Gears Of War: Judgment

The war was supposed to be over. In fact, it is over, unless we’ve hugely misunderstood the finale of Gears Of War 3.

It wasn’t Ewoks dancing on Endor, but it seemed fairly conclusive. We won. The problem? Gears Of War is now a billion-dollar franchise, leaving a gap in Microsoft’s profit-making business.

The answer? The route taken by so many space operas, it seems: a prequel. One revealing how the war started. Genius – there might even be another trilogy in that.

Gears Of War: Judgment (yes, spelled the American way) stars previous bit-part player Baird. Told in flashback, Baird and his squad are on trial for disobeying orders. Missions are part of their testimony, which are further broken down into sections. Completists beware: at the end of each of these, you’re awarded a star rating from one to three, with an option to improve your score.

You can do this by selecting the new ‘Declassified Testimony’ options, adding an extra condition such as limiting your weapon options.

So re-playability is a big focus, aided by a dynamic spawn system that reacts to whether you hang back or push forward, and a changing enemy list when you reload.On this evidence, this is one war worth returning to.

Gears Of War: Judgment is released in March on Xbox 360