Gears of War 3 - Fenix Rising DLC - Coming 17th January

The third DLC pack for Gears 3 has been announced. coming January 17th and costing 800 MS (unless you have a season pass then it's free) the Fenix Rising DLC with include 5 new MP maps, 4 new MP characters and a new prestige system called Re-Up. Once you get to level 100 you can prestige and unlock a unique weapon skin. You can "re-up" up to three times, earning a new rank icon colour each time. You get Bronze at the default level 100. Then there's Red, Green and Gold. Each "re-up" after Bronze nabs you a custom weapon skin that cannot be obtained by any other means.

The weapon skins are:

Re-Up Plasma - Animated flowing plasma in gold.
Re-Up Omen - Shiny, red Omen.
Re-Up Electric - Animated, golden electric shocks.


The new maps are as follows :

Academy

The lineage of the Fenix family can be traced back along a distinguished line of military officers. Officer training at the Oracle Academy was simply the expected path for Marcus, and he had visited the grounds many times in expectation that he would walk the same path as his ancestors. But it was not to be, and Marcus broke with tradition to be with his best friends Dom and Carlos. Like any number of fine Seran traditions, the Academy is now lost to the invasion of the Locust Horde.

Anvil

The fortress of Anvegad was called Anvil Gate because its impenetrable walls were forged in the fires of war. Huge cannons sat atop battlements that guarded sprawling walls running the line of the UIR borders. Marcus went there to find Hoffman, and they both thought that Anvil Gate would offer protection from the incoming forces of Locust and Lambent. They were wrong, and little remains other than the ruined shell of a once mighty fortress.

Depths

The excessive opulence of Azura defied all normal reasoning. Adam Fenix however could see the cracks in the veneer of splendor from the moment he arrived at this underwater processing center. All that beauty mattered not at all once he was held captive by the Locust. Out of options, he had to find a way to contact Marcus, and finally reveal the truths he'd been keeping to himself for all these many years.

Escalation

Haldane Hall has been the home of the Fenix family for countless generations. But the only history that matters to Marcus are his memories of warm summer evenings spent with his mother, Elain, relaxing in the estate's gardens. Sadly, all the estate's history and beauty was lost when the Locust destroyed it in an attempt to kidnap his father.

The Slab

Convicted for insubordination and treason, Marcus was incarcerated in Jacinto Maximum Security Prison. Known as "The Slab", this prison is not a correctional facility - it's a place where Sera's worst offenders are locked up and forgotten. The inmates are brutal, parole is not an option, and the average life expectancy is about two years. But that was before the Locust showed up, and what couldn't get worse, suddenly did. Now your life expectancy there is around 2 minutes.

The new multiplayer characters are playable in Versus and Horde mode. Here they are:

Recruit Clayton

Thrashball Cole

Savage Marauder

Savage Kantus

Please please please no cheevo attached to Re-upping (prestiging), i know i'll probably get to level 100 before finishing all the Onyx medals, but i don't want to spend the rest of my life levelling up...

That said though, has anyone noticed that some of the medals carry on counting to a new total after unlocking the Onyx?

I see Trashball Cole is getting released to the general public. Have him from the Beta already can't say I mind though as I've not seen him used online in quite some time. Maybe I should switch to him before everyone has access. Savage Kantus is another one that was exclusive but I happy about that I like the look of him. I wonder does this mean we'll get Commando Dom and Mechanic Baird at a later point. Still not used my code for Dom but would really like Baird.

Someone posted a video on the Gears forum showing some of this stuff about a week ago, good to see it's now confirmed. Thrashball Cole and Savage Kantus looked different in the video though and there was also a Thrashball Locust. I'm glad they've added a prestige system because getting to level 100 is too easy in this game compared to Gears 2.

"Anvil"
Plenty of space for firefights, plenty of elevation for horde and plenty of doorways for sawn off spammers, something for the whole family

One of the Epic designers said on Twitter all of the new maps are similar in size to Jacinto so no new Sandbar monsters or Check Out tiddlers.