8. Gears Of War: Judgment
A series loses its allure when the main story is over. I mean, it sounds like a pretty obvious thing to say, yet publishers and developers assume that we'll continue to lap up new entries into franchises that have all but been wrapped up. Likewise, publishers have a habit of forcing spin-off prequels created by different studios down our throats at any given opportunity. Rarely ever setting alight the sales charts, these stop-gap releases are supposed to keep players interested in a franchise while a numbered entry is in development - yet if anything they only serve to sour the goodwill of many. With that in mind, you have to wonder just what Microsoft expected from Gears of War: Judgement. While it wasn't a bad title, it was just more of the same cover-shooting that players had come to expect from a Gears game, repeating a formula that had already started to feel stale by the third entry in the series. Because it barely pushed the property forward, Judgement felt like a last-ditch cash-in on a once-bankable franchise.
Josh Brown
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
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