Gears of War: Judgment a curb-stomping success?

Gears of War: Judgement releases this week, and if you’re looking to pick up the new series’ prequel and want to know a bit more, the reviews have gone live for People Can Fly’s attempt at the franchise.

The Xbox 360-exclusive currently has a Metascore of 80, while holding down a 80.65 percentage on Gamerankings.

Looks like Judgment is continuing the high-scoring lineage that the series has become known for, but what are the critics saying?

IGN: 9.2

“People Can Fly is exactly what Gears of War needed. The Bulletstorm developer brings a bold new energy to Epic Games’ excellent (but overly familiar) action series.”

Games Radar: 4/5

“Judgment evolves the franchise, giving it a strong, new identity without diminishing the events of the original trilogy.”

Destructoid: 9/10

“Epic’s latest is still a very worthy purchase for fans of the series, and does enough new things that the previously uninterested may consider looking into it.”

CVG: 8.5

“In single-player, Judgment ‘s almost like a segmented series of challenge rooms, making it a tad artificial but inarguably the best way of giving fans what they want: combat scenarios with fresh weapons and new enemy patterns. A fine game, then, even if you have seen it before.”

OXM UK: 8/10

“The biggest compliment I can pay Judgment is that it feels like a game born of a distinct philosophy, rather than something snapped together last-minute from old parts to hold the fort while Epic’s next-generation projects take shape.”

Eurogamer: 8/10

“Even with the pall of over-familiarity lingering over it, Gears of War: Judgment is a timely reminder that ruthless focus on gameplay, generosity towards players and good old-fashioned design craft can still pay dividends at a time when big-budget action games are at risk of fragmenting into splinters of mindless busywork. ”

Giant Bomb: 3/5

“It doesn’t let its story get in the way of its action, and the declassified modifiers had me playing Gears in ways that I normally wouldn’t, making for a more interesting challenge than the typical difficulty settings offer. But the lack of maps just sucks every last bit of life out of the multiplayer, regardless of its new modes.”

Joystiq: 4.5/5

“Bringing People Can Fly in was a good choice, because the developer has managed to make fighting the Locust feel dangerous and new again, despite this being my fourth trip to Sera.”

Videogamer: 7/10

“On the whole however Judgment is a solid effort that, in some ways, changes the Gears formula for the better. Whether it will be remembered as anything other than a stopgap is questionable, but small qualms aside, it’s a good one.”