With the release of the snowblind map pack today, there are already rumors floating around of yet another map pack for gears of war 2 named dark corners. this image was uncovered from one of the corners of a chinese website HERE. (continue reading…)

The four months since the release of Gears of War 2 have been busy for the folks over at Epic Games. This past week they released the third title update for the game,(which was awsome by the way.) which adds a new experience system along with a number of other things. Here is our review of the new snowblind maps,released March 31st (continue reading…)

“underhill map”

The second map pack will come next week in the form of the Gears of War 2 Snowblind Map Pack. Described in detail in GameSpot’s recent interview with Epic Games executive producer Rod Fergusson, the map pack will be the second map pack and will follow an extensive update of its multiplayer experience system due out tomorrow.

According to the blog of Xbox Live director Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, the four-map pack will cost 800 Microsoft points, or $9.99 in real-world currency. It will feature three all-new, winter-themed maps–Grindyard, Courtyard, and Under Hill–as well as a frosty remake of Fuel Depot from the original Gears of War. Together, the multiplayer update and map pack will also bring a total of nine new Xbox 360 achievements, five of which are based on the new experience system.

Next week, Microsoft and Epic Games will roll out a third title update for Gears of War 2 that will bring a new ranking system, among other improvements.They will be rewarding us with these Xbox achievements:

Here is some footage of the upcoming DLC map ”Courtyard” for Gears Of War 2 might look like. Courtyard is from the pc version of Gears Of War 1. Check it out!

Three months after the second Gears of War 2 map pack was announced, Epic Games has taken the wraps off its successor. The Snowblind Map Pack will arrive on Xbox Live on March 31 bearing four new maps: Grindyard, Under Hill, Courtyard, and a remake of Fuel Depot from the original Gears game. No price has been announced, but the last add-on for the game, December’s three-map Combustible Map Pack, cost 800 Microsoft points.

The week prior, Epic will launch its third and most extensive title update, which implements an all-new experience-based ranking system. The old TrueSkill system ranks will become hidden, but will still be used under the hood to “set up the most competitive matches possible.”

Under the new system, players will earn experience points for scoring in public matches, advancing all the way to level 100. Upon attaining certain levels, they will be rewarded with the following Xbox achievements: Rookie Gear (level 5), Seasoned Gear (level 15), Battle-Tested Gear (level 25), Battle-Hardened Gear (level 50), and Veteran Gear (level 100). (The last two achievements will also require that players download and achieve feats in the Snowblind Map Pack.) Four other unnamed achievements will be added as part of the update, with a total of 250 GamerScore Points.

This is going to be awsome!