Gears of War: Judgement Will Include the Original Gears of War as a Free Extra

Warning: Spoilers for Gears of War 2 ahead.

If you're planning to purchase the upcoming Gears of War: Judgement and you're scared that the game won't give you an adequate fix of testosterone-pumped grey-brown alien slaughter, then you'll be pleased to hear that initial launch copies of Judgement will include a download code for the original Gears of War.

Early copies of Judgement will include Games on Demand tokens that allow you to download and experience the first game in the Gears saga. The decision was based on research that showed that more than half of the people who played Gears of War 3 hadn't played the original Gears of War.  

This is good news unless you happen to be living in Germany, where the original Gears wasn't sold due to rating restrictions. No free Gears of War for Germany, sadly.

The promotion is a nice gesture, and since Judgement is a prequel, I suppose it will help players who haven't played the Gears trilogy from the beginning give the game a better sense of context. It's a pretty riveting narrative, after all. I particularly like the part where that bloke who looks like a snarling tortoise working its way out of a car engine ducks behind a wall and shoots at stuff on the other side of the wall. And then the other bloke's wife dies and then he grows a beard. Brilliant. 

You can also check out the video below that outlines some of Judgement's new campaign features, including a dynamic Smart Spawn System and Declassified Missions. Gears of War: Judgement is set for a March 19th release date.