Gears of War: Judgement had so much going for it; from its arcade influences to its decision to make fan favourite characters Cole and Baird the title's main protagonists, Judgement aimed to inject a much-needed shake-up to the franchise after three pretty similar games. Unfortunately there were a few red flags in the title's development that stopped the spin-off from resonating with players as much as it should have. Coming from a different developer than the main series and being a prequel, the game became viewed in the same way as Batman: Arkham Origins, as cautious fans saw the release as nothing more than a corporate cash-in to act as a stop-gap experience until the next main series release. Which is a shame, because although Judgement is a rather odd entry in the grand scheme of things, the story, characters and gameplay are so finely-tuned that it deserves to stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder with its other brothers in the main-series.
