Gears of War: Judgment is a 2013 third-person shooter video game created by People Can Fly and Epic Games. It was published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360. The game was released in North America and Australia on March 19, 2013, and in Europe on March 22. It is a separate story in the same series as Gears of War and happens before the first game in the franchise. The story follows Damon Baird, Augustus Cole, and their squad, Kilo, as they face a trial for breaking rules six weeks after Emergence Day.
Work on Judgment started in 2011, after Gears of War 3 was released. Epic Games worked with People Can Fly again, as they had done earlier on Bulletstorm. The developers chose to set the game before the first game in the series and focused on Baird and Cole before they met Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. Rob Auten and Tom Bissell wrote the story, and Steve Jablonsky created the music with Jacob Shea.
Gears of War: Judgment received mostly positive reviews from critics but had mixed opinions from fans. The game did not sell as well as expected, with only 1 million copies sold by August 2013.
Gameplay
Gears of War: Judgment is a third-person shooter game that uses an "over the shoulder" perspective and includes a cover system, similar to earlier games in the series. The main story is divided into six chapters, each containing several missions. Unlike previous games, which featured large, open environments, the missions in Judgment are self-contained and not connected to other parts of the story. Players cannot return to earlier mission locations. Each mission is scored based on factors such as the number of enemies killed, headshots, and gibs, with up to three stars awarded. An optional, harder difficulty setting is available during missions, requiring players to meet specific goals like time limits or weapon restrictions. Completing this setting increases the score. Earning 40 stars unlocks the "Aftermath" campaign, which includes one chapter and follows the events of Gears of War 3. The Aftermath campaign does not award stars or include the harder difficulty setting.
The game introduces two new multiplayer modes: OverRun and Free-for-All. There are eight maps, with four exclusive to OverRun and four exclusive to the COG versus COG (Blue Team vs. Red Team) mode. Four game modes are available. Some multiplayer features have changed, such as the ability to plant grenades on walls, damage boosts from active reloads, and carrying both a shotgun and a rifle in combat. However, the ability to carry both weapons was later restored for all standard versus multiplayer modes except Free-for-All due to player feedback. It has been confirmed that the "Execution" mode will return through free downloadable content two weeks after the game launches, along with two free maps. The Locust enemies are only present in OverRun; all other multiplayer modes feature COG versus COG battles.
Synopsis
The game's story happens through memories shared by Baird and his team during a military trial. Each part of the story is told by a different team member: Lieutenant Damon Baird, a skilled mechanic; Augustus Cole, a former Thrashball player; Sofia Hendrick, an Onyx Guard cadet; and Garron Paduk, a former UIR soldier. The trial is because Baird used a Lightmass Missile without permission, which led to a death penalty. When Baird tells his story, it shows events from early in Emergence Day, when Kilo Squad was trying to survive as the Locust took over human areas and aimed to control Sera.
Kilo Squad is being judged by Colonel Ezra Loomis and must explain their actions. They check a destroyed convoy in Old Town, then fight through the area to the Museum of Military Glory, where they face Locust General Karn and his monster, Shibboleth, along with many Locust soldiers. Cadet Sofia suggests using the Lightmass Missile to defeat Karn, but Loomis refuses. Kilo decides to act anyway, retrieving the missile's targeting beacon, named Troy by Baird. They travel to Professor Elliot's mansion to get the missile's launch codes, defending Troy from Locust attacks while he downloads the codes. With the codes, they go to Onyx Point, where they find the missile, fight through Locust forces, and arm it despite orders. They return to the museum, where Karn plans a trap. Baird fires the missile, destroying the museum and killing many Locust, including Karn. Kilo then fights off a large Locust attack before being arrested by Loomis.
In the present, Loomis prepares to execute the squad when Locust attack the courtroom. Private Garron Paduk, who dislikes Loomis, saves his life. Kilo fights to escape and reaches a King Raven with Loomis. Karn, who survived the missile attack, attacks them, and Loomis kills Karn. Loomis drops charges against Kilo but demotes Baird to Private for his actions.
In the Aftermath campaign, set during Gears of War 3, Baird and Cole return to Halvo Bay with Clayton Carmine to find a ship and reinforcements for an attack on Azura. They meet Paduk, who left the COG with Sofia after the original battle and created a community in Halvo Bay's ruins. Paduk agrees to help them find a ship. As they travel through the ruined city to a washed-up Imulsion rig, they fight Locust. At the rig, they find no humans but encounter Formers (Lambent Humans). They send a flare to call for help, and survivors from Paduk's group arrive in a King Raven. The group must fight off Locust and Formers before boarding the King Raven. Paduk takes them to a flooded part of the city where a ship is stranded on a hotel roof. They gather explosives from a police station, but the first attempt to collapse the hotel fails. Baird then opens gas valves in a restaurant, detonates the gas with a grenade, and escapes with Cole, Paduk, and Carmine using a zip-line. The hotel collapses, freeing the ship. Baird asks Paduk to join them, but Paduk refuses after learning Sofia was kidnapped by Gears, making him hate the COG more. Paduk leaves, telling Baird they can no longer be friends. Baird, Cole, and Carmine sail to Azura on the ship, joining Gorasni forces to help Marcus Fenix and others attack the island.
Development
Development of Gears of War: Judgment started after Gears of War 3 was released in September 2011. Epic Games hired People Can Fly to lead the project, making this their second team project after Bulletstorm. People Can Fly was working on a follow-up game for Bulletstorm before switching to Judgment.
For the game's campaign, the team wanted to focus on Damon Baird and Augustus Cole before they met Marcus Fenix and his friend Dominic Santiago in the first Gears of War game. A special feature of Judgment is that players can control every main character during the campaign, as each has their own story section.
Baird was chosen as the lead character because he was a favorite from the original trilogy but had never been the main focus. Jim Brown, the lead level designer, thought Baird offered interesting storytelling opportunities. Writers Tom Bissell and Rob Auten wanted to explore a part of the series' story connected to the Emergence Day event. The story of Judgment, which follows the downfall of Kilo Squad led by Baird, takes place after Emergence Day, a key moment that started the main story of the franchise. The team also wanted to show Baird as a young, enthusiastic leader before his military career problems made him known as the "cynical jerk" in the original trilogy. Before the game was officially announced, Game Informer showed cover art with a man in chains; many fans thought it was Marcus Fenix. Bleszinski said the cover was a "cool reveal," and fan interest in Baird was another reason for the choice. The interactions between Baird and his squad members, including Cole, were designed to show that Kilo Squad was not a unified group. The writers felt this created an unusual, "jagged" dynamic not seen before. Real-life military members shared their experiences with the team about working with people they disliked.
For the multiplayer side, Quinn DelHoyo confirmed that Locust characters could not be played in Versus Multiplayer, and the teams would be red and blue COG soldiers. This decision upset many fans because the Locust were removed.
Steve Jablonsky, who made the music for Gears of War 2 and 3, returned to create the score for Judgment. Jacob Shea added more music.
According to Tim Sweeney, Gears of War: Judgment cost $60 million to make.
Marketing
Microsoft shared news about the game Gears of War: Judgment during a press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 in June. The company showed a first trailer and demonstrated new multiplayer features before the game was released. Before Microsoft’s announcement, video game reporters had already learned that Gears of War: Judgment would take place before other games in the series and would follow the stories of characters Damon Baird and Augustus Cole.
GameSpot reported that players who pre-ordered the game on Wal-Mart’s website would receive either Gears of War 2 or Gears of War 3 for free. Players who pre-ordered the game elsewhere would get a download code for the original Gears of War and another code for the Classic Hammerburst weapon and a playable multiplayer character skin.
A "VIP Season Pass" was available for purchase. This pass gave players a permanent double experience boost and early access to two additional expansions. These expansions included six new multiplayer maps, two game modes, five weapon skins, four armor skins, and two character skins.
Downloadable content
On March 29, 2013, the first downloadable content (DLC) pack for the game Haven was released. This DLC was free to download and supported by Maxim. It included a multiplayer map named Haven and a new multiplayer mode called Execution, where teams compete to eliminate the opposing team before time runs out. Players who purchased the Season Pass received extra experience points.
On April 19, 2013, Epic Games announced a second map pack titled Call to Arms. The pack was released on April 23, 2013, only for Season Pass holders. It became available to the general public on April 30, 2013. The DLC included two new multiplayer maps, Blood Drive and Boneyard, and a new OverRun map called Terminal. It also added a free-for-all gameplay mode called Master at Arms, where players must earn a kill with each of 20 different weapons without using melee attacks or grenades.
On May 10, 2013, Epic Games revealed a third expansion pack called Dreadnought. This DLC was free to download for a limited time due to a sponsorship deal with Maxim. It was originally scheduled for May 15, 2013, but was released a day earlier on May 14, 2013. The DLC added a new multiplayer map for the OverRun mode named Dreadnought.
On May 16, 2013, Epic Games announced a fourth and final map pack titled Lost Relics, which would be available in June. The DLC included a new multiplayer mode called Breakthrough, where one team must deliver a flag to a specific location while the opposing team defends with unlimited resources. The attacking team must reach the target before their lives are exhausted. The DLC featured three new multiplayer maps: Checkout, Lost City, and Museum, as well as a new OverRun map called Ward. It was released on June 18, 2013, for Season Pass holders and became available to the general public on June 25, 2013.
Reception
Gears of War: Judgment received positive reviews from critics. It earned an average score of 79 out of 100 on Metacritic. GameSpot gave it a score of 7.5 out of 10. Giant Bomb scored it 3 out of 5, noting that its campaign "twists the [Gears of War] formula in some interesting ways but the rest of the package feels pretty thin for a full-priced retail product." IGN gave the game a score of 9.2 out of 10, calling it "amazing" and "a fantastic prequel with super combat."
According to Cowen and Company, the first-month sales of Gears of War: Judgment were much lower than those of Gears of War 3, which sold about 425,000 units in the United States. This number was about one-fifth of the two million units sold by Gears of War 3 in September 2011. In the United States, Gears of War: Judgment was the third best-selling title, behind BioShock Infinite and Tomb Raider. In August 2013, it was reported that Gears of War: Judgment sold just over one million copies.