From the hilarious Red Vs Blue (www.redvblue.com) to the pages upon pages of fanart that can be found on the net, the universe Bungie created in Halo and extended in Halo 2 has captured the hearts and minds of gamers around the globe.

This universe has both intrigued and infuriated; intrigued by introducing new worlds to visit, new aliens to menace humankind, and compelling and involving storylines, and on the other hand there’s nothing more infuriating than wandering around a new world, looking at the beauty of the awe inspiring and mysterious Halo that floats above, or examining the ancient and bizarre Forerunner installations, mentally mapping out the multiple paths through structures, than to suddenly find an iniquitous plasma grenade lodged in your chest armour, or a well placed sniper shot shatter the otherwise peaceful surrounds. For that is the danger of the Halo universe – beautiful one minute and deadly the next.

The new Halo 2 Maps have been lovingly crafted to extend the multiplayer aspect of the game, which is, it must be said, the games’ biggest strength. The original Halo engaged people with it’s story and action, but the sequel seemed to let quite a few people with it’s rather incomplete ending. However, it more than made up for this by providing one of the most solid multiplayer games available on a console, if not in any game, with an incredibly well developed online interface that intergraded with Bungie.com. The ability to track scores, form clans, and download extra content through Live has seen the Live service grow to over 2 Million users.

The new maps are either brand new, or a development of the maps found in Halo, and even one from Bungie’s original first shooter, Marathon. Each map has been made for a specific game type, although they work well in their other modes. For example, Terminal, set in Old Mombassa (one of the locations set on Earth) is great for Assault and CTF, but also great for Slayer matches in its tight urban environment. There are small maps like Backwash, set in a swamp reminiscent of 343 Guilty Spark in the first Halo game, to massive levels designed to present interesting vehicular combat in Containment. The manual presents a minimap of each of the maps provided, showing weapon and vehicle locations, as well as some informing of best tactics to use. In this case, it really does pay to RTM.

For those without Live but like to get together with friends for split screen or system link action, then the Bonus Maps are a godsend. Not only do they give you 9 new maps, they patch up glitches and eliminate exploits and cheating, and also give offline players a chance to hone their skills on levels where they previously couldn’t. Considering the disc isn’t required to play (although the original Halo2 game is), it’s great for people who play LANs – people can split the cost and pass the disc around. I don’t think Bungie would mind me saying that, especially considering the maps will be free for download at the end of August.

If you’re a Halo nut, and an Xbox Live subscriber, then the Map Pack is a must. You will find it patches Halo and eliminates cheaters, although I still had to download an extra live update even after installing. Furthermore, if you don’t have it, you may find it hard to find games of certain types using Optimatch, and there’s nothing worse than not being able to play with your friends because they have a map that you don’t. And if you do wait until they become free, everyone else will know the maps rather well and you’ll find yourself at distinct disadvantage. You’ll be stumbling around trying to find the rocket launcher that someone will tell you to get from “near the pillars” – not a good idea when you’re trying to keep your stats up!

The bonus, non-map material, whilst appealing, is only of minor interest. The Developer Video provides some useful tips, like being able to hide yourself on the moving platforms in Elongation by squatting. However, you’ll gain no massive advantage from watching it. The short movie is pretty cool, but for me it just reinforced the notion that the single player mission could have been much more developed. It shows an aspect of the Halo Universe that is never really expanded – urban squad combat. I’m not proposing that Bungie turn the game into Rainbow Six, but I really enjoyed the urban battles set on Earth, and wished there were more.

But if you’re simply a casual fan, then it’s probably best to wait until they become available for free at the end of August, because, well, they’re just extra maps. There’s absolutely nothing here for the single player, which is a little unfortunate really. Although the Xbox Live service has reached 2 million subscribers, and that’s only a small proportion of the 10 million plus units that Halo 2 has sold. When you look at it from that perspective, the Bonus Maps is a slight disappointment, especially that many think the single player of Halo 2 is severely lacking in many places.

Conclusion:
What the Map Pack does is show that Bungie really does care about the community it has helped foster through Halo 2. With one simple gesture, Bungie has offered to even the playing field between online and off line players, allowing patches and content that they could have offered to online customers as individual downloads, in one well presented package for a reasonable price. Being able to share the disc around counters the cynical notion that this is a money making scheme – I’m pretty sure Bungie are sitting pretty anyway – and reinforces the idea that Bungie really do understand the players of Halo2’s needs.

Pros:
Provides content for those without Live for a reasonable price.
Nine extra maps that have been researched and refined to perfection.
Updates Live and patches the game quicker than downloading.
Disc can be shared around friends.

Cons:
Absolutely nothing for the Single player.
Will be available free for download soon.

90/100