Fourteen years before the events of the first Gears of War, a trial took place. This trial, accused Lieutenant Damon Baird of desertion, cowardice, trespassing and theft of experimental military technology, and the mother of them all, treason. A stern and abiding-by-the-book Colonel Ezra Loomis also accuses Baird of being something more dangerous than a Gear – a hero.
This is Judgement – the prequel to the legendary Gears of War trilogy. This is the game that gives new insight on how the planet Sera came to the brink of annihilation. Because when the Delta Squad walks into the sunset, leaving the fans wanting for more, there’s only one thing to do – get a new Kilo Squad out there to fight the Locust.
Plot
Well, not exactly new, but half-new. Joining good old Baird and Augustus “Cole Train” Cole in the Kilo Squad are Sofia Hendrick, an Onyx Cadet and Garron Paduk, a Pendulum Wars veteran. The entire Judgement process and the gameplay puts in together the big jigsaw puzzle, as to how and why this motley crew was put together.
As the game is set in the early days of the war surrounding Emergence Day (the day when the war between Serans and Locust broke out), there are still more humans and humanity on Sera. The Kilo Squad set out in their attempt to reclaim the city of Halvo Bay, and defend it against any new possible enemies.
Environment
As mentioned, humanity is still the dominant specie on the planet Sera, so more than half of the maps and elements in the maps contain human elements (and sometimes human fragments too). Certain stages in the campaign and the multiplayer modes show environments with huge mansions and tress that are still green.
This is different from the entire Gears of War trilogy where we have become very accustomed to seeing vastly scattered smouldering ruins of a race that was once the majority on the planet. Instead of the decaying world and bloodstained debris, we see blue skies and bright colours while taking on Locust hordes. A little sunshine here and there does make a huge difference.
Gameplay
But the question remains, how exactly do you make an already engrossing third-person shooter even more attractive? Even during the initial firefights of the game, Judgement looked and felt exactly like the previous editions. But soon, this cloud lifted, and Judgement turned out to be the most aggressive of the lot.
Yes, you still ‘execute’ Locusts with the chainsaw on the Lancer and charge with the bayonet on the Retro Lancer. The difference here, however, is that you do that more aggressively. The control scheme squeezes the best out of all available buttons on an Xbox controller and makes the gameplay much, much faster. Toggling between weapons is a lot easier, so is reloading the weapon. Grenade controls are totally different, and the dynamics let the user get accustomed to a new weapon in no time.
And whatever familiarity you can find with the older versions, is soon blasted into smithereens (as a character would do after coming under fire from a Boomshot rifle) with the new Smart Spawn System. This new system is built into the game’s core engine that essentially randomises enemies’ entry location, timing and movement behaviour.
So if you don’t manage to clear a level and think, “At least now I know where that Kantus came from, I can take cover behind the barrel near the entrance and take a headshot with ease,” you’re grossly mistaken. There’s a very slim chance that the Kantus might come from even the same direction, forget the same gate. There is, however, a higher chance of you being Ink-Bombed from a totally different direction while you lay in wait behind that barrel.
And this festure essentially makes the combat scenarios in Judgement feel far more intense than any of the previous GoW titles. The player needs to be more alert and aware of the surroundings – every scenario gives different opportunities to find cover or gear lying around on the map. Extra ammo caches and weapons can be found in the unlikeliest of the places.
One needs to work more closely with squadmates, whatever the game mode be, and communication and cooperation are absolutely necessary in multiplayer modes. Even a momentary lapse of concentration or a little complacence in the fighting style can drive the entire squad towards annihilation.
New modes
The most interesting addition, in Smartbuy’s opinion, is the ‘Mission Declassification’ mode. They give missing pieces of the backstory, as to what happened on Emergence Day, and other parts of Damon Baird’s testimony that were marked classified by the military intelligence.
What they actually do, in terms of modifying the gaming experience, is to add unique challenges in the particular chapter or stage of the campaign. It can be something like adding more enemies to the firefight, or completing the stage with limited ammunition or only particular weapons. They can also be something as crippling as extremely limited visibility. Of course, by activating these (by walking up to a glowing Gears skull on a map) you get tonnes of extra points and bonus content.
A very unique addition to the multiplayer gaming mode is the Overrun mode, that lets two five-player teams play around an objective, taking turns to alternate between COG soldiers and Locusts. This ends up making Judgement slightly reminiscent of the classic Counter Strike terrorist vs. counter-terrorist missions, but only far better and challenging.
In Overrun, as with the Survival mode, players have the choice to take up any of the four classes which include Soldier, Medic, Engineer and Sniper, each having a special ability and a different weapon set.
We say
Throughout the gameplay, there was never a point where the lack of competition and challenge was felt. Never. The graphic engine is as stunning as ever, if not better, and the details in the visuals never feel shallow. The weapons have their own learning curves, and the game has a fresh, unpredictable feel about it. This is not a precision-oriented game where merely mastering the controls would help. Gears of War: Judgement is the game which commands your attention, and is the beast that you can try taming.
Love – Challenging gameplay, new modes
Hate – Absolutely nothing
Rs 2,999
sabyasachi.b@thehindu.co.in