Epic has promised at least four DLC packs to be released for their most recent blockbuster release, the extremely popular Gears of War 3. As an avid Gears of War 3 player myself, I am very excited for the first DLC offering, due to be released over Xbox Live for a mere 800 Microsoft Points (which is quite a bargain when you realize Activision was demanding a whopping 1200 MSP for their Call of Duty DLC packs).

Details for the first pack, entitled the Horde Command Pack, have been revealed! As the title of the DLC suggests, this DLC offering mainly focuses on the game’s Horde mode, adding new maps, characters, and skins.

The three new maps are Blood Drive, Rustlung, and Azura. Blood Drive is actually a re-do of the fan-favorite Blood Drive from Gears of War 2. Rustlung, meanwhile, is a brand new map that takes place on a battleship. Horde enthusiasts will be interested to know that Rustlung features a useable Silverback mech without the need to actually purchase it! Without spoiling anything from the campaign, the third new map, Azura, is based off of the final levels in Gears 3′s campaign.

Meanwhile, the DLC pack also introduces new fortifications to mix things up a bit. The brand new Command Center fortification allows players to call in various types of support. At the first level of upgrades, you can call in a sniper team to pick off enemies from afar. Upgrade it again, and you will be saved from danger by a crafty mortar team. The final upgrade will call in a devastating burst of Hammer of Dawn strikes from the sky.

Older fortifications are getting a facelift as well. The decoy can be upgraded further into an Onyx Guard that will actually fight for you. Also, the sentry gun turret fortification will be able to be upgraded to shoot fire bolts, which will help in those boss rounds that feature those pesky Beserkers. Finally, the Silverback is also getting an upgrade to include more devastating rocket attacks and less cost when it comes to repairing the behemoth.

Along with these new features, the Horde Command Pack will also include three brand new characters for the entire Gears of War 3 multiplayer experience. The new characters are an Onyx Guard – Chairman Prescott’s elite military unit; Big Rig Dizzy – Assumedly a “civilian” costume for Dizzy; and Bernie – a character that hasn’t been featured in any of the Gears of War games so far.

Finally, this DLC will add more achievements, worth a total of 250 possible Gamerscore. Not only that, but two more skins for your weapons, one skin entitled Team Plasma (Pokemon?!) and another Jungle Camo.

Check back to Cheat Masters for more when the Horde Command Pack launches on November 1st, and for future DLC announcements!