Gears of War Judgement - Review

Fresh off the back of completing Gears of War 3 myself and Nolls decided to play Gears of War Judgement, the fourth installment in the Gears of War series. I had only played it once before when it was first released so was excited to see how I felt about it the second time around, especially after playing Gears 5.


There are certain combinations of food in my opinion that go really well together. A classic for me is lasagna, chips and garlic bread.  It's a heavy meal and a lot to eat through, but I'm always up for the challenge. As I sit here with my slightly swollen stomach (okay it's very swollen) I find myself asking was it worth it? The answer is yes, every time.  Playing Gears of War Judgement I found myself asking was it the right combination of things and would I be left swollen or feeling sick?

Story


Gears of War Judgement is split into two campaigns; Judgement and Aftermath.  Judgment focuses on Kilo Squad, made up of a young Lieutenant Baird, Private Cole, and introducing Cadet Hendrik, and Private Paduk. Cadet Hendrik who is in training to be an Onyx Guard, Private Paduk who is from the Republic of Gorasnaya who doesn't like taking orders and has more than a few bones to pick with the COG.


The start of Judgment sees all members of Kilo Squad in handcuffs and each giving their testimonies.  Each character provides another piece of the story and the pieces combined show their journey to take down General Karn. Aftermath takes place during the latter half of Gears of War 3 when Baird and Cole are sent to find reinforcements.  They meet a not so happy Paduk and try to convince him for help.


Overall the story works really and it was interesting to see a younger Baird and Cole and the introduction of new characters Hendrik and Paduk.

Visuals


The visuals are a lot more vibrant and sharper than in the previous installments of Gears of War. Don't get me wrong the game still looks dark, but fire and the overall lighting effects stand out much more than before.


There are a number of missions that are outside during the day and these look really good especially in the Judgement campaign where there were still some buildings intact, and for a moment give the illusion of an abandoned world rather than a desolate one. The world feels more real than it has previously and can really see the impact war has had on it.


It's clear the visuals are starting the move towards a more vibrant look and not quite as dark and moody. Who said darkness had to look dark anyway?



Music


Part of what makes up the Gears Of War Universe is the music, dark, moody and very often intense. This sound is created by Steve Jablonsky, who along with creating the music of Gears of War has also created the sound for Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands and Command and Conquer Tiberium Wars.


The soundtrack is just under an hour but Jablonsky makes every minute count.  It is hands down the best Gears of War soundtrack to date. He managed to create both a new and familiar sound which really adds to the overall experience of the game.


This is one of these few times where I give top marks to the soundtrack.  Every track was perfect and worked so well. If a Lancer was pointed at my head and I had to pick one track that stood above the others I would have to say 'Jacked'.

Gameplay


While the core gameplay in Gears of War Judgement is similar to the others in the Gears of War series this one makes a few tweaks and changes along with throwing in an interesting curveball.


The weapons are reliable, sawed-off shotguns and retro Lancers feel a little inaccurate but they are supposed to be. Not since Gears of War 2 have I used my chainsaw so much, it makes me smile every time I revved it up.  I used the Retro Lancer a lot as well because even though it does not offer the best accuracy I really got into using the bayonet, and while awkward to use it is quite satisfying killing a locust with one.


The cover system continues to be solid for the most part but can glitch on occasion, this means you don't always slide into cover as smoothly as you may like. The cover feels a lot more temporary in many cases as similar to Gears of War 3 it is more destructible.


Gears of War 3 made you feel you were fighting for your very life, Gears of War Judgement does that same thing which creates an intense and satisfying experience.  In the Judgement campaign, there is a Star System for each section with a maximum of three stars to be gained.  It certainly pushes you not to be lazy and give it your all.  However, if you find this too easy you also have the option of adding a declassified mission to the mix, it can be anything from stronger enemies, little ammo, or there is a time limit.  While it is jarring to start with we got into the groove pretty quickly. The only downside is that they did not continue this with the Aftermath campaign.


Overall the gameplay is varied, offering more challenges, new enemies and a few new weapons too!






Final Thoughts


So, after ten hours how did we feel?  Pretty good.  The story was really good and fleshed out some of the characters. The visuals were a lot more vibrant and sharper and it will be interesting replaying Gears of War 4 to see how they compare.  The soundtrack is easily the best to date and certainly adds to the tension.  The gameplay is fairly solid with only a few minor hiccups.  This one gets a solid 4 out of 5

Horizon Zero Dawn - Review

A new game, a new horizon & a zero dawn.  Yep that sounded better in my head but I'm not going to press back space, no sir, not me - anyway moving along lets talk about Horizon Zero Dawn.  Was I excited about playing the game?  Let me see, a future where machines roam the earth like animals, some of them are as big as buildings, you get to hunt & even ride some of them - yes, I was excited. Guerrilla Studios is best know for the Killzone series & this is there first attempt at an open world game so I was very curious to see what they could do.  I actually got the game free when I bought my Playstation 4 Pro but my friend Nate kept distracting me from playing it.


So what food based analogy will I use this time?  A tomato, cheese, white sauce, minced beef with pasta sheets one.  Of course I'm talking about Lasagne, a tasty, meat filled pasta pie delight that is filling & healthy, well at least some of what I said was true.  I have had many lasagne's over the years, some good, some bad. It's not just the ingredients used or the quality of them it's how they are arranged.  Playing Horizon Zero Dawn I had to ask myself was I eating a tasty ensemble of meat, sauce, tomatoes & pasta or a sloppy mess of ingredients thrown together leaving a bad taste in my mouth.  Let's find out the answer.

The story is set about a 1000 years in the future, the world we know is gone.  It has been claimed back by the Earth, along with a ton of animal like machines & tribes of humans.   Those of the past are referred to as the Old Ones & where they all are now or what happened to them is unknown.


Enter the protagonist Aloy, she is considered an outcast, this means she has been kicked out of her tribe (The Nora), in her case this was due to no one knowing who her parents were (seems a legitimate reason).  The term 'outcast' being used in the game seemed strange to me especially as there seemed to be quiet a few outcast in the world & in many cases they banded together like a tribe, so maybe they are not really outcasts at all (insert thoughtful emoji).  Anyway lets get back on track, so, Aloy is compassionate, a fighter in search of answers about her past & the Old Ones, she is also occasionally whinny.  She is raised & supported by her tough but caring father figure Rost.  Alright let's take a moment here, what is with names?  I mean I'm all for different names but Aloy, Rost? Aloy is obviously a take on the word Alloy but some reason calling her Alloy would have what sounded weird?  Rost?  Call him Rust, the 'U' key is only two spaces left of the 'O'. I know it seems like a strange complaint but it just seems lazy.  It's like a parents deciding to call one of their kids Larry & the other Barry, really? All the names in the world & changing one letter is as far as you are willing to go?


Mocking aside there is some really enjoyable story but I felt the best parts either came too late in the game or in some cases were not capitalised on enough.  It's a game about giant machines roaming the world, the tribes stuff seemed small & unimportant by comparison.  I felt it hard to feel much compassion toward some characters in the game especially as so many of them show disdain towards Aloy.  That all being said the post credit story was interesting & certainly has me curious about what they could do with a sequel.

Visually speaking the game is superior to the actual story,  everything from the character designs & outfits to the machines & scenery itself.  Aloy's design was inspired & not the typical look of a central female character which I found to be a good thing.  The outfits worn by the tribes were interesting, it combined a tribal look with a slight twist.  The environments themselves were beautiful with many breath taking views especially those featuring mountain & forest areas.  There are areas in the game later you discovered called Cauldrons,  I can't go into detail but lets just say they look really cool. One of my favorite things visually were the machines themselves, the designs were interesting & the way they moved was fantastic.  My two favorites were the Thunder Jaw & Rock Breaker.  The Thunder Jaw is like a T-Rex covered in metal & loaded up with guns.  The Rock Breaker is like a giant scary worm that's teeth can not only destroy rock but fling them at you with high speed accuracy.


The music features heavy use of stringed & wind instruments along with an occasional futuristic sound.  The overall sound moves between a heavy, emotional & often somber tone to a more epic & action filled one. There were a number of artists who helped create the sound for Horizon Zero Dawn, they are:


Joris De Man;  a Dutch Composer who has worked on a number of games including the Killzone games, Velocity, & some smaller features likes Raging Balls of Steel Justice & Code Hunters.

Niels van der Leest;  is also a Dutch composer who worked on, Phoenix 2, Damian Filigree: The Book of Thoth & an interesting album called Percussive Adventures

The Flight; is made up of the duo Joe Henson & Alexis Smith who are based in the UK.  They are not only composers & song writers but also producers.  Their works include Alien Isolation,  Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag & have worked on music by artists such as; Lana Del Rey, David Bowie, Elbow Rufus Wainwright & many others.

Johnathan Williams; who has worked with many artists including, Sugar Hill Gang, Mobb Deep, Tara Key & Thelonious Monk as a composer, artist, engineer, producer & a photographer.

Julie Elven; is based in Munich & has worked on a number of game scores including, World of Warcraft Legion, Star Citizen & Total War: Warhammer.


Some of my favorite pieces from the game included:  'Aloy's Theme', 'Motherland: Seal Your Lips', 'Years of Training', 'The Proving', 'Hologram Myth', 'The Good News' & 'Homecoming'.


As whole I really like game soundtracks, I don't think they get enough attention especially as they can help really shape a game & set the tone.  That being said the soundtrack for Horizon Zero Dawn is just over 4 hours long which I think is way too long for a game that is only about 40 hours long & I often heard the same pieces played over & over.

Onto the meat, the gameplay.  There were may things I liked about the gameplay & unfortunately quite a few that I didn't.  I liked that you had the choice in some conversations to choose the answers, you could pick; aggressive, peaceful or thoughtful.  Unfortunately the dialogue options you picked did not always sync up with what was then said, which I found to be frustrating.  I also found the answers chosen had no bearing on the story or gameplay.  When it came to what approach to take in combat I found stealth to be the smartest approach but after a while going balls out seemed to work out just fine - I died more but it was a lot more fun.


There were some interesting weapons but without a doubt the most useful for me was the spear & bow. I found upgrading you carry capacity for ammo was vital especially for the later battles in the game.  I was not blown away by the modifications, there were far too many & often one did not seem any more exceptional than the other.  Later on you get an upgrade for your spear that allows you to override machines but as a whole I did not find it that helpful, although it was fun on occasion to see one of your machines destroying another.  The combat itself especially against machines was a lot of fun, without a doubt my favorite thing to do was take on a Thunder Jaw.  They are so powerful that taking one down really felt like a victory.


Like all open world games the are plenty of side missions that really helped flesh out the game & added to the world itself.  Each one felt a little different but I often found my interest wandering as it was never as interesting as the Ancient One's plot & felt like an unneeded distraction.


A game does not always have to have an end boss but when it does I want it to be epic, fun & really help finish the game with a bang.  Horizon Zero Dawn did not do this & it felt like a rehashed enemy rather than the grand finale it should have been.





So after 40 hours of play how did I feel? Was I look forward to playing more & being a completionist or was I happy to hang up my boots & be done with it.  Unfortunately & disappointingly it was the latter.  There were many great things in the game but a slight lack imagination & some unutilised features stopped it from being all it could be.  It was not a bad game but if I had to sum the game up with one word it would be meh.