One of the key releases and biggest cash-cow is the Gears of War series. One of the first releases for the XBOX 360 has smashed the market and was an instant hit. But with the release of Gears of War Judgement about to hit the shelves this month, let’s take a look at the rise and possible fall of a great series.

Gears of War is maybe one of the most celebrated franchises in gaming history, spawning 4 games, 5 books, action figures and a host of other merchandise. It has a brilliant story line and fantastically written characters that integrate well with the story, showing maybe the most desperate measures of survival and the grim determination to hang on.

Then gameplay was unique and something no one had ever seen before. Never in the history of gaming had the cover system been used like this and it was fantastic, fresh and most of all realistic. Not to the point where it was one shot kill, but I was still realistic. Apparently, the designers got the idea when they were playing paintball in a team building exercise and if anyone reading this, you know how much getting hit by one of those things stings to the very bone.

The world was beautifully made and the history was well written and well devised. I myself like to write novels and when I was playing the game, I felt myself wishing that it had been me.

The first game, Gears of War was a cracker and it had a mix of everything from good, old fashioned violence, to the heartbreaking search that Dom is undertaking to find the love of his life. Although short, it was still a game you could play again and again and not get too tired of it.

Then they issues an announcement; Gears of War 2 was to hit the market, and they promised it was going to be better than the first and the story was going to be much more in depth with a swarm of new enemies and a host of new characters.

It didn’t disappoint. Landown Fields was an immense battle scene and was exceptionally well done both leading up to it and the aftermath. It also brought Dom into the game more and you learn a lot more about his past. I found it to be exciting and gripping and I remember finishing it and then throwing myself back into it all over again.

So I then move onto Gears of War 3. I must admit that I was disappointed with the way this game went. It started off introducing a new type of enemy as well as the locust, nicknamed glowies, and it sent Delta off on a random mission to fight the infection.

I got the feeling that after Dom died; they just got tired of the game and rushed to finish it, leaving a ton of unanswered questions and a whole bunch of new ones. That is a poor way of ending one of the best series of games in history and I for one was very disappointed.

The books were written to sort of fill in the blanks between the books and then they released one that rounded off the series of Marcus Fenix. The books are not the best ever books written and I was very disappointed with them as I feel they could have found someone better to write them, but they do plug the gaps and if you do ever want to read one, read the one about the epic defense of Anvil gate. Breathtaking!

So what will Gears of War Judgement offer us as gamers?

They have set it right the way back to E-Day, the main pivot on which the original games were based on and they have included, in my opinion, the two best characters of the game; Baird and Cole Train. It promises to answer any questions people have of E-Day and the life before and they also promise new enemies, weapons and a brand new mission as well as developing the two characters that featured in the other games.

I cringe to think as to where this may go. They either pull this off and it has the potential to be the best game of the year or its going to be a let-down of the highest order and people will abandon the franchise.

The million dollar question is; is it going to be the game of the year or just another cash-cow for Microsoft?