Not the best Gears, but perhaps the cleverest

Wonderful pick-and-mix sandbox design; Satisfying old-style Aftermath action; OverRun is marvellous

The story's a damp squib; Not quite Epic enough

Huddled behind cover you quickly reload and time your shots to perfection. The ammo is depleting fast as a cluster of enemies have been vanquished by your trusty Lancer. "Surely they can't keep coming", you ask?

Pulsating and challenging game play; Engaging story; Great back story to the franchise; OverRun mode; Weaknesses: No defining jaw-drop moment in campaign; Poor villain.

Pulsating and challenging game play; Engaging story; Great back story to the franchise; OverRun mode; Weaknesses: No defining jaw-drop moment in campaign; Poor villain.

I was a latecomer to the Gears series , picking up the entire trilogy around eight months ago and playing through them all in around a week. It was an action-packed week, following Marcus Fenix and company through the Locust War.

Aftermath is a very good bonus section of campaign; The Mission Declassifications add a new level of variety; It looks excellent; New multiplayer modes are fun

Story feels pretty weak with not much progression; It is missing those major stand out moments; The Star Rating system makes the Judgment campaign almost feel like a series of challenge rooms instead of a main mode

For many, Gears of War was the reason they bought an Xbox. The game boasted amazing graphics, an eye-catching cast and third-person cover mechanics quite unlike anything else. Now, on the eve of the Xbox 360's demise, the Gears gang has returned for one last fling.

Gameplay; story; graphics; multiplayer

Still the same old formula at its core

Back in 2006, Epic Games released the original Gears of War , which was the first Xbox 360 game to really showcase what the console was truly capable of: high-end graphics, competitive third-person multiplayer and, for its time, innovative gameplay mechanics.

Overrun is the best competitive multiplayer mode in a Gears game yet; Super precise controls; Nice art direction; Declassify missions keep the combat fresh

Campaign is the weakest out of the series; No set pieces; Story is predictable and uninteresting; Not enough multiplayer maps

Low on surprises but Gears of War: Judgment is as solid as the necks of its meat-headed heroes

Dynamic gameplay adjusts to the player; Cacophonous good fun; Improves on multiplayer heritage

We miss Fenix; the jug-headed lug; Familiar and predictable

When all else fails, do a prequel. It's always difficult to add new content to a series that has run its course, and much like God Of War: Ascension , Epic realised that the easiest way to push out another profitable franchise outing was to look backwards rather than forwards.

Frantic and accessible cooperative fun with unmistakeable Gears flavour; Optional declassfied missions add variety and replayability; Outstanding OverRun gametype and solid traditional multiplayer modes

Throwaway storyline; questionable AI; flimsy characters and segmented campaign makes for an unsatisfying singleplayer experience; Stars system will be pointless and flow-breaking for many players; Nowhere near enough multiplayer maps on-disc

There's multiplayer too, of course. You'll find the more traditional free-for-all and team deathmatch modes, along with Domination rounds where you hold and defend capture points against opponents.

The Gears gameplay you love with an arcade twist; One of the best looking games on the Xbox 360; OverRun is one of the best multiplayer modes in any shooter

Aftermath campaign is a little thin; XP is pointless if you're not interested in showing off; Fragmented structure doesn't do the weak story any favours

This is just an add on game really, not a sequel in the series

Same general winning formula; good graphics

No new features at all; lazy publishing

This game shouldn't deserve less than 4 stars. The games graphics are amazing and the storyline aint too bad. theres plenty of action in this game to get you going til the end and the multiplayer gives it some long lasting playability. ...