2. The Maps

• Avalanche
• Blood Drive
• Day One
• Hail
• Jacinto
• Pavilion
• River
• Ruins
• Security
• Stasis

Left, Avalanche. Right, Blood Drive.

Left, Day One. Right, Hail.

Left, Jacinto. Right, Pavilion.

Left, River. Right, Ruins.

Left, Security. Right, Stasis.

All of these maps will work with every included multiplayer mode.

Stand-outs include Avalanche and Hail, two examples of classic random-death mechanics. In Avalanche, the middle of the map is periodically overrun by an avalanche, killing everything in its path. Hail is a little more forgiving--as the level progresses, rain storms will eventually give way to deadly diamond hail, which eventually kills any players not underneath protection. You'll have only a few moments to hide inside a train car or building before succumbing to the deadly shards.

As for the rest, they were more or less a successful mix, certainly on par with the original Gears maps in terms of design. The fact that they all work with each of the wildly varying modes is more significant than any particular geometry.

Also interesting to note is the Locust-styled architecture in Ruins, taken from a section of the single-player game that we can't quite talk about yet.

In addition to these new maps, a Flashback Map Pack will be available for download on release day. The pack will contain five original Gears 1 multiplayer maps that have been graphically enhanced for the sequel. Every new copy of Gears 2 will contain a code to download the pack for free.

The Flashback Map Pack will include:

• Canals
• Gridlock
• Mansion
• Subway
• Tyro Station

For those interested in the changes, you can take a look at our Flashback Map Pack comparison gallery, which provides a shot of each original Gears map along with an image of the Gears 2 version.

Turn the page for more.