Gears of War 2: Flashback Map Pack

Posted by Tiberius Jonez

Tomorrow, one of the biggest titles of the year ships with a sizable bonus regardless of which version you pick up. In addition to the ten multiplayer maps included with Gears of War 2, Epic Games has added a download code within each new copy of the game to download five additional maps taken from the original Gears of War. The Flashback Map Pack not only adds a dose of nostalgia to the Gears of War 2 multiplayer experience but it freshens the "old" maps with new designs for each.

Some of the changes you can expect include the waters of Canals now being frozen, Gridlock's been overtaken by lush vegetation, Tyro Station seems to have had an upgrade in tech, Mansion appears more abandoned than ever and Subway has dried up and now rains pieces of ash from the ongoing war.

Check out the video to see the changes for yourself.

Cliff “Don’t call me Cliffy B” Bleszinski on Gears of War 2 fixes

By Tiberius Jonez

Gears of War was a great game – no doubt about it. The campaign was fun, and while the multiplayer was what really gave the game its long legs, it was far from perfect. Many players hated the grenade sticking (I loved it) and Epic addressed that issue with a patch that somehow made me even better at it. Others found the chainsaw randomness annoying. But without a doubt the biggest complaint I heard during online matches was about the host shotgun advantage. Basically, if the host of a match used a shotgun, that player could destroy the entire opposing team even when it seemed a certainty that he was out of shottie range or not even aiming at his victim. It could turn a mostly great online experience into a frustrating, cuss-laden, controller-throwing scream fest.

Well, in a recent interview with GamePro, Gears creator Cliff Bleszinski says Epic has addressed all those bugs, and that Gears 2 will best its predecessor in every way. From an improved cover system and chainsaw duels to more players online, a more stylized lighting engine and much more, Gears of War 2 appears to be well on its way to taking the franchise to all new heights of bloody goodness.