Gears of War: Judgment came out a few weeks back, and here we are with a review of the fourth main entry to the Xbox 360 series. A prequel to the franchise’s main story arc, this one focuses on Damon Baird and his Kilo Squad’s antics during the initial period following Emergence Day. By deciding to do so, Epic Games and People Can Fly have aimed at giving the series some freshness it so deserves. And unlike the gritty and emotional narratives conveyed through the first three chapters, this one follows a different path altogether. Besides, there’s a rehashed multiplayer component that has found its way into this game, but we’ll be talking about it later.
First, let us take a peek at the campaign offering it has in its store. It revolves around the Kilo Squad which consists of rebels who’re certainly not without a cause. Havoc is being let loose by a menacing Locust commander named General Karn, and our four-man team is at the job right away. Two of them (Damon Baird and Augustus Cole) you may know from the previous games, while two are new to the party. Sofia Hendrik, a former journalist, now COG soldier, and Garron Paduk, a former UIR member, now COG private are the two new recruits. The fact that the story transpires 15 years prior to the first GoW game gives a youthful touch to the characters, which in a way, drives the narrative forward.
That’s because these folks, with their egos clashing every now and then, decide to go against the orders of their commander, Colonel Ezra Loomis, in their quest to defeat Karn. What follows is where our narrative starts. A makeshift tribunal, constantly interrupted by Locust-attacks, is set up by Loomis to have the four “tried and shot.” The four convey their testimonies, which you play out before finally entering the present day scenario that leads to an excruciatingly generic boss fight. This way, with each testimony, we are given a different perspective on the whole affair, which although a neat element, has its own downside.
A repetitive pattern of us playing out what every Kilo member is describing in their testimony is followed by the narrative. This in a way, fails to give Judgment any unpredictability, and you are left doing nothing but foretelling what the next part will be. Within those testimonies however, lie incidents which reveal in an unfolding manner why the Kilo Squad is being tried. Using this as the only hooking factor, the game does well to keep your interests up till the very end, while also complementing the story with interesting character traits and ego clashes that blend with the entire premise.
Besides this, there is an Aftermath epilogue which can be unlocked by players for an added dose of campaign play. This is actually a section from GoW 3 in which you follow Baird, Cole and Clayton Carmine as they reunite with Paduk on their quest to find a ship and reinforcements for the assault on Azura. An otherwise off-screen section from the earlier game, it is a nice little addition for fans to revel in despite its short length.
This game looks like yet another GoW title, but added refinements ensure that you get to extract an even more advanced shooting experience from it. Prominent among these additions are the well-stretched-out battlefields which ensure that they’re always swarming with Locusts from all sides. You might take cover behind a wall to shoot at the Boomer who’s coming at you all guns blazing, but you’ll never know when a Mauler would strike at you from the opposite direction. Keeping you always on your toes, the combat of this game benefits a lot from its revamped battlegrounds. New additions even include weapons like sentries, tripwire crossbows and more.
A deep scoring system has also been instilled into Judgment by its makers. Rewarding you in the form of stars and ribbons, it’s a device which has been pushed in solely to increase gamer-engagement, and it serves its purpose immaculately. The points you grab depend upon a number of factors such as headshots, ammo clips used, times revived and more. Going for different combinations is the key to earn more and more points here. Apart from this, the game, at each and every point, gives you the option of ‘Declassifying’ certain missions, which only means that added challenges get introduced for your score to get a boost.
This ‘Declassifying’ means that you can add certain aspects to your testimonies that will make them sound stronger while at the same time, compounding the gameplay with tricky scenarios like low visibility due to storms, scarcity of ammunition, windy weather, absence of certain important weapons and more. These versatile additions although wise, would have turned out to be superb if they had an overall effect on the story. Non-linearity is not something you’d expect from a GoW game, but with so many unlikely candidates jumping the bandwagon these days, it would have turned out to be a great asset for this title.
Judgment lets go of the familiar art style of its predecessors, and trades it for a similar-looking yet freshly lit up template that’s gaze-worthy. Brilliant lighting effects get the job done for this game, and its graphical finesse only enhances the visual extravaganza that’s thrown at you by the developers. Crackling sounds effects augment the experience even further, harmonizing with the blazing action in a pretty neat manner.
A revamped multiplayer component is on offer through this game. Overrun, Survival and Free for All are the three new modes having been introduced by the developers, apart from the familiar Domination and Team Deathmatch. Overrun is a fun mode which lets you play as both Locust and COG forces. It takes some time to get a hold of the scenario here, but once you do, it is just plain fun. As Locust, your job is to destroy COG equipment, which is not an easy task, as the COG forces have been divided into 4 classes with responsibilities such as repairing equipment, reviving fellow teammates, scouting and just plain shooting.
Survival on the other hand, is a modified form of the Horde mode. As COG men, you take on 10 waves of AI Locust, amidst a properly-balanced level design. The bold decision to drop familiar GoW modes and go for new ones has paid off for the developers, as they have enough hours of addictive multiplayer gameplay loaded into them.
Final Word: With all its little yet decent tweaks in the combat department, Gears of War: Judgment manages to create a superior shooting experience. The campaign is certainly not a disappointment either, but its predictability holds it back from becoming something really interesting. The game is nothing short of a visual spectacle, and factors such as the new scoring system as well as the rehashed multiplayer will keep bringing you back into it over and over again. Here’s our score for it:
Graphics: 9/10
Sounds: 9/10
Environments: 8.5/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Replay Value: 9/10
Overall (not an average): 8/10