Published December 5, 2007

Check out the Red vs. Blue video
preview of the Heroic Map Pack!

The Heroic Map Pack is upon us and thanks to the good folks at Bungie, I had an opportunity to go hands-on for several hours with the three new and individually unique multiplayer maps for Halo® 3.

Spending five to six quality hours with the new content will teach you a lot, not the least of which is despite the fact Halo 3 has been available for two-plus months now, Bungie members can still take us behind the woodshed for a good sound thrashing.

Standoff is a balanced, symmetrical map.

Playlist Notes
Veterans of Halo 2 will remember that new maps necessitated a separate Matchmaking playlist option. The refined Matchmaking service in Halo 3 makes this unnecessary, so you can stick with your favorite options confident that the new maps will receive a healthy rotation. That said, a separate playlist will exist for those that want to play the new maps exclusively.

It's also worth noting that you can expect all Matchmaking playlists to undergo a shift in game types and map rotations shortly after the Heroic Map Pack releases.

Symmetrical Chaos of Standoff
If ever there was a map perfectly balanced for classic four-on-four action, it's Standoff. This moderately sized, African desert-themed map sports two identical bases separated by a shallow ravine (the natural chokepoint for action) and surrounded by pathways tailor-made for Warthog and Mongoose tactics.

Time for some "Capture the Flag."

Each base has three entrances: a front door, back door, and a lower-level tunnel that can be unlocked by triggering a switch inside the base. Atop each base also stands a machine gun turret capable of devastating infantry crossing the middle of the map, and, just as important, the viewpoint allows you to spot enemy movements from one end of the map to the other.

While Slayer and Team Slayer matches are great fun on Standoff, its symmetrical, two-base design makes it ideal for four-on-four Team Objective games.

The Foundry Experiment
Bungie's answer to all Forge-loving fans is the Foundry. This vast warehouse-based map is (initially) filled with giant boxes, ramps, stairs, and all manner of objects and weapon placements for a balanced out-of-the-box experience. However, aside from the ceiling, floors, and the walls of the warehouse itself, nearly every single object can be moved, taken away and replaced. Even the internal walls separating the two "bases" can be knocked down if you're so inclined.

The Foundry is perfect for Forge enthusiasts.

The Foundry is a Forge map through and through. It is the quintessential Halo 3 playground, just waiting for a gamer's creative genius to transform it into something unexpected and clever. For example, a couple of Bungie developers spent a scant twenty minutes converting the Foundry into a gravity-hammer powered soccer field, complete with giant soccer balls, cones, enormous open-ended crates that filled in for goals and even man-cannons that simulated corner kicks. This wildly unique variant proved endlessly entertaining and really only scratched the surface of the capabilities of both the Forge system and the Foundry map.

The Heroic Map Pack also comes complete with a host of new items to use when editing a map with the Forge, such as stairs, giant walls, energy-shield walls, man-cannons, and, yes, even the aforementioned super-sized soccer balls. While Foundry is certainly prime pickings for these items, they're available across every map, both new and old.

The action gets intense pretty quickly.

One Big Rat's Nest
If Standoff is geared towards smaller skirmishes and Foundry is inspired by the Forge, Rat's Nest represents the Heroic Map Pack's answer to large-scale combat. Set in an underground bunker inspired by the Crows Nest level in the Campaign mode of Halo 3, Rat's Nest is simultaneously vast and compact.

Rat's Nest is a large underground bunker.

Its outer edges favor Warthog (there are two per team) battles and Mongoose raids around a wide track (one side of which features a spectacular outdoor vista) that allow for quick strikes on an enemy base. Infantry can cut through the middle of the base through a series of multi-leveled interior courtyards, hallways and industrial-themed rooms, the most central of which contains by default the always popular sniper rifle and a devastating machine gun turret mounted well above the battlefield. Perhaps more than any other map, Rat's Nest inspires two styles of play as vehicle combat and infantry firefights exist equally but (for the most part) separately.

Lots of firepower in this level.

The Heroic Map Pack offers three unique and distinctive experiences. From the compact, perfectly symmetrical Standoff to the Forge-happy Foundry and the big team-inspired Rat's Nest, every map fills a desired niche and most importantly, adds more life and variety to the already inspired multiplayer experience of Halo 3.

The Heroic Map Pack will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace Dec. 11th, 2007.

Article by Ryan Treit