Halo 2 "Expansion" is Real

[Thoth 0]

Halo 2 Map Pack

 

Discuss.

[mister foozel 0]

fuckin wicked

 

discussed.

[BigPoppaKev 0]

Fuck yes. I am so pumped for this it isn't even funny.

[Guest Flyboy]

JUNE?! Oh my Jesus.

[Thoth 0]

JUNE?! Oh my Jesus.

Well, the first 4 maps will come in late April...

[Guest CronoT]

[AndrewTS 0]

You didn't even find that yourself, CT. You just saved it when somebody put it up in one of the Randown Raw threads.

[Guest CronoT]

You didn't even find that yourself, CT. You just saved it when somebody put it up in one of the Randown Raw threads.

Actually, I found it in someone's sig on another board.

[Matt Young 0]

This is fantastic. I just got Live in January, so I'm still not tired of the regular maps. 9 more? Holy shit. Sucks that we have to pay for them, but I can't wait til late summer to get them for free.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

If previous experience has taught me anything, almost nobody with Live will pay for these maps, so unless you play with friends locally, just wait until summer.

[Guest CronoT]

If previous experience has taught me anything, almost nobody with Live will pay for these maps, so unless you play with friends locally, just wait until summer.

Almost all of the people on my Friends List paid the $10 for Assault Pack 1 and 2 for Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow. As long as the price is reasonable, I don't think many people will wait a few months.

[Guest Flyboy]

JUNE?!  Oh my Jesus.

Well, the first 4 maps will come in late April...

Blah -- I'm in impatient.

[Scroby 0]

Were going to get 4 new maps in April, two will be for free while the other two will cost some money. There suppose to be released soon after the giltch fixing update is up and able to download ( ) . The 4 are called....

 

CONTAINMENT

 

A massive, mostly outdoor, and somewhat symmetrical environment set in the frozen tundra near Sentinel Wall, on Delta Halo. The icy terrain is a walled valley floor, scarred by a massive trench, running between two enormous Forerunner compounds. Each of these structures acts as a base, and each base is itself large enough to drive a vehicle around in.

 

The bases contain a heavily fortified flag capture point which presents a tough challenge for an unorganized offense. To even the odds, it's possible to open vehicle access to these bases by activating a switch - exposed to sniper fire in the center of the map. Above this switch is the teleport exit for each base.

 

The rapid access enabled using teleporters and vehicles means that while this is by far one of the largest Halo maps ever, it's also one with a large number of transit options, on foot or in vehicles.

 

Caves, ridges and tunnels provide stealthy entrance to enemy bases, while the jagged central trench is a great spot to take cover. Above, the exposed, icy fields are littered with the most explosive cores in the game. Default vehicles include Hogs, Scorpion tanks and Banshees. Containment was built from the ground up, with large scale objective games in mind, especially CTF. If you like Coagulation, and were a fan of Sidewinder, you'll love Containment!

 

WARLOCK

 

Set in the rain-soaked ruins of an ancient Forerunner structure, nobody knows if Warlock is a temple, a castle or even a dwelling. What we do know is that the architecture predates the Halo itself, and that it must have been moved here, brick by brick, with obvious reverence by the Forerunners themselves.

 

A small to medium sized map, Warlock is ideal for close-quarters fights, Slayer matches and thanks to its four way symmetry, multi-team Territories battles. Warlock's mix of obstacles and open areas makes it a perfect spot for more chaotic matches like Rockets. Sharp-eyed players may note its resemblance to the map Wizard, although it has been rebuilt from the ground up to take advantage of Halo 2's new graphics and gameplay features.

 

Warlock is filled with nooks, crannies and other hiding places, and while the ground is a warren of obstacles, it's possible to reach any other point in the map by taking the high road - a series of platforms and ramps that stretch across the map, with a temple-like center structure dominating the arena.

 

Teleporters dot the walls allowing you to evade pursuing enemies, or take instant shortcuts across the map.

 

 

TURF

 

The surrounding streets and evacuated buildings of Old Mombasa make it a dangerous warren, with potential assassins lurking in every shadow and around every corner. Dusty storefronts hide mazelike interiors, and narrow walkways above street level make this shadowy part of town a sniper's haven.

 

Although it was designed primarily with Territories and CTF in mind, Turf's wildly varying situations - open streets, large buildings, narrow passageways - mean that it's surprisingly flexible. In spite of its size and complexity, the level even works well as a cat and mouse one-on-one map.

 

Although the tight alleys and streets are initially confusing, there are plenty of vital landmarks - a downed Covenant Scarab, a makeshift Human military base and a massive warehouse, complete with huge swinging doors. Players can knock down catwalks to control ledges above the streets, and a well-parked Warthog can lay down covering fire for the team quick enough to grab it.

 

 

And the last one for right now is called:

 

SANCTUARY

 

A walled grotto defines the center point of this Forerunner habitat, from which aqueducts span out, like the hands of a clock. It perfectly obscures a clear line of sight between two more robust temple buildings primarily used as Flag capture bases.

 

The map was designed to be perfectly symmetrical and used for smaller, team based objective games, like CTF and Assault, but its size and layout also make it a perfect spot for Slayer matches and slightly more frenetic types like Territories and Oddball. The tunnels at the sides and the open areas in front of the bases make for frantic firefights and nerve-wracking chases.

 

Stop for a moment to admire the scenery and you'll see a complicated system of waterfalls, canals and pools. Splashing water and the chirp of birds help define the sound scheme of this otherwise peaceful environment.

 

 

If you wanna be really lazy and wait, all the maps will become free by late summer for download on Xbox live. For those who don't have Xbox live and want the maps, retailers will be selling a expansion disc for 19.99 which will include all 9 maps. So you can use the maps for regular multiplayer games or Lan games if you would like to do so. The other 5 maps are named Terminal, Relic, Elongation, Gemini and Backwash. There's no real big info on these 5 maps at the moment but if you do wanna see pictures of the first 4 maps, there over at Bungie.net in the first article thats called weekly update special edition. For those wondering how playmatching is going to work, Bungie are still working out the details but the idea for right now is, there will be a certain matchmaking you can do so nothing gets all mixed up. The map update should come after the maps are released and a new mode will be added as well, 2 vs 2, my guess is a lot of slayer.

 

Thats all the info I could really gather from Bungie.net at the moment, if anyone wants to see the pictures or anything for themselves, check bungie.net and they'll be an article you can click.

[Guest CronoT]

Considering it took 4-5 months to "fix" the glitch on Rainbow Six 3 and Black Arrow that allowed people to spawn kill, I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

The only way I'd buy Halo 2 again was if it was $20 or less.

[Ripper 0]

Considering it took 4-5 months to "fix" the glitch on Rainbow Six 3 and Black Arrow that allowed people to spawn kill, I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

The only way I'd buy Halo 2 again was if it was $20 or less.

[Boner Kawanger 0]

For someone that doesn't give a damn, CronoT sure has posted more than anyone else in this thread.

 

I don't have an X-Box, but I play multiplayer Halo 2 with some friends of mine, so this excites me...even though he insists we use the same two maps all the time.