Holy Moley, its more Gears 2 stuff. But, for some reason, it's not going to be DLC. EPIC has decided to release the next update for Gears Of War 2 as retail on July 28th.

||  FULL STORY  ||

This Expansion Pack (??) Will Include:

• All Current Gears 2 DLC to date
• Dark Fronts Map Pack (seven new multiplayer maps)
• An introduction from Cliff Bleszinski for "Road to Ruin"
• A collectible poster
  
• Strategy guide
  
• Custom Xbox Live theme

• [Requires Full Version Of The Game To Play]
• [No Disk Included - Downloadable Content Only]

The New Multiplayer Maps Will Include:

• Allfathers Garden: Honor the sacred grounds of the Coalition founders in this explosive map, where powerful weapons catalyze fast and furious action at this COG landmark.
•   Memorial: Set near the Eternal Flame, which pays tribute to the fallen soldiers on the battlefield, a hard-fought battle ensues at the Tomb of Unknowns. Putting their flank formation and evasive skills to the test, players will fight to control the Boomshot.
•   Sanctuary: Once a peaceful ground for reflection and remembrance, all that remains of the Sanctuary is the chill of death. Feast your eyes on the arsenal of weapons available as you make your way through the tight paths and blind corners of the Locust-damaged temple corridors.
•   War Machine: In the abandoned train station that once served as a hub for travel, players will need to master the Longshot, Mulcher and Boomshot weapons to advance the fight while evading fire from the platforms above.
•   Highway: Take the fight deep into the Locust Hollow in the complex passages of this underground highway system brimming with enemy vermin. Stick together, separate the enemy and have an exit strategy ready or it'll be a one-way trip.
•   Way Station: Sitting in limbo between death and "processing" are Locust way stations filled with fallen COG soldiers. Tread lightly and practice patience as it's better to sacrifice firepower for stealth while navigating this minefield of hidden grenades.
•  Nowhere: Set in the middle of what was once a destination for weary desert travellers, the land is now barren and devoid of life. Pick off your enemies with the Longshot sniper rifle and make your way to the stairwell with a well-fortified team during this intense firefight.

Please feel free to comment on these rumours and speculation.

Holy Moley, its more Gears 2 stuff. But, for some reason, it's not going to be DLC. EPIC has decided to release the next update for Gears Of War 2 as retail on July 28th.

||  FULL STORY  ||

This Expansion Pack (??) Will Include:

• All Current Gears 2 DLC to date
• Dark Fronts Map Pack (seven new multiplayer maps)
• An introduction from Cliff Bleszinski for "Road to Ruin"
• A collectible poster
  
• Strategy guide
  
• Custom Xbox Live theme

• [Requires Full Version Of The Game To Play]
• [No Disk Included - Downloadable Content Only]

The New Multiplayer Maps Will Include:

• Allfathers Garden: Honor the sacred grounds of the Coalition founders in this explosive map, where powerful weapons catalyze fast and furious action at this COG landmark.
•   Memorial: Set near the Eternal Flame, which pays tribute to the fallen soldiers on the battlefield, a hard-fought battle ensues at the Tomb of Unknowns. Putting their flank formation and evasive skills to the test, players will fight to control the Boomshot.
•   Sanctuary: Once a peaceful ground for reflection and remembrance, all that remains of the Sanctuary is the chill of death. Feast your eyes on the arsenal of weapons available as you make your way through the tight paths and blind corners of the Locust-damaged temple corridors.
•   War Machine: In the abandoned train station that once served as a hub for travel, players will need to master the Longshot, Mulcher and Boomshot weapons to advance the fight while evading fire from the platforms above.
•   Highway: Take the fight deep into the Locust Hollow in the complex passages of this underground highway system brimming with enemy vermin. Stick together, separate the enemy and have an exit strategy ready or it'll be a one-way trip.
•   Way Station: Sitting in limbo between death and "processing" are Locust way stations filled with fallen COG soldiers. Tread lightly and practice patience as it's better to sacrifice firepower for stealth while navigating this minefield of hidden grenades.
•  Nowhere: Set in the middle of what was once a destination for weary desert travellers, the land is now barren and devoid of life. Pick off your enemies with the Longshot sniper rifle and make your way to the stairwell with a well-fortified team during this intense firefight.

Please feel free to comment on these rumours and speculation.

That's kind of neat, though if they offer it through the marketplace I'll probably pick it up there.

Hm, don't see why this isn't on the Marketplace? Ah well, this'll please all the Gears fans out there... except the ones who already bought the DLC.

I already have all the DLC i'm still going to get this. But then, I play Gears 2 way too much...

I enjoy some useless swag as much as the next guy, but Epic would be pretty dim not to let this be downloadable as well (then again, diehard Gears fans will have to buy this which means they will have to buy the maps all over again. Genius maybe?)

I don't see any reason why they'd release it at retail with a download code, and not release it on Marketplace too. They'll probably just do both.

How much DLC have they already released? 3 Combustible Maps and 4 Snowblind Maps - each at 800 points. So if this retails for £15.00 then you really arent paying much more for this whole bundle (14 maps) than the current cost of 7 Maps. If you don't already own the currently available 7 then this is a bargain - if not it's still fair.

I guess the issue here is how much people are prepared to pay for DLC in general. It's slowly becoming more and more expensive to download stuff on XBLM.

i got enough dlc i only played once >.>

without any sort of extra campaign bits i cant see this being worth it, since i'm not interested in the stocking stuffer junk.

That and retail in Australia = Get fucked.

Probably try and sell this for 50 bucks here,

well i play gears 2 for about 3 or 4 hours every day, so i'm totally down for some more content. Although, the timing will probably be the deciding factor. If modern warfare 2 comes out at around the same time, Gears 2 is going back on the shelf...

While i dont have high hopes for the maps thanks to the shotgun none of them really play any differently to one another... unless we're talking about guardian, submission or annex... where things are much more tactical and awesome, i'd buy it just to "sneak in" anyway. That must be seriously cool


also i <3 hard copiez

I posted this on the official article, but I'll say it again. I am very pissed that EPIC is pulling this shit. I paid $20 for the two other map packs and now they do this. We can all understand I great deal, but I feel I got gypped much worse. Simply because it's so soon. I am never supporting EPIC again.

Looks great. I am glad I haven't bought the other map packs because this is a good deal for me....and a sucky deal for the ones that did :P

"Looks great. I am glad I haven't bought the other map packs because this is a good deal for me....and a sucky deal for the ones that did :P"

damn brad, stealing all my glory

Looks like a nice set.

For those who play Gears 2 online, has it been more or less fixed?  I've never actually tried it since I bought it, but maybe this is a good excuse to. 

I'll be buying this! Will it be one code for all the maps including the old DLC? Because I have both map packs already so if they are a seperate code I can give them to my one of my friends!

"For those who play Gears 2 online, has it been more or less fixed?  I've never actually tried it since I bought it, but maybe this is a good excuse to.  "

I think I'll end up buying this in stores since I haven't bought either Combustible of Snowblind map packs.  I do feel sorry for the people who've already bought the last two DLC though.

The new content called 'All Fronts' will be available for download as well as at retail around July 28th.  The retail version  will come with all the previously offered map paks and 7 new additional maps(2 are remakes apparently from Gears 1), as well a new campaign mission called 'Dark Corners', where players will be able to play dressed as Theron Guards(or so it looks)in Locust Hollow, and play a bit of stealth or just go in guns ablaze.  Sounds fun to me. There's also going to be related swag, premium theme, strategy guide, poster etc. included at retail btw.
Now the new mission and 7 new maps are also available seperately as 'Dark Corners' DLC for those who already Dl'd the 2 previous paks, but the hitch is it's preportedly going to run $19.99(1600 ms points)....just as much as the retail package that has both previous map paks included.  The price of buying the DLC early I guess just as it's been with Halo 3's map paks really.

This seems reaal sweet, i cant wait for War Machine.

Glad I held back on the maps then.

Consider me interested, War Machine was one of my favourite maps from the first.

Wait, do you get all of that for just $20? Dude, what....

I'm so annoyed this disc isn't coming to Australia, forcing us to pay $52.60 AUD via seperate XBLM downloads as compared to a $33 AUD retail disc (Converting from the US $20, but I'd expect it to be maybe a little higher, but no way adding almost 20 bucks ontop).

Here's hoping they change their mind, I'd grab these things in a heartbeat if I didn't feel like I was being taken for a ride.

Good deal for me since I haven't bought the other DLC. It doesn't include the Flashback map pack though does it? Since that was more of a marketing ploy to discourage people from picking up a used copy. I have barely touched the Gears 2 multiplayer so maybe I'll pick this up and drop in.

BTW, that picture of Marcus and Dom in the Theron armor looks pretty ridiculous, but the 'stealth' section could be fun.

Yeah it includes the Flashback maps aswell