Ready to feel old? We first met Marcus Fenix, Cole Train and the rest of Delta Squad way back in November of 2006. That's almost seven years ago. Besides just suddenly making your arthritis act up, that poses an interesting question - does Gears have anything left to give, with this; its fourth installment? The answer is an easy yes - Gears of War: Judgment is a fun and exhilarating shooter that evokes the spirit of it predecessors, even if it is a bit misguided at times.

Judgment takes place before the events of the original Gears of War, just after the events of Emergence Day - established by the original game as the day the locust aliens invaded Sera. Before you groan at the thought of another prequel, know that People Can Fly and Epic have told the story in a unique and interesting way. Kilo Squad, led by Baird and Cole from the original game are in the middle of a trial for using a massive, city destroying weapon without clearance and the story, and thus the game is told through a series of testimonials.

"...a series of Gears proper missions with revolving playable characters."

What results is a series of Gears proper missions with revolving playable characters. Each character has their own traits, but there's not a noticeable difference between them in the thick of battle - -they all have the same skills, use the same weapons and control the same. To their credit, People Can Fly have created unique and creative reasons why each character is taking the lead on a certain mission, like Sophia being familiar with a lab they need to infiltrate or Padduck being a soldier from a war gone by in an area they need to clear of locust.

That being said, Kilo is no Delta Squad. While the developers have tried, there is no real attachment to any of these characters and as a result, they feel like little more than expendable creations. Even the characters that become eventual members of Delta seem to be phoning it in here, Cole for instance is usually loud and boisterous but spends most of the game quiet and throws a few "Whoo babys!" in I guess just because he should. There are a few entertaining cameos from recognizable faces though - especially at the end.

From a gameplay standpoint, Judgment plays things pretty safely and changes very little from previous Gears games. The roadie run, active reload, guns with chainsaws at the end - they're all here, and all feel as fun and rewarding as ever. There are a few new weapons thrown into the mix, but nothing revolutionary, and most of them are just re-skins or variations of previous weapons. The end result, if you liked the previous Gears games, you're going to feel right at home with Judgment.

"...these were some of the most annoying sections I've played in some time."

That's not to say that there aren't any changes here. The biggest change is undoubtedly the addition of optional missions that give you the chance at a higher score throughout the mission. Each section of the game is graded from 1-3 stars, with more stars allowing you to unlock more content. These missions are normally just added stipulations like only using one type of gun or a time limit as opposed to actual content, but there are some that you're going to want to skip - like the ones that blur or distort your vision in a major firefight; these were some of the most annoying sections I've played in some time. There is a second campaign to unlock, which is curiously set in the middle of Gears of War: 3, but it's nowhere near as remarkable as the main Judgment campaign.

Long time Gears fan will notice the lack of a dedicated horde mode via the game's main menu, and while it is still there - it's just in a different place. Rather than keep horde as an added multiplayer suite, People Can Fly have chosen to incorporate the mode into the actual campaign. I'll tell you - I hated it at first, but as I started to play through the experience, it grew on me and I really liked how it broke up the gameplay sections.

It may be missing some polish and it may feel a bit misguided at times, but Gears of War: Judgment is a very worthy addition to any Gear-heads library. It fills you in on another part of the story and adds some cool new modes (though admittedly plays it very safe). We may be at the edge of the current console hardware, but Gears of War: Judgment solidifies its place like a chainsaw to the chest.