Halo 3 - Legendary Map Pack
I’ve been an advocate for free downloads in the past. I was angry with the price of the Heroic map pack. Surviving the winter with nothing but weak, average maps, stale and weathered like cheap whores, willing to take me in at any given moment, only to disappoint. These new maps were destined for disappointment, I was sure. No way will they be worth the money, can’t wait to laugh in their faces when I get em free! Hahaha – Boy was I wrong.
A few weeks later and my file share is full of Foundry maps, and my favorite race games have been on Rat’s Nest. When Bungie announced the Legendary maps, they came out and said they weren’t planning on making them free. This, along with the quality of the Heroic map pack, gave me the incentive to purchase the 3 Legendary maps at 800 MS points. Only after the purchase did I notice my fileshare expanding from 6 slots up to 25(4 months of Bungie Pro came with download)!
Avalanche, if you didn’t know, is a remake of Sidewinder from the original Halo. It’s a huge outdoor map, shaped like a horseshoe and covered in snow. A Vehicular showcase, most of the human ground vehicles get “snowjobs”, and an aerial vehicle, the Hornet, makes its introduction into Matchmaking, albeit with limited firepower.
Ghost Town is quickly carving a space on my favorites list. Tight quarters and branching hallways means melees and grenade bouncing, but I think this is the smallest map to feel the least claustrophobic of any game, Halo or not. Running around in the lush greenery you never feel boxed in, although the ruins themselves provide three or four vertical levels that give the area depth.
Blackout I think is the crowd pleaser, being a reincarnation of Lockout from Halo 2. I was officially with the crowd of people that was ok with Guardian being a spiritual successor, but now that I have Blackout I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s an accurate remake if you know your Halo, this time they used the backdrop of a human oil rig instead of an alien structure. Balanced and competitive already, they were able to add to the map without changing a lot, I think, with the addition of nighttime lighting. Street lamps and scattered indoor lighting keep the screen from going all Condemned, lets hope we see a few more of these dark maps now that they have that sweet spot down.
Speaking of lighting, don’t forget the color filters available on the three new maps. Available via Forge, you can alter the way Halo outputs color to your TV during a match, whether you want a classic black and white w/smgs scenario for Blackout, or a more bright and colorful Avalanche, all it takes is a drop in item and you’re off and running!
Well worth the 800 MS points
Posted by Erick - April 29th, 2008 -