Almost five months after the release of Gears of War 2, Epic has released the third downloadable content package onto Xbox Live Marketplace. Going for 800 Microsoft Points ($10 US), the map pack includes two brand new maps, one remake from Gears of War PC, and Fuel Depot, which is a remake of an original Gears map. If you’re skeptical about these new maps because the previous map pack was an immense failure in terms of quality, fear not; these maps are well worth the money you will drop on their snowy goodness. (In case you’ve been living under a rock or can’t understand compound words, all the maps have snow on them.)

 

Fuel Depot – Naturally, the map retains many of its good qualities from Gears of War 1. The weapon spawns are still the same, but it’s rather irritating in public matches where the map cycles a mortar and torque bow onto the map. What will infuriate many gamers is how the trailer becomes a deathtrap if you aren’t the first to pick up the bow. It would have made more sense to keep snipers in the trailer each round like on the bridges on Canals, but it’s a minor annoyance. Also, in addition to the snow all over the map, there seems to be a darkening filter on the map. You might be tempted to turn your brightness up a tad when playing. The lack of good sniping in the game plus poor weapon swaps keep this map from being what it should be, but it’s no worse than any map in GoW2 you consider average.

 

 

Under Hill – This map is very quickly to be marked as the worst map in the pack. The map is split into three sections: a series of tunnels under a building, a flat middle section where the main power weapon spawns, and half a bridge where the Mortar spawns in public matches. The map is a bit of a misnomer, as the only thing you’re ever under is the building, and the Mortar spawn greatly throws off the map balance, allowing one team to camp up there and hog the respawns. It gets better in private matches and Horde, but Gears 2’s problems with jumping down covers get you stuck a lot and leave you vulnerable to attack.

 

 

Grind Yard – Either this or Courtyard will be your favorite unless you’re a diehard Fuel Depot fan. It’s a very balanced map with three main areas of conflict. After coming up from spawn, you can choose to go up through a tower and fight over a power weapon and prime real estate to trap your enemies in the crossfire, or you can run through the middle and meet the enemy head on. The third area is a tower, where the power weapon is strategically placed outside the crow’s nest, forcing you to make sure the area to the side is clear before picking it up. This is an ideal map to run Horde on, because the tower makes a great camping spot.

 

 

Courtyard – A Gears PC remake, it still has that excellent quality on Gears 2. While it was a large map in the previous iteration, 5 players do the map justice here. The power weapons are spread out an each side of the map in a balanced manner, forcing the team to work together and distribute its resources. The massive wall that blocks the view of the lower side is a pain for snipers, but provides people squabbling for the other power weapon with a fair chance at success. Flanking is easy, encouraging teams to stay on their toes.

 

 

 

All in all, unless Under Hill comes up, you’re not going to regret a thing about buying this map pack. Grab some friends, get the maps, and play as a team in order to win.