The first map pack for Halo 3 was made available and they are a nice addition to the current maps. The good thing that Bungie did here was make maps that were both diverse in design as well as game play. I’ll tell you a little about each map and my general feelings on it.

Standoff

This a decent map that is basically symmetrical. There are two bases that have retractable shields and a cool flame hallway that can be turned on. The map is also vehicle friendly. There are warthogs on the map and are best used in the capture the flag and team slayer modes. I found that 8 players is a good size but 14 and up makes the map way too crowded with people running in every direction. You will not find any sniper rifles and only a few battle rifles along with a single spartan laser and rocket launcher. This is a fun map especially in games that require team strategy.

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Foundry

This map is really two maps in one. The default setting is basically designed for 4 on 4 slayer. Its basically a vertical map composed of hallways and debris. Territory games would also work here. There are also grav lifts that can be use to reach the high points in order to use the rocket launcher or battle rifles scattered around. I believe that the real fun in Foundry is in the Forge. You can empty the map out and have a blast with all the options. I read in a forum that you can use the soccer ball, gravity hammers, infinite shields, as well as goals to have one whack ass game of polo-soccer. There are a lot of possibilities here.

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Rat’s Nest

Remember the level Crow’s Nest? That is the basic inspiration here. This map is designed for the Big Team Battle. If you are looking for a fun 16 player battle, this is the one you want. This map is really fun because its basically an indoor vehicle map. There is plenty area in order to move around in as well as smartly placed chokepoints that could be used to defend in a territory game. There is also an outer track that could be used as a mongoose track for racing if you get bored. This map, though big, is pretty easy to find your way around. The key here is to get to the top points to pick people off. There are plenty of heavy weapons here such as gravity hammers that are used to combat the vehicles. There is not too much to do here in Forge, but as I said, 4 on 4 Mongoose races could be fun.

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Final word: I do not like paying for maps. That’s no surprise. For 10 bucks, the maps are cool and do offer a little change of pace if like me you played Halo 3 nonstop for the past 3 months. They will be free in the Spring though, so if you want to wait, there are plenty of gamers out there who feel the same way and I do not foresee any Matchmaking issues for those who want to wait a few months.