Gears of War content on Weds

Epic Games has confirmed that this week will see the release of a Gears of War patch and two new downloadable maps, as well as an "introductory video" starring lead designer Cliff Bleszinski.

The two new maps, Old Bones and Raven Down, are detailed below, and you can check out screenshots elsewhere on the site. They'll both be out on 10th January. Early reports mentioned the 11th, but Epic's Mark Rein says that's the Australian release date.

The patch part of the arrangement is what Rein has previously described as a "housekeeping" update designed to tackle a few issues that were causing problems for the game's substantial userbase. Epic had hoped to get it out before Christmas, but festive constraints seemed to put paid to that.

Anyway, without further ado, here's some info on Old Bones and Raven Down:

• Old Bones: In an attempt to eradicate any traces of human history and culture, the Locust Horde has emerged under Sera's Capitaline Museums and has begun to destroy them brick by brick. Each gamer's mission is to help the Delta Force recapture the museums before all remnants of humankind's existence are obliterated.

• Raven Down: A Raven Helicopter has gone down in the middle of a large scale battle with the omnipresent Locust Horde. Gears have taken out the Seeder and gamers join Delta Forces moving into the crash site from all angles to search for survivors.

Don't forget to check the screenshots, too.