Gears shipping with 10 MP maps

Xbox 360 owners who haven't heard about Gears of War yet are few and far between. The anticipated shooter from Epic Games is the console's flagship title this holiday season, almost single-handedly battling the launches of the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3.

Though the game will showcase a promising single-player campaign, its multiplayer action is sure to test the servers of Xbox Live. Late last week, Epic Games designer Cliffy B gave gamers even more reason to get excited about Gears of War--the game will ship with two more multiplayer maps than expected.

Originally slated to ship with eight battlegrounds, Gears of War will now have 10 versus maps, said Cliffy B on the game's official forums. He went on to say that the initial number of eight multiplayer maps was "to be on the safe side."

Gears of War begins shipping November 7 to select retailers with nationwide availability expected on "Emergence Day," November 12. For more information on the multiplayer modes of Gears of War, read GameSpot's preview from X06.