Halo: Reach's first round of DLC - the Noble Map Pack

I’m a pretty fickle gamer. I usually get tired playing the same game pretty fast – which means Halo: Reach must be made out of concentrated awesome because I still haven’t gotten my fill. Whether it’s the incredibly addicting multiplayer, the silky-smooth gameplay or just because I have an unceasing desire for more credits to buy newer, more badass armor pieces (I won’t be happy until I have Emile’s helmet and Kat’s robot arm on Spartan-GR1Z), Halo: Reach is going to have a home in my 360’s tray for the foreseeable future.

Recently, Bungie released the first (of many, I’d assume) map pack for Halo: Reach, titled the Noble Map Pack. The pack features not only three new maps, but also a bunch of new achievements as well. The pack itself is 800 points and each map offers something a little different. Of the three, my favorite would probably be Breakpoint followed closely by Tempest. That isn’t to say that Anchor 9 isn’t a good map but more speaks to how well the other two were made.

Breakpoint, the largest map, is set in the same kind of area as the Firefight map Glacier (pretty sure that’s its name) or the campaign map where you defend Dr. Hallsey and Cortana (OMGZ spoilers!). It’s the largest map of the pack and is an asymmetrical, almost circular map best used in Big Team Battles. I don’t know how well objective games would work on it because of the layout, though (I’ve only ever played BTB games). There are tons of indoor environments to be found as well, though it seemed like most of the action took place outside thanks to the considerable amount of vehicles to be had. Prepare to continue being annoyed by the jerks who do nothing but wait for Banshees to spawn/blow you up with Banshees/ fly Banshees into your face since it seemed that only Covenant vehicles spawn on the map.

Next up is Tempest – an outdoor, fairly-symmetrical map featuring tons of environmental cover and huge Forerunner structures that pose as bases for Objective games. I don’t remember if this map featured any vehicles but with the map being a long, narrow map with lots of rocks and such in between the structures, there isn’t much use for vehicles. Games of CTF are pretty hotly-contested when teams work together on Tempest. The structures keep the area around the flag pretty tight and lone wolves playing against teams with balanced offense and defense will get nowhere. Watch out for Active Camo-ers when looking to steal the flag, too.

Finally, Anchor 9 takes place on a space station orbiting Reach. Anchor 9 is the smallest of the three maps released but it feels much bigger because of all the tight corridors, twists and turns you’ll run into when navigating this map. Since this map takes place on a space station, part of the map is in space itself and features drastically reduced gravity, similar to Zealot. Unlike Zealot, though, you can drift too far from the map itself and plummet to the planet’s surface. Though I haven’t played it too much, I’m not too big a fan of Anchor 9. It’s tight spaces and multiple levels remind me too much of Countdown – both levels are just too busy for my taste. I’m all for smaller maps, but it really feels like they tried to do too much with the space they had.

On top of the three maps, the Noble Map pack also offers 250 points in new achievements for Halo: Reach. And most of these new achievements aren’t tied directly to the new maps, either. The seven new multiplayer achievements offer new challenges for players, though those who have already pulled off some of these feats might be a little miffed they have to do them again. A few of the new achievements are “Both Barrels – Earn a double kill with a Shotgun,” “Poppin’ and lockin’ – Destroy a vehicle using Armor Lock,” and “Totally Worth It – Getting a double kill from the grave.”

Oh and before I go, I thought I’d mention the other two newest map additions to Halo: Reach – Atom and Cliffhanger. The two Forge World maps (made available in the title update prior to the Noble pack’s release) are free and actually really fun. I’m a bigger fan of Cliffhanger than I am of Atom, though you do have to appreciate the intricacies of Atom’s design. Cliffhanger is a more sparsely populated map than Atom, with two identical bases on either side and a structure in the center. Teleporters at each base can bring players to the structure in the center where most of the action takes place, but smart players will grab a DMR or Needle Rifle and hang back while their enemies rush them. Atom is on the more crazy designs I’ve seen for a map but even with its numerous walkways, levels, and man-cannons, Atom (built in the same area as Cliffhanger, above the Hanger) can create some really intense battles as players weave their way throughout the map.