As the ex-con Marcus Fenix, you’re bounced from prison by ultra-bro and Predator remake co-star Dom, and soon embark on a quest to annihilate as many Locust as possible. The original Gears of War holds up well even today in its co-op campaign, as seen with its recent re-release on Xbox One. There’s a reason Judgment often gets left out of Gears of War talks, unless the subject is Events We’d Like Not To Repeat. A focus on Baird was ill-advised at best, and although Cole is still one of the best characters in the series, Judgment seemed intent on doing away with every series tenet for little to no reason, with two weapons instead of four, a lack of any real sense of urgency, few new characters and rote, formulaic action instead of the cover-shooting magic Gears was known for.

Set as a prequel to the original games, the idea was to flesh out the events of Emergence Day and the battles that preceded Fenix’s adventures in the series proper, through the eyes of squadmate Baird. Judgment is the only Gears game in the series to not be a numbered entry, and that indifferent position within the canon shines through every facet of the game. In honor of a new studio and a new protagonist taking the helm, let’s walk down memory lane, by ranking the best and worst that Gears has given us over the last ten years. With Dom’s son taking the helm and rusty chainsaw gun, it looks like Gears is lumbering into a new saga. The fourth (numbered) entry is out next week, and you can expect a review here at Paste right before release. And when you’re talking about a game best known for its chainsaw gun, the word “killer” is always a pun.

Gears established the cover-shooter frenzy, and Marcus Fenix gave Master Chief his only real competition as Microsoft’s darling, while also giving the Xbox 360 perhaps its first killer app. It’s been a decade since the first Gears of War roadie-ran into our hearts, and like the hulking meat fridges with guns that star in each entry, each game has been a bullet-riddled slaughterhouse with a heart.

Gears of war games ranked