Microsoft, Epic Announce Gears Multiplayer Map Pack

Microsoft and Epic Games have announced that Thursday, May 3rd will see the release of the "Hidden Fronts" multiplayer map pack for its best-selling Gears of War, featuring four new areas for online play at 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The new maps will be available via Xbox Live at 9 a.m. GMT, and will include four areas including Bullet Marsh, a Kryll-infested swamp with a generator that can be shut down to leave combatants open to the Kryll threat, and the Garden, an "overgrown and crumbling conservatory" with a fertilization and pesticide system that can pose a threat to anyone venturing inside without venting the air. The update will also include the Process map, where teams fight for control of an underground processing plant, and the Subway, a Timgad Central Subway station now "crawling with Locust." The new maps will be available Thursday for 800 Microsoft points ($10), or users can hold out for September 3rd of this year, when Microsoft will release the maps free to all users.