E3: Halo 2 Map Pack Hands-On

Nothing new under the sun in this one.

Don't get us wrong, we're big fans of Halo; we remember wasting many hours in front of the old tube blowing away alien critters and friends alike. However, unlike most, personally I was a little disappointed with Halo 2. The game seemed to degrade as it pushed foward, to the point where both the story and play were tired and boring. Still, there were many improvements in the Halo sequel; and these improvements would catipult the Multiplayer Mode (what made Halo a phenomenum to begin with) lightyears ahead of its predecessor.

Thanks to Microsoft's useful policy of MANY press CDs at the show and NOT an appalingly empty E3 press site, we can bring you LOADS of screenshots of Halo's Map Pack.

Riding Covenent ships; dual weapons; laser swords; this was the stuff of players wet dreams. Afterall, the more means to detroy your opponent the better. This is what Bungie has capitalized in its expansion for Halo. Halo 2: Multiplayer Map Pack is pretty self explanatory. The expantion focuses soley on the Multiplayer Deathmatch aspect of the game, giving players nine new maps in which to annihilate one another.

There is no doubt that the new maps were designed with the Multiplayer Mode in mind. Convoluted layouts, plenty of hiding places, and cover abound. The new maps cover the plethora of terrain already introduced in the series, yet it does not look like a retreading of anything that has been shown before.

In playing an eight player deathmatch, I barely saw half of my opponents within a ten minute time period. This points to longer matches with less kills. Strategy and cunning take the place of barreling across a field in a Warthog to run over your enemies.

I hope Bungie is working hard on Halo 3, because that would be the only excuse to the dissapointment of the Multiplayer Mappack. Absolutely nothing has changed in the game. I was expecting, probable naively, something more from the expansion than just its namesake.

The maps use the same textures and lighting of Halo 2 so don`t expect to be "wowed" by eye-popping new worlds. No new weapons on the rack either. Multiplayer Mappack is just that: new maps. In fact I was told Bungie does not intend to do anything new unless it "has to" or "needs to". So don`t hold your breath folks.

The bottom line is that the Multiplayer Map Pack is good enough to keep college kids away from classes just a little longer. But if you are looking for something new and improved, you`ll just have to wait for Halo`s inevitable sequel.

Mike Knowlan
Contributor, Kikizo Games