5: Gears of War: Judgment
Gears of War Judgment is…a game. It’s a game that exists, certainly. It’s not that it’s a particularly bad game in this series, or even a bad game in general, but what it is is just sort of there. The good and the bad mix together to create something that’s only really called a Gears game simply by having some of the characters from the previous entries. Marcus and Dom are absent for the campaign portion, instead switching over to Baird and Cole and set before the original Gears of War as they and their two squadmates, Sofia Hendrik and Garron Paduk, are put on trial for stealing experimental COG technology.
It sounds like a nice idea and helps give some more characterization to the two characters in Delta Squad who are lacking in that more than usual. But the Gears of War franchise has never really been lauded for its incredibly amazing writing and characterization, and while there are some sort of interesting threads, it ultimately is just a lackluster story. The dynamic between the four leads is just about as solid as it is with the classic four, but the COG head questioning them is just a bit of a dick, and it makes no sense why they’d have a tribunal literally a couple miles away from a warzone. Our main villain is probably the weakest the series has ever had, which is a shame considering how threatening previous baddies like Raam, Skorge, and Myrrah were. This really is the one where you scratch your head and wonder who the hell the big boss was they had to fight at the end. (His name’s Karn, FYI.)
Epic handed the reigns of Judgement over to the folks of People Can Fly for the most part, which may explain why this one doesn’t feel so Epic. The same mechanics are all there, but PCF’s added some new wrinkles in the name of replayability. The Declassified system adds modifiers to the level like constant smoke caused by an explosion, cutting your ammo in half, or an increase in enemy numbers. The scoring system increases the amount of stars you get at the end of each level. None of this is particularly bad, in fact the modifiers made the Gears 3 campaign pretty fun. But here, it feels like it came from Bulletstorm instead of Gears’ dodge rolling machofest. The important changes came to the multiplayer, where the four-weapon system was slimmed down to two and removed key features like Down But Not Out and Locusts in multiplayer. The changes to both modes all come together to create a Gears title that isn’t as stellar as it should be, or as bad as it could be.
4: Gears of War 3
The big question hanging over Gears 3 was “can Epic stick the landing”? Ending a trilogy is hard, especially when your second installment blew nearly everyone away. Gears of War 3 had big shoes to fill, starting with delivering a multiplayer experience that couldn’t have the connectivity issues that Gears 2 had. Not only that, but they had to tie up the narrative loose end left at the end of Gears 2 and finally give fans who dug into the lore the satisfaction of seeing Marcus Fenix reunite with his long lost father.
The multiplayer is the bread and butter of the series, and Gears 3 certainly delivers. Epic’s beta certainly paid off in lessening the connection issues that otherwise plagued the previous game. There were still some issues, but they didn’t plague game nearly as bad or as long as Gears 2. There’s a better sense of balance across the weapons and map variety the previous two games didn’t entirely have, and the game overall feels more geared (heh) towards teamwork. Small things like being able to tag enemies for your teammates or swapping weapons make even competitive modes feel cooperative. If you’re a fan of the series’ multiplayer, it’s definitely where you’re going to get your money’s worth.
Not to say that the campaign of Gears 3 is bad, but Gears campaigns have always had their high and low points, and this campaign is a bit more on the miss side. It definitely starts out with a bang, having Marcus and the rest of Delta fight on their rig to keep a giant Lambent fish (no seriously) from bringing it to the bottom of the ocean. The set piece moments, combined with the addition of four player co-op and modifiers, are the stars of the campaign, and they deliver in that aspect. Some of the encounters in the final two acts rank up there with the series’ best. But it feels like the series very well realized that they sort of blew their emotional load with the Dom/Maria stuff in Gears 2, so the whole stuff about Marcus’ dad falls flat to people who haven’t read the novels. At the end of it all, Gears of War 3 isn’t bad if you’re solely a multiplayer fan, but if you’re in it for the story, you may come out disappointed.
3: Gears of War 4
The newest chapter in the Gears of War saga is a story about legacy, in more ways than one. Not only does it have new developer The Coalition at the helm, the protagonists have changed, putting players in the shoes of Marcus’ son JD in the 25 year aftermath of Gears 3. Instead of saving the world like the series gradually grew to be, it’s more personal, dealing with JD and friends Kait and Del on a quest to save Kait’s people from the new bad guys called the Swarm. Fortunately, the new cast has more than enough charisma and banter to make them worthy successors to that of Marcus and crew, and the cameos of previous franchise characters doesn’t feel forced.
The gameplay is still classic Gears: incredibly satisfying. The ebb and flow between combatants has been nicely tuned, and the improved enemy and teammate AI makes it so that the game feels like it’s challenging on difficulties beyond Insane. Slimming the co-op count back down to two ends up being a point in the series favor, making it so that firefights don’t become incredibly easy, but it’s rare that it feels like you’re being overwhelmed.
And when it comes to multiplayer, the game doesn’t disappoint there, either. The class-based system may not be much to write home about, but Horde 3.0 is a successful escalation of the now classic mode and stands as one of the best multiplayer modes in its own right. Competitive multiplayer is finely tuned and provides one of the smoothest experiences on the Xbox One and Windows 10 you could ask for. Gears of War 4 may just be nothing more than a soft reboot, and the final boss fight is a disappointment, but it’s good at what it does and is a fun step for the franchise.
2: Gears of War
Gears of War is a great game, there’s no doubt about it. When everything is said and done, the starter to the franchise has some of the best combat around to this day and perfectly fine tuned mechanics. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the multiplayer. In a way, the small 8-10 player count that the series has offered has been the games’ quiet success, making sure there’s a decent size of people on each team without losing the feel of intimacy, pre-chainsaw vasectomy. Provided you were able to not get revved in half or turned to mush by someone with a shotgun, Gears 1 had some of the best multiplayer on the 360.
If the multiplayer isn’t your bag, the story mode is just as fun. While the storytelling isn’t the best, and the teammate AI is lacking in brain cells, the enemy AI is sharp and won’t go down without putting up a fight. The first game has some of the best moments in the series–the Brumak, the mining facility, Fenix estate, and the entire train sequence at the end are all great and challenging. Co-op is a blast, particularly on the higher difficulties, and you can’t help but bond with your partner when they revive you. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that this game helped push the 360 to the top.
1: Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 is a fantastic game. That’s not entirely surprising, given it had a great foundation to work with, but Epic’s motto of “bigger, badder, more badass” really does shine through in the sequel. It jettisons the few real issues the original game had and aims to improve or just scrap what didn’t work. Not a fan of commanding your squad? That’s gone. Hated dying instantly the moment you were down? AI teammates can now revive you when you’re down. Most importantly, you can now prevent yourself from being chainsawed up the strap with chainsaw duels.
The chainsaw duels are backed by a well written and consistently entertaining story, a marked improvement from the first one’s straightforward tale. The tone between meathead bro-bonding and relatable human drama sometimes shifts disjointedly back and forth, but the characters are all engaging and memorable in some capacity, even little Ben Carmine. Even if the story isn’t your main draw, the action set pieces are more than worth playing the story mode alone. Is there anything cooler than riding a Brumak, carving your way out of a giant worm, or getting into a chainsaw duel with the Predator?
Multiplayer had its issues, mainly in connectivity, but it was Horde mode that elevated it. Five players versus 50 waves of Locust in growing difficulty ended up being addicting to play, and a mode plenty of games would recreate years later. At the time, there was quite nothing like it, and it still holds up to this day. Working together is truly encouraged if you’re all going to survive. The competitive modes are all well and good in their right, even if it does feel like the shotgun is still a god-tier death dealer. The standout mode among them continues to be Guardian, where players have infinite respawns until they kill the enemy team’s leader. It’s a fun mix of lone wolf and cooperative play, especially when both teams are neck and neck and the timer’s running out. Regardless of what mode you play, Gears of War 2 is certainly bigger, definitely better, and without a doubt more badass.
What’s your favorite Gears of War game? Let us know in the comments below.
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