Gears of War has become a gaming phenomenon and with Epic’s release of the All Fronts Collection for Gears 2, it’s gifted the franchise with more maps and a deleted scene. First off, there are two options with this new bundle. For 1600 MS points you get the new maps and the deleted scene, plus all of the previously released maps, including Flashback, Combustible, and Snowblind, totaling out at 19. This is the best deal for anyone not having the previous maps, but adds some annoyance to those Gears loyalists already having shelled out the 10 bones for each bundle. For 1200 MS points you can specifically get the new maps and the deleted scene.

So let’s break it down. Like I said, there are seven new maps.

Highway’s architecture has locust written all over it. It even looks like them, blending in with their skin and armor, in what I think could give the locusts a slight advantage. When spawning you have a choice to either take the high road or the low one, each offering different advantages, whether it be high ground or power weapons. This is a choice map for Horde, as the center platforms place you in the middle of the map, looking down to staircases in front of you.

Allfather's Garden changes up the pace, placing you in the middle of a tranquil scene with memorials and calm flowing fountains. There are COG symbols marking the area as a thunderstorm brews in the background. On the top of the map you will find sniper rifles. Yup, two of them on opposite ends, while the Boomshot resides on the other end on a ledge, looking like a gift to all. It’s tight, but by learning the corners, it will open up to you.

Memorial sets the stage in an autumnal landscape with a large circular structure in the middle of the area where the mortar sits. The weapon of choice here is definitely the Boomshot. Each match usually starts with a race for it on the opposite side of the map. Lots of yellows and greens brighten up the soon to be bloody scene.  

Nowhere’s title says it all. That’s exactly where you feel like you are, in the middle of nowhere. Dusty winds cut down on your visibility as you embark on this smaller styled map in an abandoned motel and gas station. Even though it’s smaller, the attention to detail gives Nowhere something all its own. The high ground has great perspective for the mortar and the abandoned saloon offers up circular bars for cover, allowing you to creep underneath for unique angled shots.

Sanctuary, once only available for the PC, now makes its appearance on the 360. Sanctuary is a cemetery with winding stairs and an overlooking bridge where you can post up almost undetected. Tombstones make for great cover while lamps, fog,  and dead trees, bring this map to life.

War Machine, a fan favorite from Gears 1 makes it way to Gears 2 as an instant classic. It’s an abandoned terminal station with high ground advantage with power weapons causing teams to usually split up after the first spawn. The new War Machine has a darker feel than the more animated and bright version from the original Gears.

Way Station, at first glance looks like the Ruins map from Gears 2. It has similar walls and architecture, but nothing could be further from reality once you start playing. Its corridors are long and narrow, funneling much of the action to the upstairs area on the opposite side of spawn. It’s another map that will be a pleasant addition for Horde because of its vantage point, like Highway, gives you an grand perspective of the landscape.

The deleted scene, entitled, Road to Ruin, picks up somewhere in the middle of the campaign (spoiler alert) right after Dom finds his wife Maria encased in a locust chamber resembling some kind of bumbling Feral Ghoul from Fallout 3. You have two options at the start of the scene, Stealth or Guns Blazin’. Each option is short, about 20 minutes or so, but a good ride nonetheless. Guns Blazin’ offers up some good old fashioned Gears style gun play as you scream through the locust area, not giving a shit who hears you, killing anything in your path. Stealth is where the freshness is packed. Dressed in locust armor, Marcus and Dom must sneak past the locusts in plain site, without getting to close, in order not to get sniffed out, literally. This stealth option leaves you wanting more and wondering why it wasn’t an option used in the original game. It takes a break from the madness in the Gears campaign and let’s you hold on to a different mind state, if only for a few minutes.

But let me back up for just a second; rewind. Before the deleted scene even starts we’re graced with Gears game designer, Cliff Bleszinski, wearing what can only be described as diamond encrusted earrings, spouting about what a deleted scene is, and what it meant to him. Now if you don’t know what a deleted scene is, there’s a good chance you’re living on a polygamist compound watching your fourth wife clean out your 14th kid's shit filled diaper, instead of buying the new DLC content for Gears 2. Come on Cliff!

Now Cliffy already has a love/hate relationship with some of his fan base and seeing his almost minute long monologue gave me a chuckle. He didn’t decide to pop it in on the option menu, no; Cliffy made it a mandatory watch every single time you load up the new scene, no matter how many times you play it over. Given, you have the option to skip it, but the placement of his speech screams, “I love me!” The problem is that we don’t love “you” Cliffy; we just love your game.