The fact that the Gears of War franchise is continuing past Gears 3 is indeed odd since it seemed like the series had some much desired closure. With a bunch of characters dead, the Locust seemingly a thing of the past, and Marcus finally able to shack up with Anya and have blonde haired kids with burly muscles, it was believed that gamers had seen the last of Gears. Jump to E3 last month and Microsoft pulled a fast one on us with the reveal of Gears of War: Judgment, a new prequel revolving around Cole, Baird, and a new motley crew of COG soldiers.
Most gamers wouldn’t say that the Gears series was in need of a huge break as the franchise wasn’t being run into the ground, but it nonetheless seemed odd that we were already receiving a new Gears game so soon after the release of Gears 3. Even in the hands of Bullestorm developer People Can Fly, Gears of War: Judgment wasn’t quite looked upon with the same initial awe that many fans had when Gears 2 and 3 were first revealed. Well such a sentiment may change with this new multiplayer footage that has been released.
Multiplayer action has never quite been a strong suit of the Gears series. Sure, it may have been solid in a few areas but even those who played the mode for twenty hours+ will admit that it has always had major flaws. While Epic Games did flesh things out with Gears 3, People Can Fly could finally deliver the well-rounded and overwhelmingly fun Gears multiplayer experience fans of the series have been hoping for.
Taking note from the bazillion other multiplayer games on the market Gears of War: Judgment allows gamers to partake in a new match called OverRun. Basically it’s an old-school team A protects item, in this case a generator, while team B seeks to destroy it sort of thing. It’s honestly nothing groundbreaking by any means but where things differ from past Gears titles is the emphasis on class types and how class specific abilities play into the match. With COG engineers capable of repairing defensives and putting up sentry turrets while Locust’s can use points to control advanced types such as the Serapede there seems to be a lot of variety in the game; even if it does seem a bit grounded and familiar to what we’ve experienced before.
With a March 2013 release date, Gears of War: Judgment could become the go-to action game for those wanting to experience something with high level action that isn’t ruled by which Perks you assign but instead relies on good old fashioned teamwork. There’s always the chance that Judgment could merely be a more colorful Gears game that has the same issues, but People Can Fly have proven that they’re a talented bunch and I’m sure they’ll tap into the same magic they used when they developed the gem that was Bulletstorm.
