Epic Games has announced the third “Season Pass” downloadable content for Gears of War 3, called “Fenix Rising”. The latest DLC will add a new multiplayer feature, “Re-Up”, which is very similar to the Prestige System found in Call of Duty.
Players level their characters, and once they hit the level cap (100 in Gears of War 3‘s case), can elect to return to level one, sacrificing all of the gear they earned leveling up, but with a new visual perk. Players can Re-Up three times, and each time, get the following weapon skins:
- Re-Up Plasma – Animated flowing plasma in gold.
- Re-Up Omen – Shiny, red Omen.
- Re-Up Electric – Animated, golden electric shocks.
“Fenix Rising” will also contain five new multiplayer maps, as detailed below by Epic:
- 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. But Adam Fenix could see the cracks in the veneer of splendor from the moment he arrived at this underwater processing center. And 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’s 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 DLC will also add four new player skins for multiplayer as well, including Recruit Clayton and Thrashball Cole for the COG side, and Savage Marauder and Savage Kantus for the Locust side.
Fenix Rising will be released in January for 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Marketplace. The DLC is also a part of the Gears of War 3 Season Pass that costs 2400 Microsoft Points, which also includes RAAM’s Shadow and the Horde Command Pack, in addition to the unannounced fourth DLC.
Jonah Falcon is a blogger for TMRzoo and GameStooge.com and covers all gaming consoles and platforms including Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP and computer games designed for Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Jonah provides his readers with reviews, previews, release dates and up to date gaming industry news, trailers and rumors.
