Call to Arms is the first DLC offering in Gears of War: Judgment's season pass. It is a bit more substantial than the previous Haven pack (which was not technically part of the season pass), with three maps and a new multiplayer mode, Master of Arms.

^ Master of Arms is great fun ^ Terminal and Boneyard are a good addition to the map library

^ Seems a bit chintzy for a season pass offering ^ Blood Drive? Still

With the conclusion of the Gears of War trilogy, the Locust threat has been exterminated and Sera's humans can begin to rebuild their devastated world. Marcus Fenix and his surviving Delta Squad brethren have laid down their arms, but a fictional setting as rich as the Locust War provides the...

Difficulty modifiers spice up combat; Character classes engender teamwork in Survival and Overrun; Free for All and Domination are great multiplayer additions

Narrative flow is regularly disrupted; Aftermath campaign is lackluster

The Gears of War series has reached its fourth iteration with Gears of War: Judgment, which means once again it's time to grab your Lancer Assault Rifles and mow down as many nasty Locust grunts, Boomers, Beserkers and whatnot as you can.

Declassified missions are an awesome addition to the standard GoW formula; gameplay is still addictive

Weak story mode; gameplay's nothing much beyond what we've witnessed in the previous three games

Gears of War: Judgment offers a very delicate mix between what we've come to love about the game and what we will come to love about the series. It builds on the story of two very important characters that did not get their fair share of the limelight in the original trilogy and it does so in style.

Engaging gameplay with several layers of storytelling; Vast; detail rich environments that offer visual gratification; Enough weapons selection to satisfy any kind of gamer

Long load times in some instances; Players may be initially confused due to new control layout; Campaign mode feels shorter than previous instalments

Prequels can be restrained by destiny. Their future is predetermined--set in code and sitting on shelves. They're imprisoned by predestination, so they usually either overexplain plot points or tread water for fear of confusing canon.

Improvements to controls and gameplay; Declassified missions are wonderful; Survival mode's take on Horde

Unimpressive AI teammates and enemies; The segmented feel of the levels; That it's not as funny as you'd expect

Judgment just might be the game that drops Gears of War out of the triple-A tier. It is competently done and no more. The rock-solid gameplay returns intact - virtually identical, in fact - and the Declassified options bump the entertainment value up a few notches, but the epic scope and precision...

Set years before the first Gears of War, Judgment is the heartwarming story of how Baird got his groove taken away; He and his command, Kilo Squad - made up of fan-favorite Augustus "Cole Train" Cole and newcomers Sofia Hendrick and Garron Paduk - arrive already in chains, on their way to an...

Playing through Gears of War: Judgment's campaign feels a lot like a duller version of déjà vu; Everything about it seems recycled to the point where the game wisely lets veteran players disable most tutorials before they even reach the main menu.

Sometimes superstar developers need a break. When a big-name franchise requires a breather (and ample development time) between numbered sequels but a publisher can't wait three years to squeeze a little more lucre out of its cash cow, the offshoot side story is born.

+ A triumphant batch of new and returning multiplayer modes; highlighted by OverRun and Survival; + The unlockable Aftermath campaign rivals the single-player quality of

? Why not set this prequel during Emergence Day

John checks out the latest update the Judgement's multiplayer. Find out if that Season Pass was worth the dough.

+ New Breakthrough mode; + Museum Map is great

Other maps don't bring a lot to the table

In Gears of War: Judgement, Epic Games and People Can Fly try to take what has made the previous Gears instalments and introduce new features and mechanics to keep things interesting within the franchise, including 2 campaigns, a new smart spawn system along with the usual variety of Multiplayer...

An exercise in apathy, neither solid nor liquid. Not exactly bad, but not very good either. Just a bit "meh," really. How we score: The Destructoid Reviews Guide