Here is a little more descriptive take on the new maps comming this thursday May 3rd.

Bullet Marsh
In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.

Garden
This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.

Process
Teams must fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.

Subway
Timgad 's Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.
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Microsoft has confirmed that the new premium (i.e. you have to pay for them) Gears of War maps will be cropping up on Xbox Live Marketplace this Thursday, May 3. Four maps are included in the 800 Microsoft point ($10) Hidden Fronts map pack. Microsoft and Epic have clashed over the pricing of the map pack, Epic wanting to provide it for free and MS craving your hard earned dollar. Meeting in the middle, the two have decided to sell the pack for now and provide it for free after September 3 in ... » Read More

An early 22 page script for the Gears of War movie has leaked on to the internet, giving us our first glimpse at the New Line produced game-to-movie adaptation. The leak comes via infamous movie site Latino Review and it goes without saying that if you're a bit spoiler-squeamish you should probably click away now. The early draft of the Gears flick kicks off with a violent and chaotic battle; the Aspho Fields scuffle referenced often in the 360 shooter. Both Marcus and Dom star in this ... » Read More

This is not a script review folks! Spoilers ahead.
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Videos showing the locations of COG tags in Gears of War have been released on Xbox Live Marketplace, but you have to pay for them. There are individual videos for Acts 1 through to 5 and, ranging from between 51MB and 150MB in file size, costing 100 Microsoft Points or $1.25 each. Or $6.25 for all ... » Read More

Due to some technical problems, the reset of the leader boards for the Gears of War Global Xbox LIVE Tournament has been delayed till tomorrow. Tournament registration will also be extended till May 12th, but you might want to register now to get in early.
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Were you one of many who was initially delighted about the new Gears of War patch, only to discover that they had tweaked the Roadie Run in such a way that it became even more irritating? It seems Epic have listened, and another update is in the works, which will strike a fair balance between old and new.
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Epic Games' Tim Sweeney has revealed the studio is skeptical about Microsoft's Games for Windows Live due to the restrictions it places on developers - and PC gamers. Speaking in a 1UP.com podcast, Sweeney opined that the key problem with Games for Windows Live currently "is that any feature that Microsoft implements and charges for, the developer can't implement themselves." "As a PC developer, we're used to having complete freedom and defining our feature set - what we can give gamers and ... » Read More

If you are one of the few people who are yet to pick up Gears of War then this deal will certainly be of interest...
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Voodoo Extreme is claiming the Free Gears of War update is now on Live! The Auto Update includes a new multiplayer gametype called Annex, further 4:3 VGA fixes, and oh-so much more. They're calling this a "rolling update", which means it might not be available the moment you log in.
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Officially coming out April 9th, 2007 at 7:00 PM Eastern

Here are more details for the upcoming update straight from the Microsoft email,

In Annex, gamers seize victory by keeping control over key map locations, or objectives, long enough to collect a winning number of points. Every map contains two to five identified objectives available for capture, with one objective active at a time. Objectives are based on map weapon-spawn locations and have a potential value of 60 points toward either team's score. Teams collect those points by maintaining ownership of an objective until all 60 points have been distributed. Every second that a team controls an objective, the team gets one point. When an objective falls to zero points, the next objective is selected at random.

VGA Cable Support: Monitor resolution widths greater than or equal to 1280 now render as letterbox. In particular VGA users running at 1280×1024 will now see the game in full 720p (1280×720) resolution in letterboxed form.

Adjusted Assassination Multiplayer Gametype: Leader no longer has to unlock weapons and now has to be executed to die.

Adjusted Boomshot: Splash damage to be more effective rendering targets down-but-not-out

Adjusted Hammer of Dawn: Aiming will be more forgiving of moving targets

Adjusted Roadie Run: Reduced frequency of accidently grabbing cover while running

Kill Message Ticker: Ticker can now be seen while down-but-not-out and spectating

General: Addressed a number of possible exploits in multiplayer
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After all the fuss recently about Microsoft not wanting Epic to release free Gears of War downloadable content (as EAs paid DLC, for example, would suddenly seem even more asinine by comparison), it has finally been announced that we will see the new Annex multiplayer mode added later today at 4:00 p.m. PDT, as well as a few other changes to the bloodiest game this side of Barbie Horse Adventures. Along with the new mode, which has players fighting to control areas of the map like Halo 2 s ... » Read More

Mark Rein has today responded to the Gears Of War dlc content issues (over at gearsforums), and seems to think that the arguments have all been 'blown out of proportion'.

Quote:

"Here is a response to a thread over at EvilAvatar that I posted this morning. You can download the podcast at 1UPYours.com - this is the April 6th edition. The interview with Epic CEO and founder, Tim Sweeney, and myself starts a little bit after 38 minutes into the podcast.

Folks,

I think you guys are blowing this up into something bigger than it is. Please listen to the entire podcast before jumping to conclusions.

What we have here is simply a difference of opinion on how to maximize the return on Gears of War - something both Epic and Microsoft want to do. While we create products like Gears because we love games, and we have a passion for making them, at the end of the day this is a business for both companies and how we earn our living."
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Contrary to previous reports, the Gears of War update will not be released on Monday, April 9th, but on a date that still has yet to be determined.
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Epic Games has detailed the new Gears of War 'Annex' game mode, which will be arriving in via an Xbox Live update. It all sounds very familiar if you're an FPS fan; the game mode involves taking control of key locations and holding them as a team to rack up points, and whichever team reaches the target point count first wins. It's all a bit like King of the Hill then, isn't it? Each map will contain a number of control points though only one will be in contest at any given time. Once a team ... » Read More

What's old and new and red all over? That would be Gears of War, once a new multiplayer game type is released by way of a download from Xbox LIVE® on April 9. Click to get the specs on the new way to enjoy a game you already love, and then hop online to experience multiplayer all over again!
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What's been going on with the next Gears of War update from Microsoft and Epic Games? Rumblings on 1UP Yours have suggested some turmoil behind-the-scenes, but the Epic VP Mark Rein's confirmed to the official message boards their upcoming update has entered Microsoft certification and should be available soon -- for free.
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The Xbox 360's Gears of War may have sold millions of copies and garnered multiple awards, but that didn't stop critics from pointing out that the title's cover-based gameplay and gruff-marines-facing- insurmountable-odds storyline wasn't exactly breaking new ground. Epic Games producer Rod Fergusson has now jumped to his game's defence, saying that games should be fun first, and innovative second.
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Gamers in the UK who are yet to pick up an Xbox 360 may be interested in a deal which Gamestation are running which will get you a Premium 360, Crackdown, WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007, Gears of War, PGR3, Live Arcade Unplugged and an Extra Wireless controller for £304.99 delivered.
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The next title update for Gears of War is currently going through the certification process. Epic will have more detail about the update next week but I can tell you that in addition to fixing a whole bunch of glitches, and providing 720p for VGA users running at 1280x1024, it will contain a brand new multiplayer gametype called Annex.
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