Fenix Rising, the third ‘Gears of War 3‘ game add-on, dropped this week and with it comes the Re-Up system. While new to the Gears franchise the Re-Up system will be very familiar to Call of Duty fans. ‘Gears of War 3’ players will now be able to progress through the 100 level XP driven rank ladder up to four times. By simply prestige Re-Upping when reaching that 100th level cap the player can start all over again as a lowly level one gear. What does one get for braving the shallows of online gaming you ask? Well animated weapon skins, of course! Emblems will also be awarded to those daring few who would wade waist deep into that river of gore spewing from a curb stomped grub, again, and again, and again. Emblems that will convey for all to see your level of dedication to the Coalition of Ordered Governments.

Fenix Rising isn’t just offering a fall down and subsequent climb back up the ladder. We are also getting five new multiplayer maps that will be available across all game types including Hoard and Beast. Four new multiplayer character skins, two COG and two Locust, come packed in as well. Lastly seven new achievements totaling 250 points will bring the total gamerscore of ‘Gears of War 3’ up to 1750.

The New Maps:

  • 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.

Multiplayer Skins

COG

  • Recruit Clayton
  • Thrashball Cole

Locust

  • Savage Marauder
  • Savage Kantus

Fenix Rising Achievement List

  • Now They Begin to Understand – Complete 12 waves of Beast on all Fenix Rising Maps.  (20 points)
  • Defending the Past – Complete all 50 waves of Horde on any of the Fenix Rising Maps.  (25 points)
  • Come to Poppa – Win a Versus multiplayer match as a team of five Recruit Claytons (any mode).  (15 points)
  • Locust, Forever – Win a Versus multiplayer match as a team of five Savage Marauders (any mode).  (15 points)
  • Time to Re-up – Achieve level 100 and choose to re-up for another tour of duty. (50 points)
  • Again! – Achieve level 100 a second time and choose to re-up for another tour of duty.  (50 points)
  • I’ve Done it All! – Earn at least one of each of the original 132 combat ribbons.  (75 points)

Map details, skins, and achievement list via epicgames.com