Gears of War: Judgment (360) Preview

Introduction

Gears of War, the much loved series, is releasing its latest installment, Judgment, quite soon! Developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games, we know that it will be another bullseye in the gaming industry. Along with the publishing of Microsoft Game Studios, it’s truly a recipe for success. Gears of War 3 was released on September 20th, 2011, so it has been roughly a year and a half since we’ve seen anything major from the Gears of War developers. It is our only hope that Judgment out-runs and out-does all of the previous releases combined!

Gears of War – Details/Gameplay

Gears of War: Judgment is set immediately after the events of Emergence Day, the major coordinated assault against humanity driven by the Locust Horde. While it’s the first Gears of War game to follow a story other than that of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, the main protagonists of the three original games, there is no loss of the ideals prominent in a story-driven campaign. Instead of the usual protagonists, this Gears of War game follows the trial of the Kilo Squad, after they are accused of treason via theft of government property.

Unique to this release, however, is ability to play as every main character throughout the campaign, as each has their own piece of the puzzle. Known, of those main characters, are Lt. Damon Baird, Pvt. Augustus Cole, Pvt. Alonzo, Pvt. Dickson, Cdt. Sofia Hendrick, and Garron Paduk. While not too much has been released about the mechanics involved with the transitions, we do know that there will be a reasonable chunk of gameplay devoted to each of the main characters. The aforementioned list is also speculative, so nothing is set in stone.

Gears of War – Multiplayer

Overall, the developers have been fairly tight-lipped on the multiplayer aspects of Gears of War: Judgment, yet one major component of the multiplayer experience has been released! Aside from the knowledge of the usual game modes, such as “Free For All,” where everyone fights eachother in a race for twenty-five kills, “Survival,” a co-operative style that involves ten waves of locusts and four members of the same party, “Domination,” where two teams of five fight over points of interest, and “Execution,” a five vs. five consisting of five rounds and one life per round. However, the big ticket item is the brand new “Overrun” mode. Essentially, it’s a concoction of Beast mode and Horde mode from the previous games, if you’re not sure what that means, keep on reading. What that means, is that the players can switch between alternate sides of the battle. Think of it as Red vs. Blue, but Locusts vs. Humans. So far, reviewers have gone wild over the idea and are raving about its release.

Gears of War – Pre-order Bonuses

Consumers who pre-purchase the game, at participating retailers, will receive access to an exclusive, highly-effective weapon: The Classic Hammerburst. Possible pre-order multiplayer skins also include Young Marcus, Young Dom, Anya, and Alex Brand. All of which are exclusive and will not be available after release. On top of that, there’s the added benefit of being able to access the previously explained Overrun mode on XBL through Gamestop Powerup Rewards. While the demo will be released publicly on the 19th of March, those who have or will pre-ordere the game through Gamestop, will have access to it from March 15th through March 18th.

Gears of War – Release Date

At this moment in time, Gears of War: Judgment is set to release on March 19th, 2013, in the United States, and March 22nd, 2013, in the United Kingdom.