As U.S. gamers celebrate Thanksgiving today, Microsoft and Epic Games are giving Xbox 360 owners a little something extra to be thankful for: free DLC for Gears of War 3. The Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol “Versus Booster Map Pack” will be available for free today (Nov. 24) only on Xbox Live Marketplace.
The “Versus Booster Map Pack” features five new maps available in social matchmaking playlists, two of which are brand new. The new maps are Bullet Marsh and Clocktower. The other three maps — Azura, Rustlung and Blood Drive — all originally came from the “Horde Command Pack.”
As you likely gathered from the whole Mission: Impossible marketing tie-in, the free download is sponsored by Paramount’s upcoming movie. However, the partnership goes deeper than that. Starting on Thanksgiving, gamers who visit the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol experience on Xbox Live can enter to win Gears of War 3 and Mission: Impossible prizes. The grand prize is a home theater package including a custom-skinned Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Xbox 360 with Kinect, a 50-inch HDTV, a 5.1 digital HD home theater system and the complete Mission: Impossible series on DVD. To enter, gamers can either watch the movie trailer on Xbox Live, text “Ghost Protocol” to 72579, or download the free Mission: Impossible Gamer Pic & Theme pack. Each activity will gain gamers one extra entry into the sweepstakes. Full details and restrictions will be available in Official Rules presented in the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol experience.
In addition, any Gears of War 3 player who watches the Mission: Impossible trailer and complete the Gears of War 3 campaign on Insane Difficulty by Dec. 25, 2011, either in single- or multiplayer mode, will unlock the exclusive Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Weapon Skin Pack. The “Impossible Mission” five-pack includes a Ghost Protocol Lancer, Hammerburst, Retro Lancer, Gnasher Shotgun and Sawed-off Shotgun.
All players who register and attempt to complete the campaign on Insane Difficulty will have a chance to win prizes, but only those who accomplish “Impossible Mission” by the deadline will receive the exclusive weapons pack. Gamers in the United States who have already completed the campaign on Insane will automatically receive the weapon skin pack on Dec. 31, 2011.
