As you may already know, the Halo 3 Heroic Map pack was released on Xbox Live yesterday, for 800 Microsoft points (£6.80 / $10). This is a quick overview of the three maps included:

Standoff

The standard two-bases-one-valley design imbues the map with a touch of familiarity for Halo fans. But the map itself is far removed from the long, open gorges of Coagulation and Blood Gulch.

The 'base' concept has been stepped up, providing veritable hill-dug labyrinths with a variety of entrances. Of course, the bases are accompanied by a plethora of vehicles, withholding that old standard. The map is smaller than that of it's supposed predecessors, and that creates a more strategic game, with snipers taking more of a support role rather than owning the battlefield from their perch atop the base.

It makes for excellent team play, the size of the map superbly suited to 4v4, and can easily accommodate more. With the addition of shield doors and mancannons to the forge pallet, this map will make for some interesting mods indeed. And, of course, it looks damned cool, surrounded by large satellite dishes and with missile silos dotted around the map.

Rat's Nest

Based heavily on the campaign level 'Crow's Nest', this 'indoor vehicular paradise' certainly does impress. It consists of a large corridor surrounding two bases, with an aesthetically pleasing small outside portion.

It introduces a whole new style of play, with drive-bys being the most popular tactic. For the traditionalist, there is a central chamber that can be used to gain access to the enemy's base. Vehicular races could be easily possible with a small tweak here and there, and the layout is just perfect for that kind of alternate gameplay. Despite being inside,

It's hardly a small map, and it can easily accommodate 16 players. However, many are left standing around without a vehicle, and this takes some of the fun away from the game.

Foundry

Although the default layout of Foundry is certainly an extremely fun (not to mention frantic) close-quarters scenario, it's true value lies in Forge.

Delete everything in the room, and you have an empty room, ready to be re-made into anything you want it to be. Almost every forge item in the entire game is availiable for your placing pleasure, along with a few special items (such as the soccer ball). It's hard to review a map that isn't one until you make it, so I'll close this here.

In all, it's a good deal, considering the hundreds of hours of extended gameplay and the extra forge items you get. For £6.80, why not?

Tags : bungie : Forge : Foundry : Halo : halo 3 : Heroic Map Pack : Map Pack : Master Chief : microsoft : Rats Nest : Red vs Blue : Standoff : Xbox 360

Comments

By: Dragonfly

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On: 04:39 Dec 13th, 2007
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I'm not sure how to feel about these maps, to be honest.

Rat's Nest is clearly inspired by the Counter Strike classic Dust 2; this is no bad thing of course; Dust 2 is one of the longest enduring maps in the multiplayer online FPS scene. But I've never been a fan of such maps. I find convoluted and dramatic maps like Guardian and High Ground more to my favour.

Foundry is barely a map at all, but it's a nice idea, and will hopefully get some attention.

Stand Off seems like it'll be the most dramatic, but I have to say, most of the maps look so generic visually it almost hurts. After seeing such dynamic visual designs as Guardian (can you tell I'm a fan of that map yet?) and Epitaph, they seem a little lacking aesthetically.

At the end of the day though, it all comes down to the gunplay, and I'll reserve my full opinion until I've actually had a chance to play them.

Not at that price though. I can wait until they're free.

By: Corrine

On: 02:56 Dec 17th, 2007
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Ehhhhh. To me, this isn't worth 10 dollars. I didn't pay full price for the game and I wouldn't pay this price for the expansion thingies.

Especially since the only one that sounds interesting to me is the Foundry, but I'd get bored of that once I built it a few times. That's how I am with the Sims, and other building-type games; once it's done, I have nothing to keep me playing.

By: Black Templar

On: 01:02 Jan 7th, 2008
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800 MS points?
No offence to any1 but I aint gona pay for new maps that im gona get bored of eventually.

By: Dragonfly

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On: 09:58 Jan 8th, 2008
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Mandalore013;40353

800 MS points?
No offence to any1 but I aint gona pay for new maps that im gona get bored of eventually.

Wait until the next map-packs come out. Microsoft have already stated that past map-packs will become available for free when a new one comes out, so it seems a bit pointless to actually waste money on them.