XBL annexes Gears of War update

Free update to Xbox 360 shooter adds King of the Hill-esque mode called Annex; tweaks to gameplay, VGA cable support also added.

One week ago, Gears of War fans got in a tizzy when Epic Games vice president Mark Rein revealed that the game's next update was "almost here." Rein said the update was out of Epic's hands and in the final stages of Microsoft's certification process.

Today, Microsoft announced that it has given the update the thumbs up and will release it over Xbox Live Marketplace at 4 p.m. PDT.

Not just a few tweaks to bugs, the update will add a new multiplayer mode called Annex. In Annex, two teams will battle to occupy key map locations like a standard King of the Hill or Domination match. Each map contains two to five key locations, and throughout the match the area to be controlled will move.

Also included in the update is VGA cable support, tweaks to the Boomshot and Hammer of Dawn weapons, and several bug and exploit fixes.

The update is free, unlike other Gears of War content that was recently revealed to be offered initially at a "reasonable price" before becoming free months down the line.

296 Comments

  • tonymatt225

    Posted May 2, 2007 7:31 am PT

    use your brains, not your gun ^_^

  • tonymatt225

    Posted May 2, 2007 7:27 am PT

    people who complain about host powers are losers and dont know how to play strategicly. when playing against the host, dont use a shotgun. let your partner use the shotgun and you use the lancer and mow him to pieces. run forward and strafe then chainsaw. then your partner takes out the guy who is waiting to blow your face off. but if the host kills your partner, switch to shotgun, run forward while shooting, punch him, back up and gut-check him. simple isnt it?

  • Young_Taizy

    Posted Apr 24, 2007 8:58 am PT

    Ever since the patch has come out, Gears has become even more unplayable. It seems to be more broken then before the update. And playing against the host is almost impossible. I like that the gotten rid of all the bugs, but at the cost of a fun online experience. I don't know about this Epic!!!

  • db_massive

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 8:01 pm PT

    the sticky cover spots are no good i think this update should have included a dedicated server from epic because i just started hosting ranked maches and it is a totally unfair game if you are not hosting i've lost a lot of multiplayer respect from this totally unfair host advantage even though it is possible to waist your time trying to learn to deal with the second delay if you are not host!! end of story-crimzon doom-

  • UnrealPro

    Posted Apr 20, 2007 11:22 pm PT

    What exactly did they do to the Boomshot and Hammer? Reduce the blast radius? With this update it seems harder to use the special weapons. I mean, it made no sense to begin with that the Boomshot couldn't kill a guy if the rocket landed RIGHT NEXT to him. It would only be an insta kill if the rocket is DEAD ON, and I really do mean dead on. As for the Hammer, that weapon is stupid in that it can't just be targeted over any ground area. Hell, the surfaces themselves are messed up in Gears of War, in multiplayer there are now too many spots to get stuck and it is very annoying. Finally, I missed the way you could just keep playing even after someone quit. I hate having to see "Connection Error" and pause the game EVERY TIME a sore loser quits. Not only is it time consuming just like it was in Halo 2, but my connection is fast as all hell, there's no way I should be getting lame pauses like that.

  • addybody

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 11:14 am PT

    they couldnt put weapon kill achievments, it would be too easy as there r respawns

  • heelflipdarkslide

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 3:01 pm PT

    I love Annex, the game is finally worth playing now that it has respawns. Really disappointed about it not counting for achievements, though, as I actually enjoy annex enough to get the weapon kills. To hell with the other counterstrike clone modes.

  • wkfd_strath

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 2:05 am PT

    What does it mean VGA cable support? As in support for the cable to connect my 360 to a monitor? I've completed Gears of War playing through that already. Have I missed something? I thought it supported it already?

  • SPARTAN013

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 8:27 pm PT

    cool

  • datniccah187

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 3:52 pm PT

    10 more mintues and it should be available. I'll prolly download the contend after i get home from work tonight though.

  • BigDaveyDogz

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 10:28 am PT

    whoever is complaining about the update was most likely using most of the glitches prior...and now all they can do is whine!!!

    yeah the walls are stickier...but I adjusted.

  • SeilaChhay

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 7:38 pm PT

    i personally thought they shouldn't have fix the weapon side. i thought it was fare vs the Host advantage. Im not sure they fix the crab walk but i swear to god i wish they did a re-patch because after this new one, i keep getting stuck on random walls that i usually never get suck while rody running

  • mforbesy

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 10:42 am PT

    Annex, a game mode that usually come with FPS's at release as well as deathmatch & CTF, just isnt that fun. Spawn killing, long bleed outs, major frame rate drops, & idiotic mad-dashs to the spot without any strategy or teamwork needed sucks. CTF would have been much better with the team aspect of the game. It's just not even close to as much fun as Execution w/5 sec bleed out. My fav. The fixes are all great except for the cover system that has been accually made much worse. Epic can you please fix this in your next update. Also more host options would be nice. Thanks.

  • scottmafiaz

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 7:08 am PT

    This game works sooo much better after this update. People should stop complaining that they can't cheat anymore.

  • wakko19991

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 4:54 am PT

    i dont get it wwaht do they mean by vga cable support? the 360 already supports vga and I plays gears on vga... what am I missing?

  • Thorpe89 Site moderator

    Posted Apr 15, 2007 4:51 pm PT

    The new mode is great but lasts very long.

  • aarakv

    Posted Apr 14, 2007 6:05 pm PT

    it is different and there is a lot of detail. the story is also good

  • escalade1

    Posted Apr 14, 2007 8:44 am PT

    Its better than any of the other game types, its just like warzone but more fast paced as you respawn. Yea spawn camping is a problem, i do it too but you get invincibility for about 20s just watch out for the chainsaws!
    Annex is awsome , no doubt.

  • High_Spy

    Posted Apr 14, 2007 8:15 am PT

    You guys need to all stop complaining. Host advantage was tweaked. I killed the host up to thiry times yesterday one on one in Annex. All of you can't make games for your life and you know it, but the guys at Epic actually worked hard and learned. One of the greatest games ever is before you and yet you still seem to complain. WTF?

  • mel8o8

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 10:48 pm PT

    this is a sweet game-type ....move over warzone daddy has a new boy toy...

  • amntjones

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 6:47 pm PT

    only bad thing about Annex is that anyone who plays against me gets spawn killed! BWAHAHAHA!!!

  • Lobezno_D

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 3:16 pm PT

    cannot wait to try this!!! its going to own.

  • lithus

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 11:56 am PT

    I simply don't like Annex. It's way too eratic and completely destroys the whole point of GoW's strategy. Now it's just an idiotic mad-dash to who ever gets there first. Don't know if anyones noticed, but by not killing someone who's been downed, it totally screws up the fairness. Not only do you have to sit there and bleed out, but than you have to wait for a possible 14 second respawn. This should have been like Battlefield 1942's capture points.

  • BranKetra

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 8:45 am PT

    Prince_DarkDrop "With a lot of these glitches fixed a lot of you are going to have to to learn to play for real I see a big change in the leader boards.
    I was so sick of all the damn glitching."

    I can hardly wait to sneak my way to the top.

  • Prince_DarkDrop

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 12:56 am PT

    With a lot of these glitches fixed a lot of you are going to have to to learn to play for real I see a big change in the leader boards.
    I was so sick of all the damn glitching.

  • young_hood

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 9:36 pm PT

    Love it... we need bigger teams.. BUT I STILL LOVE THE GAME

  • The_Houston_Kid

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 7:24 pm PT

    Yea the walls are more sticky now but after about 3-4 hours of play with it I managed to adjust to the new sensitivity. The only problem with annex is it doesnt count towarsd achievements like "Seriously..." and "It's a spider"

    I dont know how i will ever get 300 grenade tags especially with a superior game type out now... i must have about 30-40 on ranked matches...

  • drgonzo690

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 7:12 pm PT

    Annex has a added something really cool to Gears, but the only problem is that you need a good team with good, strong teamwork. I'm not saying that just screwing around in Gears online is stupid, but Annex really requires something other than your team consisting of prepubescent kids running around being retards. Glad that Epic is keeping this free.

  • TKisfun

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 6:54 pm PT

    the walls are way too sticky now

  • raydnex

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 6:20 pm PT

    Thank god that Epic make this gameplay free, i could kiss them and might going to buy UT 2007.

  • benjy117

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 1:16 pm PT

    Two things I have to say. Respawn. Deathmatch. Um it would be nice.

  • LocastKilla21

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 10:32 am PT

    Annex is awesome non-stop action fun. They have fixed most the glitches but i can still weapon slide not with A and X either. Still good update and keep them coming.

  • flavort

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 10:12 am PT

    This new multiplayer is great. Just don't put too many rounds and a long holding time, or the game is way too long. Also does anybody know all the other changes. Achievements, weapon usage, I noticed you cant hold the trigger while running with the shotgun.

  • cloud1985

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 8:04 am PT

    cannot believe people are complaining about an update that has been created by the people who have basically made one of the greatest games ever made, so that it improves there original game. not only are they trying to fix things they missed first time round but there giving it out for free and giving us more game types. people who complain at these type of things need to look at what they are saying.

    Plus Annex is a really fun gametype that gets even better if you remove some of the more powerful weapons like boomer and longshot an replace them with frags. it get so crazy its hard not to have fun.

    Thanx Epic keep em coming!

  • redfox66

    Posted Apr 12, 2007 5:45 am PT

    Only just ordered this game recently, can't wait till it arrives gonna play it on co-op with my friend!

  • The_AI

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 5:06 pm PT

    Sweet! I wish I owned a 360...

  • runrunguru

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 3:50 pm PT

    thats why it will be better than halo 3, free content, halo 2 is already having contnent that has to be purchased

  • stugiff

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 11:48 am PT

    this is what we GOWers want, more, More, MORE.

    as for free, yes of course it should be if microsoft argue it, then the developers should post notice in relevent places, Mags papers etc, that the content is available via it's web site which can be dowloaded to pc then imported into the 360 either by media centre support or by burning onto disc and installing manually,

    Can this be done????

  • matty_sen

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 11:14 am PT

    nice! the new game mod is mint!
    and no more god dammed glitchs at lest not under the level ones they piss me off

    by the way theres four new maps comeing up there ready to go but
    epic games and M$ are not agreing epic are saying they should be free but M$ think they should be more £$£$ M$ ARE STARTING TO GET ON MY NERVE i herd this from www.oxm.co.uk

  • emerald101

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 9:41 am PT

    Free is the way it should be!!!

  • jhz

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 9:16 am PT

    Also included in the update:

    *All characters now have a coating of glue, making the characters stick to walls more frequently.

    Seriously though, runnning is much harder to do now.

  • dejain

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 7:53 am PT

    I like the new gameplay mode people actually try to win the match not just pad there stats, although getting 40+ kills and only gettin 200 points feels weird but the programmers know this would be a kill fest and corrected for it. My main question is what glitches have been fixed? Chainsaw, Weapon pick up slide, host advantage, melee, etc... Can someone tell me?

  • lil_dos

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 1:40 am PT

    is there any way we can let the programmers know that taking cover became more problematic? i had enough trouble sticking to stuff by accident before, but now its happening everywhere, even on surfaces that are parallel to the direction im running!

    (other than that the update is sweet, except for nerfing boom melee imo)

  • Pwnosaurus_Rex

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 10:55 pm PT

    whaaaaaaaaaaaatt? I can't get achievements? oooooooh man!! I have worked hard with that game mode, and you tell me I can't get achievements? aah

  • bendick44

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 9:22 pm PT

    ya, this game would be great in ranked, but u cant get any achevements from it, so ill play this in player. This is the best mode.

  • CrazyArvind

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 9:14 pm PT

    not everyone cares about their e-points going towards their e-scores, thanks.

  • trickazzmark

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 8:02 pm PT

    you get stuck to the wall WAY TOO MUCH! geez..you get waxed almost everytime your near the guy your bout to kill!.

  • stillereize

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 7:57 pm PT

    Thanks for making a ranked game so you CANT get any achievements. Nice. Effing dorks.

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