I've just recently become a Xbox 360 owner and I want to play some games I've missed out on, Gears of war is one of them.

Which game should I start on? Should I play through them all in order or is the story not worth it and I should just buy the latest game?

Start at the beginning! It still holds up to this day, though you'll definitely notice the improvements the series made within its core gameplay as you progress through each entry; Gears 3 is cover-based shooting perfection as far as I'm concerned. But nonetheless, the original Gears is still a really good time, especially in coop. In fact it arguably has the best campaign, though for me personally Gears 3 just about takes it.

You HAVE to start from the beginning. Gears 1 started it all and ushered in a new age of third-person shooters. It had a great campaign, damn near perfect controls and IMO, the best multiplayer on the market. Gears 2 pushes that with an even better story, more weapons and and a fantastic horde mode that kicked off a trend in gaming. Gears 3 caps that all off with arguably the best story in the series, the most well rounded multiplayer and finally, the best the controls have ever been.

Do yourself a favour and play through the trilogy, you will not be disappointed.

Play the full trilogy. The story isn't the greatest of all time but it's worth seeing it from start to finish.

Definitely what they said. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole trilogy.

The first game had solid gameplay so it shouldn't feel dated especially if you haven't played the 2 sequels. The story is also enjoyable.

Definitely the first one. Many mock the story and characters but I think they're fine and it's worth seeing the whole thing.

The Big Bang. Otherwise, you won't get all the references.

What everyone said about playing in order and also co-op if you have a buddy. If you're down for video game books the Gears books aren't bad either.

I guess we're going to look the other way at Judgment?

Do you really want to play 30 hours of Gears of War?

They're all good games but you'd probably get burnt out on them playing them back to back. The first one is easily skippable storywise since there's not really anything revealed except "Hey! There're bad guys underground!"

Even though I enjoyed it well enough (primarily because it's more Gears), if someone's asking about getting into the Gears series, it's usually best to just push Judgment aside. Plenty of Gears to dig into without bringing up its shameless cash-grab.

Fucking wherever, man.

lol, I totally thought this was going to be a rant about Gears of War.

I was like, "About fucking time! Right, guys?"

EDIT: Also, I'd leave Judgment last. It's technically first, chronologically, but I wouldn't have finished that game if I didn't casually appreciate that world through the three games before. Besides, I imagine it would be jarring going from a 2013 game to a 2006 one.

I think I will take all of your advice and start from the beginning. Thanks for the feed back.

The original is great. I like all of them a lot...though I've never played Judgment. Figured that was worth skipping.

I think my favorite campaign was 2, despite popular opinion against it for some reason. All three are well worth playing even now. The original is one of the few 2006 Xbox 360 games that still holds up pretty darn well. Get a friend to play with locally and you'll have a blast.

1 is a heck of a game, and the 4th chapter is probably my favorite section of the series (which Raam's Shadow kinda reminded me of).

It should hold up, although I recommend grabbing a buddy. And going sequentially will help you appreciate how they ramp things up.

All three games feature great campaigns that you should experience.

Fart noises is all I have to say on anything Judgment related. Unless it's in the bargain bin, don't bother with it.