(photo: credits)

I still own my copy of Gears of War 2 however I haven’t played it in a while… But, since the developers of Gears of War 2 have announced that they will be updating the game’s ranking system to a new system that is based on experience instead of purely on skill. I just may consider popping my Gears of War 2 game back into my Xbox 360 for a few more rounds of fighting with my friends. The update for this ranking system is due March 24.

Some of the issues that are going to be addressed in the update at that which follow;

Improvements
Adds an experience penalty for players quitting before a match is complete.
Adds the ability for teams to talk to each other between rounds in a Private Match.
View more…

Exploit Fixes
A player holding a meatshield could melee through some walls.
A player could prevent planted shields from being picked up by other players.
View more…

General Fixes
An elevation-based issue where the detection for a headshot might not align properly with certain character model heads.
An issue that could cause Wingman teammates to have different character models.
View more…

Balancing
Reduces the delay before a player can climb up after entering low cover.
Makes minor changes to weapon spawns on the Subway map to provide greater balance.
View more…

In addition to the updates there is the Snowblind Map Pack, a four-map collection with a wintry theme which will be available on March 31. The update will also add nine new achievements based on the new map pack and ranking system. Here are those achievements and what they have to offer points wise as well as experience wise…

• “Rookie Gear” (10 points): Earn enough multiplayer experience to reach level 5 (Public only).
• “Seasoned Gear” (20 points): Earn enough multiplayer experience to reach level 15 (Public only).
• “Battle-Tested Gear” (30 points): Earn enough multiplayer experience to reach level 25 (Public only).
• “Battle-Hardened Gear” (50 points): Reach level 50 and play a match on each of the four Snowblind Map Pack maps (Public only).
• “Veteran Gear” (75 points): Reach level 100 and win a match on each of the four Snowblind Map Pack maps (Public only).
• “Never Eat Red Snow” (20 points): Complete waves 1 through 10 on all Snowblind Map Pack maps in Horde (any difficulty).
• “Icy Dead People” (25 points): Complete waves 1 through 50 on any Snowblind Map Pack map in Horde (any difficulty).
• “Frigid Body Dynamics” (5 points): Play a multiplayer match on each of the four Snowblind Map Pack maps (any mode).
• “The Weather Outside Is Lethal” (15 points): Win a multiplayer match on each of the four Snowblind Map Pack maps (any mode).

For more information about the Gears of War 2 New Maps as well as the update & rankings the check out the Xbox / Gears of War 2 page.