible. In fact, I suggest doing all of them to make the game a little more exciting. For example, I had to use only pistols during one of the most difficult sequences in the game. Another throws you a sandstorm. They are fun and unpredictable to say the least.

This game has a significant bad guy too, but it’s sadly underused. A big bad lobster that continually appears to annoy the Kilo squad. You have to wonder why this guy is so special. Don’t spoil anything but the end in Judgment feels completely disappointing.

Once you finish the eight hour single player experience, you will have access to another short series of missions called “Aftermath” that take place during the Gears of War 3 story line. It’s great to see where Baird and Cole went when Marcus and Dom were attacking other locusts all over the planet. The aspects of the characters actually look different from those of Judgment because “Aftermath” takes place in a bleak future. It was a nice touch and it showed that developer People can Fly really paid attention to continuity.

Gears of war is a frenetic cover-up based third person shooter. Over the years and the sequels, EPIC Games has perfected the gameplay of its bloody shooter. Making a perfect active reload on your rifle is still one of the most satisfying moments in gaming. That said, there haven’t been many changes to the game since Gears of War 3 to Jjudgment and this is both good and bad. Nothing is more frustrating than having to be revived by your teammates and finding them clumsy, doing anything but saving your life. It’s a shame to have the help of your AI colleagues; if you are playing through more advanced difficulties, you will need your online backup.

A new feature they have in Gears of War Judgment are the prize boxes. As you continuously level up and complete certain ribbons and achievements, the game will reward you with these prize boxes that you will open from the main menu. They are random in what they will contain, it could be anything like free experience points for new character skins and weapons. It’s quite fun and I hope that more games will implement this feature in the future.

And multiplayer is back. You’ll play as the Human COG and the Locust horde with a new class-based system. Finally, the COG can heal each other and have special access to weapons. Unfortunately, this is not the end of all Gears of war multiplayer. The game only ships with four maps and four game modes. This is disappointing; they also removed executions and “Down but not out” features. I suppose it is to speed up the multiplayer gameplay sometimes dragged from the previous one. Gears of war games, but is sorely missed.

Gears of War Judgment it’s a great addition to the franchise, and I had a lot of fun playing the entire campaign. The new declassified missions were exciting and added a new take on the series. Despite the slightly sterile multiplayer, there is still quite a bit of playability with the promised free downloadable content in the works. For my part, I had fun dusting off my boots and joining Baird and company in this damn prequel.