With the recent release of Gears of War Judgment, the fourth installation of the Gears of Wars series, we take a look at the inner mechanics of Epic (Infinity Blade) and People Can Fly’s (Bulletstorm) latest entry. In this review, we’ll discuss the facts and some of the changes in both story as well as multiplayer and the overall feel of the game before our final review.
Story Premise
Set during the initial attacks immediately following ‘Emergence Day’, the story centers around Damon Baird and his efforts to halt a Locust general by the name of Karn. His squad – composed of Cadet Sofia Hendrik, former UIR warrior Garrion Paduk and once-famous Thrashball star Augustus Cole – sets out to aid other military units as well as stop Karn via a weapon of mass destruction known as the “Lightmass missile.” The caveat in doing this, is that these actions are against military protocol and the direct orders of Colonel Ezra Loomis. The game plays out via flashbacks from each squad member leading up to their inevitable trial for breaking command.
Judgment Story flow
In an effort to progress the story at more rapid rate, Judgment (as opposed to previous entries, including GOW3) has little in the way of downtime. Exploration is only possible while not being shot at (except right before moving on), and action starts almost immediately in most chapters. Also, cutscenes are few and far between, generally saved for the completion of a chapter, and each character’s backstory is told through dialogue. New to the franchise are the additions of ‘Declassifieds,’ optional tasks available for each story mission (aside from campaign Aftermath) which makes the mission more difficult, yet yields more rewards.
Multiplayer Changes
Gears of War 3 changed many things about the standards of the GOW franchise. Tighter controls, faster movement, increased weapon types. These things helped establish the longevity of the game, with thousands of players weekly, even a year and a half after release.
Judgment once again changed the paradigm, especially in the pursuit of pacing. A major aspect change is character spawns. ‘Spooling’ spawn timers have replaced continuous respawn timers meaning a player can rejoin battle almost instantly, as opposed to waiting up to 15 seconds every time they come back to life. Gone also are the days of limited respawns which have been replaced by a preset number reached with unlimited spawns in its stead. And characters no longer drop to the floor (Down But Not Out), but are instead killed instantly.
The weapon set has changed yet again. All of the previous game’s weapons make an appearance in some way or another, as well as a handful of new weapons including mid-range snipers, different explosives. Tweaks to previous weapons include decreased starting ammo, more rounds in a clip, and the inability to wield more than two weapons at a time.
Finally are the maps. Long time Gears fans have noticed Epic’s uncanny ability to revive and rejuvenate old maps from previous entries. Judgment is no exception. With part of its downloadable content already available, a few old maps have come but with a twist. As with all of Judgment’s own maps, these maps have dimension built in. No longer does a player have to run around the map along invisible barriers, just to get to ground level from the second floor. With Judgment, each map has the ability to drop from upper levels, giving the player more room to evade or drop down on enemy players.
Personal Verdict
Viewing the facts, Judgment makes a strong argument that it belongs right alongside it predecessor brethren. It sticks true to its guns, the characters are themselves only at a different point in time, and the action keeps the player engaged.
Playing it is a different beast.
First, let’s discuss the story. To me, the story achieved what it set out to do: Keep the player fighting. Each mission is fun and unique, and the Declassifieds do give it an extra kick. However, the story feels very shallow, and almost nonexistent. I didn’t feel that connection to the characters as I did in the sequel (Tai shooting himself) or in Gears 3 (spoiler) with Dom’s sacrifice. There is nothing that strongly ties me to any of these characters, and by the end, I didn’t really like any of the newer characters at all. The dialogue doesn’t help either. It’s very cliché and cheesy, and again, though I don’t expect heavy philosophy in a shooter, it was off putting.
What about Multiplayer? The first thing a new player will notice is the reduction in game modes. Gears of War 3 boasted a dozen, Gears 2 a half dozen (at least). Anyone looking to enjoy Capture the Leader, Guardian or Wingman is out of luck. Though Beast mode was played the least of all game-types (based on daily player counts), Horde was a favorite that has been axed in favor of Survival (similar, though with no upgrades) and the combined gameplay of Overrun. Out of all gameplay modes, I feel that this mode is actually a successful hybrid, as both teams are working towards a common goal, and a player gets to try their hand at both COG as well as Locust. Team Deathmatch has returned, while Judgment also introduces two other game modes: Free for all (self-explanatory) and Domination, a three-ring style King of the Hill seen in other games.
And gameplay? As mentioned above, we talked about the pacing change. Epic and PCF’s aim was to provide a quicker flow with less waiting. And they succeeded. But what does this say about us as gamers if waiting 15 seconds is too long? Then there is the issue of unlimited respawns. Having played it for the last month, I agree that the luxury of being able to respawn until the end of a match is nice, the problem with this setup is that people are reckless; while you think you’re doing well, at the end you find yourself getting the most deaths in a match. Limited respawns made people more cautious. This fact could be argued either way, so we’ll move on.
Finally, let’s discuss the changes in playability. DBNO has been axed in an effort to create a more fluid game. What this translates to is no more meat-shields, no picking up team mates, more melee strikes, and ultimately more selfish gameplay. The reason I say this is because the previous Gears entries focused on the team aspect of winning. With the removal of DBNO, limited respawns, and games like Wingman, it seems the emphasis has been placed more on the speed than the camaraderie of players. I hate to say it, but this model has been used in other games (Modern Warfare anyone?) and does indeed reinforce pacing over team fellowship.
My final thoughts are this: Judgment lacks some strong elements but is still enjoyable. While the story and team-based aspects suffer, the story is still challenging on its harder settings, and can keep you entertained. Multiplayer will keep you on your toes. Anyone looking for a great team game however, may want to look elsewhere. While not as strong as the other entries of the series, Gears of War Judgment stills delivers an entertaining game worth playing at least once.
SPONSORED: Interested? Get Gears of War: Judgment on Amazon and Save $10 Instantly!
No comments:
Post a Comment