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Shortly after the delay of Gears of War 3′s Horde Command Pack, Epic announces that they’re giving away an all-new DLC pack for FREE.

Following the recent news that the first downloadable content for Gears of War 3 — Horde Command Pack — is getting pushed back due to “technical issues,” Epic has just announced that they are releasing a new beefy DLC pack for free.

The Versus Booster Map Pack, which will be available for download on November 24, contains five all-new playable maps including Swamp, Clocktower, Azura, Rustlung, and Blood Drive.

while the delay of the expansion to Gears of War 3′s Horde Mode is disappointing, the fact that we’re getting five new maps free of charge certainly softens the blow.

Also Read: First Gears of War 3 DLC Delayed Due to ‘Technical Issues’

Limited edition games sold only in GAME and HMV are a restrictive trade practice, say indie retailers.

This includes products such as the £59.99 Forza Motorsport 4 Limited Edition exclusive to GAME and Gamestation, and the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Animus Edition – which is for sale in the UK only via GameStop online.

Simon Mitchell from Eclipse Home Entertainment told MCV: “I was annoyed with the Forza 4 Limited Edition which had extra cars. when my customers found out I didn’t have it, it turned a lot of people away. They left.

“I would’ve liked the opportunity to buy it. but what I really do want is a level playing field.”

A leading indie retailer added: “I was disappointed that GAME Group’s prediction for a good Christmas was based upon how many titles they had as exclusive special editions. This effectively stitches up all the other retailers, and as far as I’m concerned this is restrictive trade.”

Sam Semaan from N1 Games is more optimistic.

“it doesn’t bother us,” he told MCV. “we had the opportunity to stock the Gears of War 3 Limited Edition game. we ask our customers what they want first.”

the maps included with the first premium downloadable content pack for Gears of War 3 will be made available for free after being on sale for only a few weeks’ time.

along with the release of the Horde Command Pack yesterday, Microsoft sent out word on how a significant component will become free later this month. the DLC consists of three maps, new characters, new weapon skins, fortification upgrades for Horde mode, and 250 Gamerscore’s worth of new Achievements.

all three of those maps — Blood Drive, Azura, and Rustlung — will be packaged with two maps from the original Gears — Swamp and Clocktower — for release in the versus Booster Map Pack on Thanksgiving, November 24. This pack will be completely free and allows these maps to be played in all public matchmaking playlists.

That leaves those who did purchase the $10 Horde Command Pack (or a Season Pass) explicitly for those maps to have essentially paid for early access to the maps and the ability to play them in all playlists. they do also get the characters, weapon skins, Achievements, and Horde mode additions, but even so, those who bought the DLC for the maps could be justifiably upset over them becoming at least partially free so quickly.

following the versus Booster, the campaign-focused RAAM’s Shadow DLC will be out on December 13 for 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15). From there, we’ll still see several more DLC packs released that Season Pass buyers will be given access to.

It’s not uncommon for games to keep players occupied for weeks and months – just look at the likes of Call of Duty, Halo and Gears of War – but Uncharted 3 director Justin Richmond reckons his title offers thousands of hours of content.

Speaking on the topic of the price of video games, Richmond told VideoGamer.com: "I don’t know what the manufacturing costs are, I don’t know what the shipping costs are. I have no concept of that.

"I do know that for the amount of stuff we’re putting in here, it is certainly not a bad deal. There are literally thousands of hours of content in this game. It doesn’t seem like a crazy price to me. but again, I have no idea what the proper margins are."

Richmond also accepts that not all gamers interested in Uncharted are going to be able to afford the game in November, when so many other games are also vying for attention.

"from a gamer perspective it’s going to be very tricky. What I’m hoping is that people will see the inherent value in our game, and that there’s something really different about our game," he said. "but you know, I’m excited to play all the other games too, and I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford them. but I totally understand it from a gamer’s perspective.

"What I’m hoping is that as time goes on… these things are still going to be on the shelf, it’s not like we’re taking it away. maybe they don’t buy it day one, but maybe they buy it in February? maybe they buy it in March? We’re not going away, and obviously people want to play things the day they come out, if they possibly can, but sometimes they can’t.

"if someone is saying ‘What am I going to buy this month?’ in November, I hope that our game is the one they pick out, because we’re offering something that nothing else on the market is. but if they don’t, I totally understand. There’s a lot of really cool stuff."

In the same interview, Richmond said Naughty Dog has no issues with the choice of Neil Burger as director of the Uncharted movie and that Uncharted could well continue onto PlayStation 4.

Uncharted 3 will be released November 2 for PlayStation 3.

VideoGamer.com Analysis

One thousand hours of content equates to approximately 41 days of solid play. even that sounds optimistic, but Richmond reckons there’s even more than that to be had from Uncharted 3. we reckon you’d need to be super hardcore to eke that much time out of the game.

The PlayStation 3 version of FIFA 12 sold more copies in Europe from January to September 2011 than any other game, according to GfK sales data extrapolated by Nintendo.

As seen on Gamasutra, the chart, which formed part of Nintendo’s recent bi-annual financial report, sees Wii Sports Resort at two, followed by Pok

  ARTICLE Video Game Review: Gears of War 3 by Eric Deters Published: October 19, 2011 Print this article E-mail this article More articles by this author Rating: Release Date: September 20, 2011Distributor: Microsoft Games StudioPlatform:Microsoft Xbox 360Grade: A+

It’s not often in gaming that a series as popular and influential as “Gears of War” get a proper, final conclusion, but Epic Games has delivered an ending that brings their juggernaut trilogy to an eventful close in “Gears of War 3.” the prior two games combined tightly campaigns with excellent cooperative functionality and tense competitive multiplayer with great success, but “Gears 3” amps everything up to eleven, and even contains the most robust and well-designed versions of each of those elements along with a far more emotional and impactful narrative than its predecessors. while “Gears of War 3” may not be the best starting point for every player, it is, by all means, the apex of the series.

While nothing was intrinsically with the solo campaigns found in “Gears of War” and “Gears of War 2,” their relentless pace and unending action left the plot missing that special something. “Gears of War 3” changes that for the better. the story picks up two years after the conclusion of “Gears 2,” with Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, and Anya Stroud at sea after the sinking of Jacinto, humanity’s last bastion on the planet Sera. the destruction of the city has not only separated the bands of COG soldiers and other factions of humans, but the Locust and Lambent have also been split apart. the majority of the COG army is at sea in various different warships, acting as floating communities. there are other human factions such as the Stranded who have set up fortresses in abandoned cities, one of which is the home of Augustus Cole, and Delta Squad visits this location early on in the first act. the amount of touching emotional moments is, quite honestly, astounding, considering the fact that this series’ previous attempts at these poignant scenes have fallen pretty flat. most science fiction stories strive to have their middle chapter be the “Empire Strikes Back” of the trilogy and make sure it has the most depressing atmosphere, but “Gears of War 3” subverts that cliché wonderfully. Sure, the moments are predictable, but there’s a certain button that gets pushed when a harrowing event occurs and an instrumental version of “mad World” (which was in a trailer for the first game) is just incredible.

The gunplay and cover mechanics are tighter than ever in “Gears of War 3,” and in my opinion, it’s easily the high point of the trilogy. Moving around feels quicker and more tactile, the recoil and powerful sounds of each weapon are pitch perfect, and the bright, vibrant explosions of the Lambent as the player destroys them is compulsively entertaining. the combat has more of a punch than it did in the past two games, and a number of new weapons may be to commend for this achievement. the Digger, which is something of a mobile land-mine system, is difficult to wrap your head around at first in heavy combat situations, but once you learn to use it effectively, cover will be of no use to the opposition. the magnificently over-powered one Shot (only featured in the campaign, fortunately) lives up to its name in glorious fashion, and the Retro Lancer trumps the OG Lancer as the iconic weapon of the series for me. the way it rips enemies to shreds, the frantic recoil, and devastating effectiveness made me weary to drop it even for something like a Torque Bow, which is still as cool as ever.

One of the things that make the combat more impactful this time around is the absolutely gorgeous aesthetics. Don’t get me wrong, the first two games were technical marvels at the time, and still hold up well today, but they lacked certain flair; namely, imagination and color. “Gears 3” is just the opposite, so much so that when the game’s color palette switches from the normal color to dark, dark greys and browns, I almost stopped playing in disappointment (it switches back in the next chapter or two, so my worry was unfounded, but still). the Lambent glow a pulsating orange, and explode in at least 12 different shades of that. there is a large siege on a fort about halfway through the campaign that takes place in the dead of night, and that luminescence contrasts so well against the night sky. the rocking sea that house Delta Squad is a lovely blue, at least before it flows with red (which is about the same shade as it was last time around. Some things don’t need to change). there are so many visual surprises throughout the campaign that even “Gears of War” veterans will be surprised by the content.

While the single-player campaign is my personal favorite thing about this game, the multi-player element is more robust than both of the previous two games. the competitive multi-player suite is as fun (and occasionally unbalanced-feeling) as ever, and the inclusion of new themed game modes that change week-in and week-out. the ever-popular and ever-cloned Horde mode is back, now with modifiers that can enhance the experience, such as big Head mode or increased damage from enemies. Players also have the ability to place defenses and traps throughout the maps when facing off against the legions of Locust and Lambent, and it provides more ways to go about surviving in this death-trap of a mode. Epic Games has also come up with an interesting twist on Horde mode with Beast mode, where players take the roles of the alien menaces rather than the humans fending off against them.  it may lack the depth and long play-times of Horde mode, but it’s a worthwhile diversion for fans. the famous co-op returns in the single-player campaign, and it works similarly to the way it did in the previous games, only this time, there is an option to play with up to 3 other players as opposed to 1, much like the jump from “Halo 2” co-op to “Halo 3.” there is also an Arcade mode present, which allows the player to go through the same single-player campaign but earn points for kills and reviving team mates, but I did not have the chance to try it out, though I can assume it will work much like it did in “Halo 3.”

There’s a good chance that this won’t actually be the end of this influential and popular series, but that’s not important. “Gears of War 3” provides closure unlike most games, and it delivers the best experience in the trilogy to date. Unless you are starkly opposed to some of the best third-person cover-based combat in the business, buy “Gears of War 3” right now.

Video games are expensive.

This is not a startling revelation or breaking news — it’s afact.

In 2010, consumers spent $25.1 billion on video gameaccessories, content and hardware. according to the EntertainmentSoftware Association, the average gamer is 37 yearsold, meaning adults — not kids — are spending their hard-earnedmoney on this expensive hobby.

So, why is this important?

The video game industry has been struggling for much of 2011.according to the NDP Group, video games sales weredown 26 percent from 2010 through July. much of that can beattributed to a drop in hardware sales, down 29 percent from $313.8million in 2010. That can be explained by the lack of a new consolefrom Microsoft, Nintendo and PlayStation.

The drop in software sales — down 17 percent from $403.3 millionin 2010 — can also be explained.

Much of 2011 has been spent waiting for this — the last fourmonths. The last quarter of 2011 could bring record profits for theindustry, but it could also bankrupt gamers in the process.

It started Tuesday, with the highly-anticipated release ofGears of War3. it continues in October with the release ofForza Motorsports 4 (Oct. 11),Batman: Arkham City (Oct. 18) andBattlefield3 (Oct. 18).

November is ridiculous, as Uncharted 3 (Nov. 1), Modern Warfare3 (Nov. 8), Elder Scrolls V (Nov. 11) andHaloCombat Evolved Anniversary (Nov. 15) all hit theshelves.

I didn’t even mention Driver: San Francisco (Sept. 27),FIFA 12 (Sept. 30) or Saints Row: TheThird (Nov. 15).

It’s an exciting time to be a gamer, but it’s also a frustratingone.

While publishers made the curious decision to save their bestgames for last, consumers are left making the tough decisions.

How can I spend $60 on Gears of War 3, play it for a month,then plop down another $60 for Battlefield 3?

There will always be fans devoted to a franchise. it doesn’tmatter when it came out, but I was going to buy Gears of War 3.it doesn’t matter when it comes out, but I’m going to buy SaintsRow: The third. The moment those games are announced, they’resecured in my entertainment budget.

Would I love to get into Batman:Arkham City? Absolutely. Battlefield3, Modern Warfare 3 or FIFA12? yes, yes and yes. However, there are only so manyhours in the day and so many dollars in my wallet.

There are a number of franchises (Assassin’sCreed, Mass Effect, Bioshock) I’d love to experience, but cost ofentry is just too steep. I fell in love with Red Dead Redemption earlier this year, but italso took me nearly three months to complete.

I understand publishers and developers also face toughdecisions. Games released around the holidays are bound to bebetter sellers. Not only must they please their legions of fans,but stockholders and board members must also be satisfied.

Nearly 75 percent of American households play computer or videogames. over 55 percent of gamers play games on their phone orhandheld devices. so, while more and more people are gaming, thecompetition for their attention — and more importantly theirwallets — is becoming tougher.

It seems like a nice problem to have — too many good games — butthat doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

So, what can be done?

The industry could do a better job of spacing, but who wants tovacate those holiday spots for gaming’s dead period (aka thesummer)? A price drop would sell more games, but it would cut intoprofits divide gamers’ attention across even more titles.

In the end, there’s no magic answer. As the cost of gamescontinues to rise, and the number of quality titles increases, theonus will be on the publishers and developers to create bettergames that justify their price tags.

There will always be a demand for quailty games, no matter howmany flood the market.

And that’s not a revelation or breaking news — it’s a fact.

EA’s soccer sim FIFA 12 has enjoyed a huge amount of success worldwide, with an estimated 3.2 million copies sold in less than a week.

EA estimates that 3.2 million copies of FIFA 12 have found their way into the hands of consumers in less than a week of being on release. This, according to the publisher, makes it the biggest launch in the history of sports video games and the biggest video game launch of 2011 to date. Gears of War 3 is close behind, however — and arguably a more impressive achievement for being a platform exclusive. still, 3.2 million copies is still a lot, assuming EA’s estimates are accurate.

EA reckons that sales figures for FIFA 12 are 23% up on last year’s launch, and noted that the iPhone and iPad version has already sold 879,000 units and achieved the top Grossing App on 30 worldwide storefronts.

October 1 was the busiest day EA Sports’ online servers have ever seen, with more than 10 million game sessions running — 8 million of which were FIFA 12 matches.

“FIFA 12 is a stunning achievement by our team at EA Canada,” said Andrew Wilson, executive VP at EA Sports. “The massive FIFA online community has overwhelmingly connected to the new live services in the game, including EA Sports Football Club, and we intend to keep them engaged all season long as FIFA 12 follows the heartbeat of the football season.”

Owning a copy of Gears of War 3 is awesome…

But owning a copy signed by the Gears of War 3 development team, that’s much, much cooler. good news is, that’s exactly what we have for you today, loyal readers (pics below the rules!).

Blockbuster currently has a promotion where all in-storepurchases of Gears of War 3 include a pass for free unlimitedin-store rentals of games and movies for a month. Gears of War 3 isavailable now and the promotion ends this Friday, Oct. 7, 2011. To celebrate,Blockbuster and UGO have teamed up to give away an Epic Games signed copy ofGears of War 3 to one lucky reader!

Here’s how you can win it:

1. Follow @UGOdotcom on Twitter.

2. @UGOdotcom will post a phrase to be retweeted.

3. Retweet the phrase.

4. Tomorrow morning a random person will be picked to win the signed Gears of War 3 game.

Good luck! The winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon!

It seems Epic’s latest opus has proven somewhat popular with the masses, with the franchise firmly cementing itself as a flagship Xbox 360 series.

Major Nelson has announced on his blog that Gears of War 3 has sold more than 3 million copies in its first week since release.

Gears’ success is notable for two main reasons: firstly, in one week, Gears of War 3 has grossed more than any 2011 video game to date; and secondly, its sales have pushed the whole franchise’s lifetime sales well over $1 billion. For a platform exclusive series made up of just three titles, this is an impressive achievement. Microsoft claims that Gears is the first Xbox 360 exclusive franchise to break this $1 billion barrier.

Compared to the previous titles in the series, Gears 3 has performed strongly, with the franchise showing growth that will likely make both Microsoft and Epic very happy. according to VGChartz, the first Gears of War game sold approximately 910,000 copies worldwide in its week of release, while Gears of War 2 sold just under 2 million.

Major Nelson claims that this news “cements Gears 3 as the biggest game of 2011.” Two well known and strongly anticipated games that rhyme with “Cattlefield” and “Ball of Duty” might have something to say about that in the next couple of months. For now, though, a hearty round of applause to Epic and Microsoft.

Check out our review of Gears of War 3 here.