More Fun in Co-Op
Players who will be playing the campaign with friends will be pleased by Judgment’s campaign. The main campaign is more of a team effort as every fight that players go through, they will be ranked, kills will be counted, ribbons can be obtained, experience can be earned and stars can be unlocked. Depending on the way the team tackles a certain mission, up to three stars can be given out. Collecting stars will give players bonuses that they can use in the multiplayer portion of the game and it’s essential to unlock the Aftermath campaign as players will need to collect forty of them. For someone who plays by themselves, the game is still doable by one person, though it will be much more of a challenge especially when doing the declassified mission challenges. Gamers who are seeking for a far greater challenge, playing with a full group is highly recommended.
Some Things Remain the Same
While there are new things that are heavily implemented in Judgment, there are others that remain. Since the new style of the main campaign will not be favored by a lot, those who prefer the classic Gears of War action style can get it, although it’s only through the Aftermath campaign. Everything fans love from the classic Gears of War gameplay will find it in Aftermath as performances will not be tracked. In addition, collecting stuff like the COG Tags remains present in the game. Through the chapters available in the campaign, players can still seek out the small COG symbol that indicates a collectible is nearby. Also, the layout and the interface of both multiplayer and single player remains the same.
Overrun Mode and Multiplayer is Fun
The idea behind Overrun mode isn’t exactly new as it’s been found in other multiplayer games as well. Though in the Gears of War series, the mode works absolutely wonderful. In Overrun Mode, players will be able to choose from a different set of classes that does certain things like a Soldier being able to do full damage while Medic will be the ones responsible for healing the group. For each group, players will get certain objectives such as taking down a generator when on the Locusts side while the COGs side may have to defend the area from the Locusts. Every class that players pick has a different loadout and they are all customizable to the player’s liking.
Other modes that are present in Judgment’s multiplayer mode that make it even more fun is Domination, where players will compete to control three rings throughout the map to earn points. First to hit the 250 will win the match. Just like in Overrun, players will be able to pick and customize their loadouts. Also, Survival mode will be available as well where it’s pretty much a combination of the classic Horde and OverRun mode, although class system will be implemented in this mode as well. As for the classic modes, the Free for All and Team Deathmatch are the last two that will make up the whole multiplayer and it’s still present in the game.
Through the five modes that are available in multiplayer, the new ones really do give the game a higher fun factor when it comes to playing with friends. My favorite modes out of the five available are Overrun and Domination.
NOT
No Change in Visuals
Being the fourth game in the series, I was kind of hoping for the graphics to be somewhat enhanced. Alas, they were left unchanged and environments and cutscenes looks pretty similar to the Gears of War game you have played years ago. Through the several chapters that players will be going through, they will see some familiar players that’s been already visited in other Gears of War game. Some look like they have been reused from other games although there are moments in the game where the new environments will simply astound its fans. As for the presentation and voice work, it remains good. For those who are hoping for somewhat of a revolutionary change in visuals department, they will not find it here.
Short Campaign
My biggest gripe with Judgment is the length of the campaign. When played on Normal difficulty, players can easily beat the game in around four hours. Those who are seeking for a much greater challenge like Hardcore can extend it for another hour or two since there will be times players will die and will have to repeat certain missions. In the main campaign, each act available is no longer divided in chapters as they are now called sections. For each Act, players will go through seven sections; while that may sounds many for each act, it’s actually short and can easily be finished in five to ten minutes. For the Aftermath campaign, don’t expect it to be longer either as it will be much shorter than the main campaign. There are only seven sections that players will have to go through and it can be finished in around an hour or two.
Forgettable Story
Fans who are fond of the story in the Gears of War trilogy will slightly feel disappointed on Judgment as one of the things players will realize at the very end is how forgettable the story is. The main campaign’s story pretty much revolves around on action and lacks the substance and depth a good story should have. The newly two introduced characters, Paduk and Hendrick, will not give much of the attention to fans, just like the way others did in the past games in the series. It seems like in Judgment, Epic Games and People Can Fly got more focused on how to deliver the best multiplayer but definitely lacks in crafting an interesting storyline.
Not So-Good AI
If you plan on playing by yourself, be warned that the AI is simply horrible. Much like the other games in the series, the AI is one of the biggest problems you will face. When it comes to friendly AI, they’re not too competent when it comes to attacking and getting players back up on their feet. Some will just run around back and forth while there are times they will run towards the downed character immediately, which makes them very unpredictable. As for the enemies goes, it’s practically the same experience; they look confused when attacking as if they don’t know whether to attack or not, where as others will simply come rushing in.
VERDICT
Gears of War: Judgment is a welcome addition to the Gears of War series, as it still manages to hold what it does best; a fun co-op and multiplayer experience. The main campaign is designed for those that love co-op and despite it being a short experience with a forgettable story; you will still have a blast playing through it. As always, the multiplayer mode is still quite enjoyable and can be very addicting, especially since new modes were added into the mix. Overall, Gears of War: Judgment is a must buy for Gears of War fans that are looking for another fun ride when it comes to playing with friends or co-operatively with people. Those who are excited for the single player mode will be disappointed, as the story is far from memorable and simply can’t match the enjoyment found in multiplayer.
[Editor’s Note: Gears of War: Judgment was reviewed on the Xbox 360 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
