'Gears of War: Judgement' Can't Sustain Its Solid Franchise

Gears of War: Judgment has plenty riding on it. This is the first game in the groundbreaking third-person shooter’s franchise that is missing developer Epic Games' magnanimous former design director Cliff “CliffyB” Bleszinski. It's also the first to feature Epic studio People Can Fly at the helm, not to mention the first prequel in the dystopic Gears universe

Meant to fill the gaps in the world’s backstory and provide new ways to play with friends, Judgment is an attempt to bring new facets of gameplay to the franchise — a revival effort with noble intentions.

Unfortunately, despite its brilliant detail and classic Gears gameplay, Gears of War: Judgment never reaches beyond feeling like a piece of Gears of War 3 DLC. Diehard fans of the series will be happy with what’s here, but the whole game never quite clicks — and can get frustrating to boot.