anyway, this pack features 5 maps from events in the life of Marcus Fenix: Academy, Anvil, Depths, Escalation, and The Slab. Academy is the campus of Oracle Academy, which Marcus' father Adam planned for him to attend. however, Marcus broke tradition and followed Dom into the COG army. Anvil is based off of the Anvil Gate fortress seen in Gears of War 3. (which is not where Marcus betrayed orders to save his father, that was some other battle.) Depths is a piece from the island Azura, where (if you somehow haven't finished Gears 3's campaign yet, major spoilers ahead. be warned) Marcus rescues Adam and in the process kills all the Locust and Lambent.
(spoiler free zone again)
Escalation is a map that's been in the Gears franchise since the beginning (or at least, Gears 1 on PC) so there's not much else to say about it. and, fans of the series will recognize The Slab as the prison that Dom breaks Marcus out of in the first Gears game.
Fenix Rising also comes with 4 new character skins: Recruit Clayton Carmine, Cole Train: Limited Edition, Savage Kantus: Limited Edition, and Savage Maurader. this is where the pack takes a nosedive. unless Clayton was in the same training as Marcus, i don't see any connection to Marcus' past like the maps have established. as those who played the beta know, Cole Train (or, Thrashball Cole) was originally exclusive to those who completed enough matches of the beta. i personally think Epic should've kept it that way. now, what makes this one different from the beta unlock? the Limted Edition character has blue pants rather than white ones, the blue ones also have a silver reflective stripe going down the side of each leg. that's it.
the Limited Edition Kantus model, is the only Savage Kantus i have so i don't have much to compare him to. i'd imagine there was also very small changes done to his armor or something, much like there was to Cole Train's. the Marauder is without a doubt the best character in this pack. his face is covered in bandages, except his mouth which has fangs sticking out of it. his skin also looks to be a bit rougher and more spiky than any other Locust thus far.
(i mean, look at it.)
overall, i'm somewhat disappointed with this pack. the maps are really great from what i've played of them so far, but the characters left a bit to be desired. half of them are just rehashes of already existing characters. at least the Horde Command pack gave some interesting character variations (such as Big Rig Dizzy). what really grinds my gears here is that those of us who did the work in the beta to unlock Cole Train for the retail version should be the only ones who get to have him, not just anybody with enough points for the pack. what's next, the beta-exclusive flaming weapon skins will be up for purchase? at least i'd still have my beta tester medal.
***RATING***- 3/5
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