The main campaign is divided into six chapters, each with several missions. 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. 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. 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. 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. Aftermath does not award stars or offer the harder setting seen in the Gears of War: Judgment campaign.
Multiplayer[edit]
Gears of War: Judgment has two new multiplayer modes, OverRun and Free-for-All. The game has eight maps (four of which are exclusive to OverRun and four of which are exclusive to COG versus COG (Blue Team vs. Red Team)) and four game modes. Several key multiplayer features of the series have been changed as well, including the ability to plant grenades on walls, damage boosts from active reloads, and the ability to carry both a shotgun and a rifle into combat, though this last feature was later reinstated for all standard versus multiplayer modes except Free-For-All, due to fan dissatisfaction. However, it has been confirmed that the "Execution" mode will return through free downloadable content two weeks after the game launches, with the addition of two free maps.[7] Also absent, are the Locust, who only appear in OverRun; instead, it is now COG versus COG (multiplayer).[8]