I actually think judgement looks pretty mediocre. It doesn't look like it's going to add anything fresh or unusual to the Gears Of War experience. I could be wrong about this but I've watched a number of gameplay videos and nothing strikes me as being very original or creative about it, especially given that as a side story, or a spin off, there was a lot of room to test out or try new things. I would like for any Gears fans to comment on this, as it just looks totally unimpressive to me. The visuals, the enemies the gameplay it all just looks the same, with a new less interesting protagonist to boot.
GOW: Ascension has multiplayer, which is a first for the series. Opinions on it have been a little mixed, so I'd be cautiously optimistic about it given the talent of the studio behind it, but the real test will be if the single player can deliver something new. It looks like they're going in a different direction, introducing a kind of 'african' theme, a very different setting and building on the backstory of Kratos, but we've seen only a a very brief taste of the singleplayer.
Personally I always prefer something new. A new IP is always more interesting than sequel X in an established franchise. While a sequel to a strong game is great and serves a purpose, it's just usually more exciting to tryout something completely different. I tend to get series fatigue quite quickly unless there're long breaks in development. For example, although I love Uncharted, I would not want another game this generation. 3 games was almost too much for me. So I would disagree with the OP, I'm more excited about The Last Of Us and Beyond.
