The first Gears had that "Holy shit I can't believe this is a game" vibe going for it. 2 was really great. 3 was more of a refinement. 1 and then 2 were really something in 2006 and 2008. As we got into the latter half of last gen the punch of Gears started to diminish. 3 was great because it was a refinement of earlier games. It didn't have the wow factor though. When Judgement came around at the end of last gen the franchise was exhausted. I have my theories as to why. In 2006 there was no experience like Gears. By 2013 you could see the influence of Gears everywhere. Other games were doing the cover based shooter thing just fine in addition to have better graphics, story, and more features. Gears kept refining but it never really left 2006.