Gears 2 Flashback Pack on sale for all News

8 January, 2009

Microsoft and Epic have made the Gears of War 2 Flashback Multiplayer Map Pack available to everyone on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Every copy of Gears 2 ships with a redeemable code that can be used to download the pack for free, so presumably its availability is designed to wring money out of the second-hand games market, or punish idiots who've lost their code.

Said idiots will have to pay 400 Microsoft Points (GBP 3.40 / EUR 4.80) to download the pack, which consists of five maps from the original Gears of War.

These are Canals, Gridlock, Mansion, Subway and Tyro Station. We've always been a bit partial to Gridlock and Tyro, as it goes.

The pack is 116MB in size and if you've left your Xbox 360 on at home you can set off the download via the web-based Marketplace.

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bad09

08/01/09 @ 08:35

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Or you could just play gears 1 online. It actually works......

DFawkes

08/01/09 @ 08:47

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If you got yourself a pre-owned copy after Christmas, and don't want to have to buy Gears 1, at least they're available. Not that I'm a big Gears online fan, but I do like Mansion.

mazzl

08/01/09 @ 10:21

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why don't they make it a free download if they handed a code with the game.....

systems

08/01/09 @ 10:23

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I think that's a good plan. Give a code for all the goodies to the original purchaser and then you can buy it second hand if you want but you have to pay for the extras. That way the devs get a little cash from preowned stuff.

I'm surprised noone thought of it before.

Denouncer

08/01/09 @ 10:48

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Unfortunately not everyone received the DLC map pack. Microsoft South Africa decided we shouldn't get the codes because we aren't an official Xbox Live country (which is solely because Microsoft can't get their act together - even so they've been promising it for years now). They removed all the codes from the GOW2, including the the DLC from the limited edition. Oh, and we paid exactly the same price as everyone else did, even though we didn't get the full product...

And now we have to pay even more for something which should've been included in the first place.

Edited 1 times, most recently on 08/01/09 @ 10:48

Skooch

08/01/09 @ 10:49

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Makes great sense - its not like you HAVE to buy the maps but if you buy it second hand and want them then you have to pay.

Farzlepot

08/01/09 @ 11:14

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"why don't they make it a free download if they handed a code with the game..... "

I think the idea is that if you bought the game new and used the code, and then trade it in for something else, whoever buys that game second-hand will have to pay to get the download pack. As the article suggested, it's probably so that they can get some money out of second-hand sales. It's actually an ingenious solution to the whole second-hand 'problem', certainly a better idea than trying to lock games to the first console they are played on.

Thunderbolt!

08/01/09 @ 11:43

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Denouncer,

Sorry to hear that especially since I know how much games cost in South Africa

subtlesnake

08/01/09 @ 13:28

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I imagine this also helps Microsoft to quantify the scale of the second hand 'problem'.

Man_s

08/01/09 @ 14:46

#10

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I feel for you Denouncer, although my situation is slightly different as I have the limited edition codes but they don't work for me. I've contacted Microsoft and they've been unable to resolve the issue so far. And I know of at least 2 more people who have the same problem regarding the map pack codes...

ruined

08/01/09 @ 15:49

#11

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It shouldnt be a free download

Pre-owned doesn't give Epic any money, the only people who profit from it are the shops. I'm with the studio on this one they have no reason to do a favour for people who didnt buy their game.

Gears 2 probably cost 50 million to develop. Recouping that money is made a lot harder by the fact every retailer does pre-owned now

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