14 DAY TRIAL // Developers People Can Fly and Epic Games must be sure that all those who are playing Judgment are true fans of the franchise because the teams fail to offer any clear context for the adventure that players embark on whey they pick up the most recent Gears of War.
The opening cinematic sequence is impressive and manages to instill a sense of broken grandeur and overall catastrophe, but there’s little to suggest the vast history that the series has already created in its previous three installments.
That would make sense, given the fact that this is a prequel, but Judgment seems unconcerned with establishing a sense of place or making players care about the characters during its first few hours.
There’s a little bit of exposition, concerning a trial and some heavy handed judicial tactics, but the clear identity of those who are in the dock can only be discerned by players who already have experience with Gears of War.
Baird was never the most interesting soldier to follow around in previous games and the weight of the Judgment story suffers because there’s no trace of Marcus Fenix at the start of the game.
The banter between the characters, again judging by the first hours of the game, is also unrevealing and focused on the immediacy of battle rather than serving to expand the universe and give some perspective on the story.
I have colleagues much more interested in the Gears of War universe than I am and they quickly spotted elements of the new game that were familiar and started a running commentary while I was playing.
But given the appeal of the series and the amount of more casual fans it has, it would make sense for Epic Games to give more context to the experience and try to enhance the player’s immersion.