Gears of War: Judgement
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Microsoft
Rating out of five: ***
Edited by Michael Plant
Like God of War: Ascension, Judgement comprises a series prequel that looks to extrapolate some kind of meaning from a story that was over-egged to begin with.
Here we're presented with the testimony of four “Gears” (soldiers, for those not au fait with the series) as they stand accountable for war crimes unknown.
Their tale is then told via flashback, as each member of Kilo Squad accounts for their actions.
So it is that players will instantly find themselves embroiled in the same cover-based shooting that the series has long since been synonymous with - Gears of War by numbers, despite the supposed fresh impetus injected by new principal developer People Can Fly.
Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with the gameplay; indeed it's solid shooting done well. But there's precious little new here - the odd new weapon, optional mission objectives, and so on - to mark it out as different.
Gears's multiplayer fans will at least take to the online side of things, as new modes Overrun and Survival add weight to the established options, while the fraught gun-play remains as bombastic as ever. - The Independent