<p><em><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-138741" src="https://bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cc502523-76ae-4a0e-8a4d-1a949d1f9d22.jpg" alt="" width="1" height="1" />Gears of War</em>&#8216;s influence on the gaming industry can&#8217;t be understated. While <em>Kill Switch</em> beat it to the punch by three years, <em>Gears of War</em> spawned a movement. Virtually every third person game with guns since its release has incorporated a cover system. It&#8217;s gotten to the point that a third person action game without a cover system in this day and age is an anomaly. The original <em>Gears of War</em> trilogy stands as one of last generation&#8217;s best. With that said, I have only just recently played through <em>Gears of War: Judgment</em> for the first time after playing the numbered entries, including <em>Gears of War 4</em>. It didn&#8217;t move as many units as <em>Gears of War 3</em>, but does that mean it&#8217;s not worth playing five years later?</p>
<figure id="attachment_138754" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138754" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-large wp-image-138754" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/24144306/cc502523-76ae-4a0e-8a4d-1a949d1f9d22-1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-138754" class="wp-caption-text">Gears of War: Judgment, Microsoft Studios</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Some Changes</h3>
<p>With such an iconic franchise, minor mechanical alterations or changes to the control system can be met with disdain. In <em>Judgment</em>&#8216;s case, the slightly redesigned UI and control system is a mixed bag. For starters, grenades are no longer equipped with the D-pad. Grenades, now mapped to the left bumper, feel like a natural evolution. Previously, equipping a grenade before throwing it felt like a chore. In some of the more intense moments, the animation took too long to play out. This often leads to slower knee-jerk responses in select instances as well as frustration. I&#8217;m just trying to kill some fleshy locust, my dude. It&#8217;s a shame <em>Gears of War 4</em> returned to the old grenade system. With most of the industry adopting a dedicated grenade button for the past decade, the core franchise is stuck in the past with such an archaic system.</p>
<p>Weapon load-outs saw another revision. In every title, players have access to two main guns with a third slot dedicated to handguns. This meant you could rock a Longshot and Gnasher along with a Boltok or Gorgon pistol. <em>Gears of War: Judgment</em> removes this system entirely. If you want to keep your Boltok, you&#8217;ll only have one free weapon slot left over. On some level, this change makes sense in the thick of the action. Pressing the Y button for a snappy animation lets combat flow more consistently.</p>
<h4>More Odd Than Good</h4>
<p>The action&#8217;s pacing never lets up because of this minor change. Some permutation like holding down Y to switch to a pistol would slow the game down. <em>Judgment</em> actively encourages running through and killing shit. However, despite People Can Fly&#8217;s intentions, the end result is more restrictive than it should be. On one hand, it forces more critical decisions. Do I really want that Retro Lancer? I&#8217;ve got this gorgon pistol. Do I really want the inaccurate Retro Lancer to act as my core rifle with no real back up? Do I want both a Gnasher and a Sawed-off, inhibiting my medium to long range potency?</p>
<p>On the other hand, it limits the cog&#8217;s meathead arsenal. <em>Gears of War</em> typically features gratifying combat and spectacle-inducing set-pieces. The limited carrying arsenal puts a thorn in such an action-driven game. This especially holds true when considering <em>Judgment</em>&#8216;s campaign direction.</p>
<figure id="attachment_138739" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138739" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-large wp-image-138739" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/24130320/a0fede39-b40d-4cce-853c-254f051bc57b-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-138739" class="wp-caption-text">Gears of War: Judgment, Microsoft Studios</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Gears of War: Judgment&#8217;s Core Success</h3>
<p>This is the shortest and perhaps most focused <em>Gears</em> campaign to date. I don&#8217;t mean to imply that it is the best campaign, but it knows what it wants to be and every design element stems from that core vision. Even the controversial load-out changes were made in service to that experience. Unlike every other entry, which occasionally splits up the action for the sake of pacing, <em>Judgment</em> assaults players with nonstop firefights. You&#8217;ll rarely find yourself walking slowly, waiting for NPC&#8217;s to move, or interacting with the environment for simple puzzles.</p>
<p>The game constantly funnels you from shoot-out to shoot-out. It sounds repetitive on paper, but <em>Judgment</em> deflects such criticism thanks to its length. Clocking in at five hours, it ends before the constant barrage of death grows tiresome. The original <em>Gears of War</em> feels a little dated today with basic encounters that only ever contained a maximum of five active AI locust on screen at once. After several engine updates and optimization, <em>Gears of War 2</em> showed the world how bombastic the franchise can be. That spectacle has carried on through the franchise, with <em>Judgment</em> featuring some of the series&#8217; most diverse combat sequences.</p>
<p>The degree to which it mixes different enemy types in both large-scale and claustrophobic environments forces constant mobility. Maybe you feel safe hunkering down behind that table in an enclosed hallway with grunts on the opposite end. Then, suddenly, a serapede sneaks up on you while those grunts you killed transform into ravages, an armored berserker-like enemy type exclusive to <em>Judgment</em>. It is designed almost like an arcade game, with a scoring system and non-stop action, encouraging efficiency.</p>
<h4>Declassify This</h4>
<p>If level design and combat variety alone were the end of it, <em>Gears of War: Judgment</em> would be a pretty good game for hardcore <em>Gears</em> fans that initially dismissed it because People Can Fly took the helm over Epic Games. However, <em>Judgment</em> steps it up further with the inclusion of declassified missions. These are optional missions/objectives that can be activated for every major scenario.</p>
<p>Each declassified mission activates some sort of modifier that makes the ensuing battles more difficult. One declassified mission limited the player&#8217;s arsenal to just the Gnasher and Sawed-off while another severely limits vision. While not all declassified scenarios are created equally, they enhance the moment to moment gameplay. Some of the most nail-biting missions consisted of racing against a time limit before poisonous gas filled the room or a hammer of dawn strike rained upon us.</p>
<p>Other optional skirmishes went as far as adding further enemy variety to the ensuing chaos. Each of these declassified missions adds a consistently changing goal to work toward while forcing players to rethink tried-and-true strategies. &#8220;Yeah, I&#8217;ll just hang back with this lancer. Oh wait, we have 2 and a half minutes to finish this. Never mind.&#8221;</p>
<figure id="attachment_138732" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138732" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-large wp-image-138732" src="https://cdn.bagogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/24124853/751f2031-f5e6-489b-accf-32e11600eda31-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="563" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-138732" class="wp-caption-text">Gears of War: Judgment, Microsoft Studios</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p><em>Gears of War: Judgment</em> is a great way to spend an afternoon. With such exciting combat variety, <em>Judgment</em> is plain old dumb fun. People Can Fly showed a greater command of what makes an exciting <em>Gears of War</em> campaign than The Coalition did with <em>Gears of War 4</em>. Kick back, grab a drink, invite up to three of your closest friends, and spend the day gibbing some locust.</p>

Gears of War: Judgment 5 Years Later
- Categories: Opinion
- Tags: Epic GamesGears of WarMicrosoftPeople Can Flythird-person shooterTop StoriesXbox
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