Gears of War: Judgment Review - 49 Shades of Gray
Plenty of hot lead, but too little payoff.
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Plenty of hot lead, but too little payoff.
Read Full Article
Gears of War: Judgment Review - 49 Shades of Gray
- Thread starter MikeWehner
- Start date
Are those suicide Ticks still OP in horde mode?
I'm a PC gamer who doesn't use controllers and I was able to unlock the 2nd highest Locust class with one run as the Tick.
Plus the charge n suicide can really ruin the COG teams day, I took out 2 humans and damaged the main objective once.
I'm a PC gamer who doesn't use controllers and I was able to unlock the 2nd highest Locust class with one run as the Tick.
Plus the charge n suicide can really ruin the COG teams day, I took out 2 humans and damaged the main objective once.
I finally understand all those people who say that they just dont "get" why Halo is so popular. It's the same feeling I get from Gears.
To quote this review:
Is it soul? Personality? Colour?
Who knows. Either way, this is a series that just hasn't clicked with me and probably never will. A shame.
To quote this review:
Exactly. The Gears games have always been high up there when it comes to quality; I'd even go so far as to say they're an example of near perfection when it comes to how gameplay in shooters should "feel". But they've always lacked something, something I can't quite quantify.MikeWehner said:
Is it soul? Personality? Colour?
Who knows. Either way, this is a series that just hasn't clicked with me and probably never will. A shame.
Gears, in general, tends to shy away from set pieces, cinematics, and over-the-top moments, which may be why the game doesn't have the same level of adoration that other titles have. Halo has steadily ramped up in this regard with each new title, but Gears remains almost entirely a pure shooting gallery. Yes, I was disappointed in Judgement for its lack of boss encounters (because to have almost none, even for a Gears game, is a bit disappointing, IMO) but the game really does its best to just stick you in cover and make you fight your way out.Proverbial Jon said:
As you said, the gameplay and production quality have always been near perfection, but I completely understand where you're coming from when you say you just don't "feel" anything from Gears. Somehow, the silent protagonist of Halo is more relatable than the lumbering brutes of Gears. The characters of Gears have always been more unbelievable in their own way than the futuristic soldiers of Halo. When you see the marines in Halo, you think "Hey, if it were the year XXXX, maybe that could be me?" but with Gears' comically muscled and gritty soldiers, you simply can't stretch your suspension of reality that far (or at least I never could).
Immersion. It's impossible to relate to any of the angry hatemongers that make up the cast. And the fact that the developers really suck at exposition and suffer from total lack of any new ideas also isn't helping. So the GoW after this will have even more armor-suited space marines, slightly better graphics, lots of garish explosions and gun-toting pew pew, that really don't cover up the fact that there's nothing new underneath. To the critical gamer, that is. Oh well, at least GoW won't feel lonely now, the Crysis series have also set foot on Planet Unimaginative with their 3rd installment.Proverbial Jon said:
Never change a winning team, I guess. As long as the hive-minded casual gamers outnumber the quality demanding seasoned gamers, we will always draw the shortest straw.
On a different note, I don't really get the 'Declassified' mode. Sure, some extra challenge could help prevent falling asleep mid gun-battle, but how does it fit in the context? I imagine big chief of operations going "Well, we didn't think total annihilation of the human race and destruction of earth are that much of a biggie, so we downgraded your armor, made your guns less effective and will blow your Battle Royale collar when the arbitrary time limit runs out!" Yeah, makes perfect sense.
Wow, I might have turned this into a Gears hate thread...
People say that the Master Chief is an unfeeling, emotionless automaton (which is kinda the point by Halo 4) but there's some real heartfelt moments when you look for then, especially Halo 3. The Dom's wife thing in Gears 2 was a nice try but didn't add any depth to him or the others, nor did his actions in Gears 3. They're all just beefed up caricatures and stereotypes and no amount of slow-motion footage overlaid with Mad world will convince me to care for them.
When I played the game again I realised that it wasn't me... they literally didn't explain that section at all. In fact the entire story was just a complete mess and I would struggle to explain it now, even in the most basic terms.
You're completely right, the whole Gears trilogy could have been a single game, there is nothing to set any of them apart. To be honest I have no idea why I stuck with it for so long!
Too many games these days think that graphics maketh the game, but it's not so. Most of my favourite games are stylised or are on consoles with limited capabilities. Crysis 2 was pretty bland, although I can't comment on Crysis 3 because I have not played it, nor do I wish to. Killzone should also be mentioned as another of these game types; Killzone 2 was one of the most boring experiences I've had with a video game.
This is a good point. I remember getting quite fatigued from all the shooting in pretty much every Gears game and I could easily put the controller down and not return. I've never really thought about Gears as being a game to "shy away from set pieces" as you said because it does seem pretty over-the-top to me. But thinking about it, there is really is very little of value to actually break up the shooting sections. Even the story is sparse and doesn't extend beyond "shoot those Locust... because reasons." The manner in which Gears 3 ended with its "big revelation" didn't help my faith in the COG either.MikeWehner said:
People say that the Master Chief is an unfeeling, emotionless automaton (which is kinda the point by Halo 4) but there's some real heartfelt moments when you look for then, especially Halo 3. The Dom's wife thing in Gears 2 was a nice try but didn't add any depth to him or the others, nor did his actions in Gears 3. They're all just beefed up caricatures and stereotypes and no amount of slow-motion footage overlaid with Mad world will convince me to care for them.
Some time before Gears 3 was released I revisited Gears 2 because I had completely forgotten what actually happened it the game. I remembered a lab with an annoying AI and dangerous creatures but couldn't remember how it related to the rest of the story.NearLifeExperience said:
When I played the game again I realised that it wasn't me... they literally didn't explain that section at all. In fact the entire story was just a complete mess and I would struggle to explain it now, even in the most basic terms.
You're completely right, the whole Gears trilogy could have been a single game, there is nothing to set any of them apart. To be honest I have no idea why I stuck with it for so long!
Too many games these days think that graphics maketh the game, but it's not so. Most of my favourite games are stylised or are on consoles with limited capabilities. Crysis 2 was pretty bland, although I can't comment on Crysis 3 because I have not played it, nor do I wish to. Killzone should also be mentioned as another of these game types; Killzone 2 was one of the most boring experiences I've had with a video game.
The point behind the declassified versions of each section is to add some additional detail to how the battle played out, though the extra details sometimes cast a bad light on either Kilo squad, other soldiers, or the locust themselves. For example, there's a section where playing through the regular version is a simple gun battle in a corridor, but the declassified version adds the detail that the locust deployed hazardous gas as well, so instead of just a corridor battle, you're fighting with limited visibility and a blurry screen. It's more just to give you a reason to play through it twice, I think, as the details don't really add or detract that much from the story itself.NearLifeExperience said:
Personally i have liked all the Gears games, my personal favourite character being Dom, as yeh he is bulky and looks gritty, but he has more emotion to show than the other characters, Baired and Cole have there moments to, adding a bit of humour is always fun.
I will probably pick this up, but i'm in no rush to get it. When you say little variation in the enemies, do you mean there isn't any Butchers or Grinders? Or enemies from the second/3rd game? This is a prequel, set many years before the first, maybe they hadn't evolved then? So there was just the locusts, Boomers and Wretches? Like in the first game.
I will probably pick this up, but i'm in no rush to get it. When you say little variation in the enemies, do you mean there isn't any Butchers or Grinders? Or enemies from the second/3rd game? This is a prequel, set many years before the first, maybe they hadn't evolved then? So there was just the locusts, Boomers and Wretches? Like in the first game.
You know, your review scores always bog me... It seems to me that they're not in tune with the actual review. I don't exactly remember what the 4 stars meant, but they sure as hell didn't mean "Same as previous entries and overal not too great.
I know (based on escapist expo) that you guys don't like review scores, however, if you're going to have them, you should scale correctly.
The real problem here is that you usually only help the developer say "we got an 8" without caring for the actual review, when mediocre cash-grabs such as this should be punished in this industry.
I know (based on escapist expo) that you guys don't like review scores, however, if you're going to have them, you should scale correctly.
The real problem here is that you usually only help the developer say "we got an 8" without caring for the actual review, when mediocre cash-grabs such as this should be punished in this industry.
Lost interest after Gears 2, the way they continued the story in gears 3 baffled me completely, played it through once and haven't touched it since. so many large chunks of the narative didn't make sense to me, I gave up.
Also, never got why they didn't continue the arc from gears 2 with the secret research lab. seemed like groundwork for a reasonable (if somewhat predictable) origin story for the locust.
Also, never got why they didn't continue the arc from gears 2 with the secret research lab. seemed like groundwork for a reasonable (if somewhat predictable) origin story for the locust.
but no, they were just runing away from goopy glowing fuel-parasites. That makes much more sense
It's funny in a sad sort of way...but the Locust seem far more relatable than the machismo injected Gears.NearLifeExperience said:
Thank you for clarifying!MikeWehner said:
Maybe if we ask real nice, they'll let us play as the Locust next installmentFrostbite3789 said:
They had an opportunity to do something interesting with that one co-op mode where you can play as the Locust in 3. But it was just another horde mode.NearLifeExperience said:
Maybe I'm petty, but I'm still upset about how crappy the Gears 3 season pass was, and that this is what People Can Fly are doing nowadays. I used to love this series, and now I really couldn't tell you why. It's probably the best thing to do with a couple friends and some beers, but I've got 3 different games I can do that with already.
Sounds like all the other Gears of War games to me. I can only recall two bosses in the first one, one in the second (no, that final boss is not a boss in my book) and one in the third. No, wait, two in the third. Forgot about that damn Lambent Berserker. Anyway, it sounds like all other Gears games. Which I am totally fine with.
I just wish the story hadn't fell on its face at the end of Gears of War 3. So much potential, and then nothing. Sigh. Still, Baird is my favorite character by far, so I'm really looking forward to playing this tomorrow.
I just wish the story hadn't fell on its face at the end of Gears of War 3. So much potential, and then nothing. Sigh. Still, Baird is my favorite character by far, so I'm really looking forward to playing this tomorrow.
So true. So very, very true. So much potential (as I said in my above post) after Gears 2, and then 3 just throws it all out.socialmenace42 said:
Eh, I'm too big of a Gears fan to NOT pick this up. The only reason I'm not going to IMMEDIATELY is because I need that money for Bioshock Infinite.