Are all you Halo fanboys ready?!?! Microsoft has finally released a Halo: Reach map pack and I have had the pleasure of reviewing it for you today. The Defiant map pack costs 800 Mega Space Pennies (MSP) and comes with two competitive maps; Highlands and Condemned, along with one Firefight level; Unearthed.
With Bungie no longer being involved in Halo projects, Microsoft has enlisted 343 Industries and Certain Affinity to carry on the Halo name. If you don’t know who Certain Affinity is, they are ex Bungie members who created the Halo 2 maps Tombstone and Desolation a few years back. So these guys definitely know a thing or two about Halo.
Alright, enough back-story, let’s review these maps shall we!
First up we have is Highlands a big open map with lots of caves, buildings and crashed ships for you to hide in and around so you don’t get your a** sniped. Highlands reminds me and plays a lot like the map Zanzibar from Halo 2/3. It has loads of different routes to take and always a vehicle around to get you where you need to go. I had nothing but epic moments and a great time playing this map. This one is easily up there with the best Reach maps and possibly one of the best throughout out Halo.
Next up is Condemned, a very small map set in a UNSC space station. Condemned plays a lot like Midship and Elongation from Halo 2. Super tight areas and usually no breathing time in between fights. A really cool thing about this level is at anytime you can quickly get across the level going through the middle which is a zero G room, nothing but craziness happens when taking this route. Sure to some people the map sounds great, but I hate it with a passion. Every time this map was picked all I wanted to do is rip out my copy of Reach and put it through a shredder.
Condemned has everything that I hate about levels in video games. Stupidly small to the point you feel like you have no room at all to move around and you get caught on any little object in your way, along with it being set in the boringness of a space station. ENOUGH WITH SPACE STATION’S IN GAMES ALREADY!!!!
And finally Unearthed the only Firefight level of the three. Certain Affinity has done an awesome job here. Unearthed is easily the greatest Firefight level of them all. It has a very nice open feeling with lots of areas to go and multiple levels so you don’t ever feel cramped, yet it still feels small enough so you can still quickly get across the level to save a friend who is in trouble.
All three maps look stunning and have loads of detail and fit very well in the Halo universe.
If you are still playing Halo: Reach’s multiplayer and are craving some new maps, you will most likely find some enjoyment here, but for everyone else who has stopped playing Halo you should just skip the Defiant map pack, it won’t keep you playing for long.
