Most people who will read this review already know this, so I’m not going to hide it: I love the Halo 3 multiplayer. Its well paced, balanced, and designed. Complimented by the Theatre and Forge modes, its the most complete online experiance available on the 360. So when it was announced that 3 more maps were being released as downloadable content - the Heroic map pack - I ordered 800 Microsoft points ready for the release day. This review of the Heroic downloadable content (DLC) will look at each map in more detail than I would in a normal review (so will all DLC reviews).

Rat’s Nest: The largest of the new maps, Rat’s Nest is designed for 6-16 player matches. It works well for games like Capture the Flag (CTF) and Assault, because of the level design - you can choose to take the narrow corridors, or go around the outside (built like a race-track) with some mates in a Warthog, and each way is littered with appropriate weapons and equipment, so you play how you want to play the map.. The reason this works well in CTF/Assault is because it gives you the chance to vary your flag captures/bomb planting. The maps symmetrical layout - everything from where the weapons are placed to how the corridors are laid out - really works to its advantage. Honestly, I can’t think of any criticism for it - its balanced, allows you to vary your gameplay, and it looks excellent.

Standoff: Standoff is similar to Rat’s Nest, since its a symmetrical map - though its a little bit smaller (recommended for 4-12 players). It consists of 2 small bases on either side of the map, with the middle of the map littered with boulders. The edges of the map are much more open, perfect for vehicle skirmishes. Again, this map really allows you to vary your gameplay. Standoff works well as a control map - particularly Domination - but it also plays very well as a tactical map (CTF/Assault). This is because of the semi-unique Gates at the base, which can be opened at any point during the game to give you more routes to use when storming/rendesvousing. Again, its one of those maps that I really can’t criticise.

Foundry: The smallest map in the Heroic map pack, Foundry is better suited to slayer game types. It takes more getting used to than Standoff and Rat’s Nest - or any other map in Halo 3 - but after playing it a few times it has become my favourite map in the DLC and probably in the rest of the game. The level design means that 90% of the time you won’t know where your enemy is coming from - you’ll see the dots on the radar, but won’t be able to physically see them - so this makes Foundry the only map in Halo 3 where I feel ‘hide and seek’ gameplay is encouraged. Foundry also makes the most out of Halo 3’s Forge feature as well - every item can be taken out with Foundry, giving you the chance to play around with the whole map, and the extra Forge items the Heroic DLC gives you - I made a football pitch. Its another brilliant map, probably my favourite map in any game ever.

There are a few issues with the Heroic DLC that still remain, however. The main one is that you’ll only really get the chance to play the maps if you play the specific playlist - I’ve only had the chance to play the maps outside of this playlist twice. Unfortunately the specific playlist doesn’t support ranked matches, and comes with the ‘Press to Talk’ feature - something which is personally find annoying and pointless. If you join the playlist determined on playing a Slayer gametype, you might find that you end up playing a Tactical gametype just as much. Hopefully, when the Heroic DLC is free, the maps will be incorporated into the ranked and social playlists.

Anyway, with the Heroic DLC out of the way, heres my opinion on the v1.1 update. You might have seen me say this in another thread - but I’m a big fan. What v1.1 does is change the Halo 3 melee system: what you will have noticed before is that the previous melee system in Halo 3 seemed a little random - there might be no clear reason for it, but when 2 players went in for a melee, one would always walk away. This doesn’t happen anymore - if there is no clear winner and 2 players melee, they’ll just beat each other down. In my opinion, this is a vast improvement on the previous melee system - I’m going to use the word ‘balance’ again - and its funny, instead of frustrating.

There are a few other changes that come with the v1.1 update, so for more details, check out this article on Bungie.net.

9/10 - as dowloadable content, its abolsutely great. v1.1 is a step in the right direction, and the Heroic map pack has 3 great additions to the map list. The only issue is the way the DLC been implemented into the online experiance - and I expect the maps won’t be made part of the ranked playlists until the DLC is made free for everyone.