Aftermath does not award stars or offer the harder setting seen in the Gears of War: Judgment campaign. Obtaining 40 stars unlocks the separate 'Aftermath' campaign, which consists of one chapter and is a follow up to the Gears of War 3 campaign. During each mission an optional, harder setting is available mandates certain criteria such as a time limit or a restriction on usable weapons doing so increases the score.

Each mission is scored on several criteria including the number of kills by the player, head shots, and gibs, and up to three stars are awarded. Unlike the previous games in the series, which used very large, open environments, missions are self-contained portions of the overall story and returning to earlier missions' settings is never possible. The main campaign is divided into six chapters, each with several missions. Like its predecessors, Gears of War: Judgment is a third-person shooter, with an 'over the shoulder' perspective and cover system. By August 2013 it sold over 1 million copies. Critics cited the game's multiplayer mode, visuals and action as strengths, but criticized the single-player campaign's narrative and length, as well as the game's failure to innovate the series' gameplay. Gears of War: Judgment received favorable reactions from critics, albeit less positive than its predecessors.

Prior to Microsoft's announcement, video game journalists had already determined that the chronology of events in Gears of War: Judgment would pre-date that of the other releases in the franchise, and that the prequel would feature Damon Baird and Augustus Cole as protagonists. On June 4, 2012, Microsoft announced the development of Gears of War: Judgment at the company's press conference during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012, before releasing a debut trailer and demonstrating the upcoming multiplayer features. It is a spin-off of the Gears of War series and a prequel to the entire franchise. Gears of War: Judgment is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game, developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 in North America on March 19, 2013, with subsequent regions following later that month.

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