All Articles: Gears of War 3

Are you ready for more downloadable content for Gears of War 3? Microsoft has revealed that the next map pack, Forces of Nature, will be available on Marcy 27. The pack will inlcude five new maps (each with a natural disaster theme), several new weapons, more Achievements, and a four-pack of new skins. And all of this will be free for Gears of War 3 Season Pass holders. Pricing for the rest of us wasn’t announced, but each previous pack sold for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Want the lowdown on the new maps? Here you go:

Aftermath – Aftermath is a government park after a tsunami. There is seaweed and wreckage everywhere, and the main play space sits under a huge cargo ship which was deposited on top of a building during the storm. The area floods and quakes during gameplay, as the whole thing is teetering on the edge of falling into the water below. This has gameplay implications as it is difficult to aim during the quakes, and difficult to be stealthy while splashing through the water.

Artillery – Artillery starts out looking like an ordinary military base, but during gameplay a storm kicks up. Lightning begins to flash on the horizon and eventually a tornado develops and sweeps near the play space. Dust and debris are kicked up making it difficult to see, and the buffeting winds can mask your approach.

Cove – Cove is a small port that the Stranded have taken over and turned into a little village. The map is very open with long lines of sight, but there is a really, really heavy layer of fog that masks just about everything. There’s a really nice sniper nest inside a central ship, but the sniper’s form is silhouetted by the low angle light shining through the fog.

Jacinto (Remake) – Jacinto was a beautiful city, but huge stalks have popped up through the buildings and flooded the entire area with imulsion. Half of the map is dead and crumbling, with imulsion fumes hanging in the air. To make matters worse, the drizzle that is present when a match begins quickly develops into a heavy rain storm that impedes visibility and lines of sight as water starts sheeting off the buildings.

Raven Down (Remake) – Raven Down is a very small crossroads that is blanketed in a blinding snow storm. A Raven helicopter has crashed in the storm, and crashed through an elevated train on its way down, so there’s train wreckage to deal with as well. The snowstorm ebbs occasionally, but is more often so heavy that it’s difficult to see more than a few meters ahead at any given time.

[Source: Side Mission]

Hot on the heels of the release of “RAAM’s Shadow,” Microsoft has announced the next Gears of War 3 expansion will be available on January 17. Titled “Fenix Rising” and priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the DLC pack will include five new maps, four new character skins, and new “Re-Up” level progression bonuses.

The “Re-Up” system will allow players who’ve reached level 100 to sign up for another tour of duty in the Locust War. By completing a second, third, and fourth march to level 100, players will be able to unlock exclusive weapons (Re-Up Plasma, Re-Up Omen, and Re-Up Electric) and exclusive rank colors (Red, Green, and Gold).

Hit the jump for an in-depth detailing on all five new maps and all four new character skins. (more…)

Well, that was probably the shortest delay ever. Microsoft’s Major Nelson has revealed that the Gears of War 3 Horde Command Pack is now available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the pack Also three new Horde maps (Azura, Rustlung, and a remake of Blood Drive, “the most popular Horde map of all-time”) and three new multiplayer characters (Bernie, Onyx Guard, and Big Rig Dizzy). The pack also comes complete with “new fortification levels and command posts in Horde” and 250 Achievement Points.

If you woke up early this morning looking to download the Horde Command Pack for Gears of War 3, you’re obviously aware that it’s not yet available. A quick note on the Epic Games Community Forum has confirmed the DLC has been delayed due to a “technical issue.” A new release date was not announced, but Epic is working “around the clock to resolve this issue.”

Here’s the full statement from Epic:

The scheduled Horde Command Pack release for Gears of War 3 is temporarily delayed due to a technical issue. We apologize to those of you who are anxiously awaiting to play. We know this is disappointing news as we’ve seen a lot of posts today showing excitement for this content. We have folks working around the clock to resolve this issue ASAP so you can all play and enjoy the Command Pack.

The RAAM’s Shadow campaign expansion DLC is still on track for its December 13 release.

Gears of War players will be able to lead the Locust horde for the first time on December 13 when the “RAAM’s Shadow” expansion is released for Gears of War 3. Taking control of General RAAM himself, players will storm the human stronghold of Ilima City in a battle against some familiar faces.

“RAAM’s imposing size and strength, along with his Kryll shield, make him one of the most powerful and daunting foes in the Gears universe,” said Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski. “We think fans are going to have a blast unleashing hell upon the poor humans for the first time in a campaign setting.”

If you’d prefer to stomp some Locust grubs instead, players can also take up the human side of the battle and try to save Ilima City:

“RAAM’s Shadow” drops players into the events of Sera post-Emergence Day, as Zeta Squad is enlisted to evacuate Ilima City and protect the citizens against a Locust Kryll storm. Taking on the infamous Locust leader General RAAM, Zeta is led by Michael Barrick (from Gears of War comics fame) and comprised of familiar faces such as Lt. Minh Young Kim (Gears 1) and Tai Kaliso (Gears 2), and also includes a new female comrade, Alicia Valera.

The expansion will also add six new multiplayer characters, the Chocolate Weapon Set, and an additional 250 Gamerscore. All of this has been priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), unless you sprung for the GOW3 Season Pass, which will include “RAAM’s Shadow.”