Map Reviews

First post! If your reading this then welcome and i hope you enjoy the blogs. For the first post I'd like to review the new maps added for Halo 3 & Call of Duty 4!

First off the Call of Duty 4 map pack was released not too long ago and contains three brand new maps. (Available with game of the year edition)

Creek:

Creek is a fairly small map based in a village in what looks to be Russia and seems to tie in with the S.A.S campaign. Personally i don't like this map. One team will always start on the higher ground and has the advantage early on. From the high ground you can access thick grass verges to pick off the other team starting below in the dry river bed. The map also has a tunnel in which campers can have a field day hiding in the dark with a high power weapon. It is hard to keep track of your teams movement on this map and is maybe a bit too small.

Chinatown:

Again I'm not a fan of this map as like Creek its very small and too complex. Chinatown is dimly lit on the outside (street level) and most buildings can be entered but with twisting corridors and plenty of corners makes it another haven for campers and frustrating to get around.

Broadcast:

Now this map is brilliant! It's taken from the Marine campaign and is based on the TV station featured in the early missions. The entire office floor is open as it is in the campaign as well as some second story rooms making manic battles all the more fun. The rooftop can be accessed and a few buildings placed outside the station making great grenade and sniper locations. Smaller offices can be entered as well as the large lobby at the front of the station. Open windows doors and roofing means cover is not always safe as you may assume. This is COD4 is all about.

Not wanting to be outdone the guys at Bungie have offered up another map pack for the fantastic Halo 3. This "Legendary map pack" containers three new maps Blackout, Ghost Town and Avalanche as well as some new Forge effects.

Ghost Town:

Ghost Town is a great ruined urban style map with traditional Halo jumps, ramps, cover and vehicles. In the middle of the map is a large building with a domed glass roof. This two story building is great for mass battles with its ramps and ally ways leading all the map. A road surrounds the centre building and is great for the Mongooses positioned at the spawn points. Broken concrete piping and battered buildings provide great cover for assaulting the main building.

Avalanche:

This huge snow covered map is a tribute to the much loved Sidewinder map from the original Halo. It's had a small make over and contains massive man cannons and the forge feature can make for a lot of fun with tanks and airborne vehicles. The detail on Avalanche is fantastic the Mongooses, warthogs and Scorpion tanks have all be given snow camo and look great. Icy tunnels make perfect flaking areas for assaulting the opposite base. This map as you may imagine is better played in big team battle with sixteen players rather than eight.

Blackout:

Blackout is the answer to most Halo multi players dreams it's an exact copy of Lockout expect its been given a face lift. The graphics are of course enhanced to fit the Halo 3 look. Instead of white stone the level is now black and dark metal with patch's of rust and damage dotted around. Playing Blackout is like second nature as it's exactly the same as Halo 2 favourite Lockout so nobody familiar with the game should have problems on this map.

As if the three great maps were not enough Bungie also threw a few Forge effects into the mix. Now when in forge you can different camera effects including "Old Timey" with gives the camera a old style brown lens look, Colour Blind adds a black and white effect while Nova blurs the screen so it's nearly impossible to see where your going. Gloomy seems to be a nod towards Gears of War and adds a grainy darker look to the map while Pen & Ink makes the area look a bit skecthy.