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Gears of War: Judgment

If God of War: Ascension was met with a resounding “meh”, then Gears of War: Judgment was met with a resounding “what?” by most people. It’s not that people don’t still love Gears, but that story seemed nicely wrapped up, and unlike God of War we’ve already seen 3 iterations of the popular shooter series since 2006. It will be interesting to see what People Can Fly—in their first game since the failed Bulletstorm—can do to make this game interesting, especially since it’s a prequel.

For my part, the focus on Baird as the main character is the reason to be interested in this game. Sure, Cole Train is there too, but I’ve always gravitated towards the snarky, cynical Baird, so more of him is a plus in my book. There may be some interesting stuff to be mined from exploring the era just after Emergence Day as well, and the concept of Baird and Cole appearing in front of a tribunal to explain their actions could be cool from a story perspective.

As far as the gameplay goes, it’s more Gears of War, for better or worse. I would love to see People Can Fly get a little crazy with the series; after all, that’s what they’re known for. So far, it looks like they’re playing this one safe, and the game looks like something that would have come from the main team at Epic. It’s a tough road to travel, and there’s an outstanding pedigree to live up to, but I have high hopes that People Can Fly will pull it off.

Multiplayer is getting a revamp, opting for a class-based structure with the new OverRun mode. A team of five COG soldiers needs to defend a generator against a team of 5 Locust warriors. Players will alternate between these two factions, which is sure to keep things fresh. If it sounds simple, it is, but the depth comes in the form of the class choices and loadouts. It’s been done before in a multitude of games, but the inclusion of this type of multiplayer into the already excellent offerings the series in known for could be that extra little something that gets people excited for this title. No, you probably didn’t want another Gears of War game this generation, but it’s coming on March 19. In an already heavily frontloaded year, can the COGs stand out? We’ll find out soon.