“Halo: Reach” launched with the weakest maps of the series. But after two months of criticism, developer Bungie Studios redeemed itself when it delivered the Noble Map Pack last November — the strongest DLC maps from the studio to date.
With Bungie moving on to its top-secret project, the Defiant Map Pack ($10) is the torch-passing moment to the new owners of the “Halo” brand, 343 Industries.
The company lured in Certain Affinity, a small developer from Austin, Texas, to create the second of hopefully several new map packs for “Reach.” And if they’re as well-crafted as this pack, that could only mean more of a good thing.
Condemned
Gimmick is a dirty word.
When I first saw Condemned’s zero-gravity room, it was the first word that came to mind. It didn’t work for Zealot, a map that launched with “Reach.” I didn’t have high hopes for it here.
But now, I'm converted.
My problem with the zero-g area in Zealot is that it didn’t properly reward players for going in it. Condemned corrects this lapse in judgment by placing a rocket launcher inside the room to fight over.
Set aboard a communications platform orbiting the planet Reach, the map is shaped like a four-spoke wheel. Along the edges of the wheel are easily recognizable landmarks: a Sabre starfighter, a massive generator, an observation deck and a communications room with a view to a dying planet.
My one complaint with the map is minor: It's too big for four-versus-four Slayer. With the exception of Anchor 9, all of the DLC multiplayer maps for “Reach” cater to larger player counts.
But this is good, because I think the sweet spot of the game is six-versus-six Slayer to 75 kills. I’d love to have a dedicated playlist for that, which would include the new maps, a few community maps and the most well-suited launch maps (like Boardwalk).
Highlands
Highlands feels like Valhalla 2.0, but with one key exception: Map control isn’t focused around a central hill.
Lanes running down the edges of the map offer gunning alleys for Warthogs and Ghosts. There are teleporters on either side of the map's middle that send players back and forth. Power weapons spawn beside these teleporters.
Highlands is my favorite Big Team Battle map in “Reach," but that doesn’t mean it’s flawless.
Teleporter camping was prevalent in the matches I played. After a few cheap deaths, I learned to avoid them altogether.
The close placement of the sniper rifle and the rocket launcher at each base makes it too easy for one person to grab both. I like maps that divide players into roles, like The Pit from “Halo 3.” The sniper rifle and shotgun were separated in a way that forced players to choose which one they wanted to go for. I'd like to see that for Highlands.
For a map that flaunts vehicle gameplay, there are too many power weapons, and they spawn far too quickly. I played games where four people had rocket launchers at one time. With that much armament on the battlefield, I was driving around corners on a hope and a prayer. Turning down their spawn rates is a must.
There’s also a lack of reward for entering the crashed Pelican in the middle of the map. Inside the aircraft is a grenade launcher. Getting to the launcher means exposing yourself to enemy fire, but the reward is a weapon that’s weaker than the ones safely lining the map’s perimeter.
Perhaps reducing the power weapons on the sides of the map and making the Pelican weapon spawn stronger would solve most of my problems.
Thankfully, these are all easy fixes.
Unearthed
Lost Platoon was my favorite Firefight map in “ODST.” My friends and I would spend hours hijacking Brutes from their Choppers, waiting for the Grunts and Jackals to gather up and splattering as many as possible in one run.
It reminded me of my childhood when my brother and I would take turns driving backward in “NASCAR 98.” We would hit top speed and wreck as many racers as we could. (When my brother played, he always aimed for Jeff Gordon. He sweared it’s because the rainbow colors stood out the most. I was a huge Gordon fan in my youth. You figure it out.)
Beachhead, a launch Firefight map for “Reach,” tried to cater to my style of play, but numerous obstacles and limited driving space hindered my fun.
But now, my vehicular bloodthirst is quenched with Unearthed.
Unearthed is a first for the “Halo” series: Firefight DLC. It’s also the first map designed from the ground up for the mode.
Including a Firefight map in the pack was a nice experiment to see how people would react to Firefight DLC. But asking people who strictly play competitive multiplayer to pay $10 for two new maps is a bit steep.
It’s the same issue I had with the two “Modern Warfare 2” map packs. Both packs sold at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) each. While there were five maps per pack, only three of them were new, which meant people were paying $5 a piece for new maps.
With that said, these are the strongest maps in “Reach” to date. 343 Industries and Certain Affinity have one-upped Bungie’s last tribute to the “Halo” franchise. These maps are a must buy for “Reach” fans.
And if you’re one of the sad people who refuse to play Firefight, you owe it to yourself to pick up this pack, invite three friends to your party and kick ass in an arena built for Firefight ass kicking.
