Is new Halo 3 DLC worth the coin?

by Justin McElroy { Dec 12th 2007 at 11:25AM }

We're sure that a certain portion of you couldn't wait to slide that cool sawbuck into your 360 and get the new Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack. Heck, we'd imagine that you're still playing them right now, eyes reddened and bleary from lack of sleep and pants soiled beyond all recognition for fear of being kicked from your l33t party.

Just for a moment though, we'd beg of a you a rare moment of altruism and ask you to help those who are still on the fence. The holidays are tight times, and $10 could go a long way towards a hydrofoil for your uncle or something. So we ask for your impressions: How do you like the new maps? Which is your favorite? And, of course, the big question: Were they worth your hard-earned cash?

Gallery: Halo 3 - Heroic Map Pack

Tags: bungie, dlc, halo3, heroic-map-pack, xbox-live

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

CharleyTony @ Dec 12th 2007 11:29AM

I dont hav'em yet but thinking of getting them today. Great subject, you should fish for DLC reviews all the time big releases are made... waiting to see what people think of em...

bigbrew @ Dec 12th 2007 11:30AM

yes

darthbob @ Dec 12th 2007 6:30PM

Standoff is really the only 'standout' map for me; Rat's Nest is a bit smaller than I thought, but Foundry is just...mixed. The possibilities are great, but the amount of work that would go into making a good map is beyond some. For the most part, $10 is too much for 3 maps, but it depends on what you're in to I suppose.

aristokrat @ Dec 12th 2007 2:30PM

I think Foundry is pretty sweet for Slayer (esp. Team) because of it's U configuration with the bases right next to each other. Leads to very hectic gameplay. It definitely delivers on the close-combat brawling that Bungie said it would.

Standoff is really fun, but is not as good for slayer matches due to its huge size. The constant rolling hills make it easy for someone to appear "out of nowhere" and pick you off. I was said that you couldn't run around on the antenna dish as well.

Rat's nest is a great objective map (especially neutral assault), which is plainly what it was designed to do. I think the there's multiple paths to the bomb spawn, and there all downhill, making for fun carnage around the bomb. It feels like an old Q3TA map I used to love for CTF, which this map is also pretty good at.

Overall, they are a fun new addition. $10 over 3-4 months is not that big a deal, I saw a lot of people getting excited about the Forge possibilities (pinball games, dodgeball, etc). I would say that if you play regularly or mess around with Forge, these are worth it, but if you don't play at least once a week, you may be better off passing. For the rest of us, I'm excited about having a little new variety, because these maps offer new game-styles that break up the monotony of a lot of the other maps (same strategies, etc).

Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Dec 12th 2007 11:30AM

I've been enjoying it. It was worth the $10 to me.

colin @ Dec 12th 2007 5:56PM

why did they vote you down???

Corey B @ Dec 12th 2007 11:34AM

simply....no

while the levels vary from great to ok. They are 1/6th the price of the full game which included forge mode, a video editor, many mp maps and a singular player campaign. I like the new maps but not enough to play them worth the $10, especially since they will be free in the spring

Jtenma @ Dec 12th 2007 12:35PM

I agree..I never saw it that way..nice.

BUT...

By your logic tons of other map packs for other games shouldn't have been released as well(which I agree with even more, if they are just gonna' nickel and dime us all teh' time)...good point though.

On another note, could the Orange Box release a map pack for 10.00 and get away with it? (Team Fortress)
I mean, the value of the core game is through the roof!!!

I'd say sure....

Renagade242 @ Dec 12th 2007 11:31AM

Waiting for free

gonk @ Dec 12th 2007 11:49AM

me too :)

cod4 is currently great anyway

Brucie B @ Dec 12th 2007 12:04PM

Add Me, I'll get them when there Free.
Right now my Prestige level in cod4 is what I'm all about.

*Can't Wait for some New Maps for COD4, I'll buy That*

xFenixKnightx @ Dec 12th 2007 12:19PM

Yeah I think Ill wait it out too. They look OK but not a must have like the last Gears maps that came out. Man I hope they put out some good DLC maps for COD4 because Ill definatly be buying them. Right now I love all the maps except for in the rundown apartments......damn that map sucks ballz!

Jtenma @ Dec 12th 2007 12:28PM

I'll put it like this...if you have to ask, then no its not worth it...PERSONALLY, I think they should have made people wait for a long time before they release new maps, and make people beg for it.

Then tey'll appreciate it more.

Quisling @ Dec 12th 2007 12:34PM

Wow, so I didn't mean to be the harbinger of all the CoD4 fanbois that slam on Halo.

I actually want the map packs, but until we stop shoveling tons of money out for little content, we won't see a change in the DLC options open to us by MS.

Also, not CoD but Orange Box. And Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, UR MR GAY and many, many more. Hell I haven't even started Bioshock yet.

It all boils down to: Teh Haloz is a good game, but 3 maps just aren't worth $10 when I can be patient and get them for free. Maybe I'll drop a few MS points on the next pack when it comes out, but probably not.

Poisoned Al @ Dec 12th 2007 12:57PM

And me. TF2 on the PC keeps me busy enough.

JonFitt @ Dec 12th 2007 8:01PM

Waiting for free too.

FAT JIM HALPERT @ Dec 12th 2007 11:33AM

i am definitely on the fence and dont figure to be off of it any time soon... i already bought the collector's edition and now im expected to pay 10 dollars more for 3 maps? i dont know, i just don't see the logic in it.. i'm probably leaning towards waiting the 6 months till they are free

Jeremy @ Dec 12th 2007 11:34AM

Been playing COD4, but downloaded these anyway. I tried to play them but everytime I would end up playing the old maps. I didn't have the patience to wait around the play the new ones, but I did mess around with them in forge. From the looks of it, Rats nest looks terrible. Foundry has potential (for forging), and Standoff is the only really decent one.

Raspy @ Dec 12th 2007 12:05PM

There is a hopper for just the new maps. Its so you can try them out and so others who are cheap and wont pay for the maps can keep playing the old ones. It is under Heroic DLC.

Micheal82 @ Dec 12th 2007 11:43AM

There is a Heroic DLC playlist.

WizarDru @ Dec 12th 2007 11:45AM

Did you notice that there was a Heroic DLC match list? It ONLY uses the new maps.

Played Rat's Nest and Stand-off last night. Excellent maps. Played Multi-CTF, Team Slayer and Bomb Assault matches. Folks vetoed a Forge game in Foundry, unfortunately, so I haven't tried that one yet.

I think it was worth it. Some junior high kids on one map thought it was a waste of money...or so I gleaned between their comments about school today and the fact that one hadn't called the other and he totally didn't want Larry in a clan because he didn't really like him much and blah-Blah-BLah-BLAH-BLAH! I ditched that group and partied up with a better crew who dug the new maps just fine.

Both Stand-off and Rat's Nest feature tight battle areas and have vehicles for fast movement through the maps.

aristokrat @ Dec 12th 2007 2:40PM

There is an Heroic Playlist, but what really needs to happen is Bungie needs to come through and make Custom and Forge playlists (which they said they would do). That would make these maps even more worthwhile, if you could regularly play Infection on Foundry, for example. Additionally, Stand-off needs to be added to rocket race. That would be fun.

They need to stop touting Forge features until they make it a more usable feature. Not everyone can get 10 friends online all at the same time, all playing H3, on a regular basis. People would probably pay money for a Forge playlist, maybe even with your rank based not on skill but on player approval of your monitoring/setup post-game. That would be cool, and it would spur creativity through competition to be the highest ranked Forger.

Frederick Madera @ Dec 12th 2007 9:52PM

The new maps have their own playlist, just below Ranked and Social you see a new playlist called "DLC." When you select DLC as your playlist you'll only play the new maps! It's pretty cool and there are tons of people on the playlist which makes finding games faster than in social and ranked.

MXS @ Dec 12th 2007 11:57AM

I enjoyed the new maps. There is a good balance on all of them and I especially liked that there is no sniper rifle on Standoff.

My favorite by far is Foundry. There are so many ledges, hiding places, and weapons, you don't know where to look. I think this map levels the playing field between experienced and casual players because there are so many places players can be shooting from.

My only complaint about the new maps is that Standoff and Rat's Nest are a little too big. All of the games I played were 6 vs. 6. If there were fewer players, it would get hard to find and kill opponents like on Vallhala.

If you're into the social matches, I say buy the pack without a second thought, but if you like ranked matches, I wouldn't run out to download them.

shamgar03 @ Dec 12th 2007 11:50AM

Not worth it. The maps aren't particularly interesting. Rats nest I guess is the best, but it doesn't really wow you. The other two are smallish spam-fests in my opinion. You put 16 people in a map that small and you can't even find a different weapon by the time you die. Standoff is like any other outdoor map...just much smaller. I would say its similar to battle creek, but battle creek had lots of cool elements like the arch and the two sniper posts and going on top of the best. Imagine battle creek without those features and you have standoff. Foundry is the biggest spam fest, straight up. It may get better as I start being able to find a weapon but none of the maps seem as iconic and deep as the maps that are out for halo 3 (or the maps for halo 1 or 2).

David Hinkle @ Dec 12th 2007 11:40AM

It would be nice if I could play normal match types on the new maps. I hate flag and all those other garbage game types, so I'm a bit disappointed right now. As far as the maps themselves, I think they're balanced and will be fun in the future when I'm not forced to play CTF on them.

Tyler @ Dec 12th 2007 11:42AM

I'd have to agree with the consensus so far...even though I like the maps, value-wise they are not worth $10. I will be having lots of Halo lans over Christmas break and I know we'd want to play the latest Halo stuff, so I got them anyway. If you don't NEED them now, just wait until they are free. If you do NEED them, just pay the cost.

ukickmydog @ Dec 12th 2007 11:42AM

the maps are okay, it's fun messing around in foundry haha. but seriously, why the hell did they add in BR slayer? eff that shiet, i want more shotty snipas

tcc3 @ Dec 12th 2007 12:42PM

Holy crap, if i never play another shotty sniper game it'll be too soon.

Colt @ Dec 12th 2007 12:53PM

I hate so much about you ukickmydog

ukickmydog @ Dec 12th 2007 2:16PM

crap my first whiteout !!!

David Hinkle @ Dec 12th 2007 4:03PM

I am with you so hard. Shotty Snipers has to be the worst gametype on Halo 3 besides one bomb or one CTF. Like, I just want to kill people in my suit of $30 billion dollar armor. Is that so much to ask for? I have more important things to do than cart a damn piece of cloth around.

/2 cents

AdmiralBumblebee @ Dec 12th 2007 11:43AM

They were purchased here by my room-mate.

I've played them extensively and decided that I would likely not have paid $10 myself.

Rat's nest is great for CTF, but for team slayer it simply turns into a major camping standoff. I've played it about 30 times and everytime both teams end up camping worse than any other map.

Foundry is simply awesome. Lots of fun, especially the 6 on 6. It's a real challenge to get a killing spree, but double kills are everywhere. Editing foundry is a lot of fun, and nearly worth the price itself, but I draw the line at paying $10 for a single halo map when I can go on my ps3 and buy a good 50 hour game (wild arms) for 5.99.

Standoff IS BROKEN. I don't know how to put it any other way. I've played this map more than any of the others and it is a constant spawn-and-die map. I've heard lots of other people complain about it as well. Many of the spawn points are in heavy battle areas which makes spawning as dangerous as shooting straight up in the air. I've seen generals get kill spreads at -20 in neutral assault and ctf. One game our entire team's kill spread was less than -10, AND WE WON! That's just not right. Hopefully they'll get some good data from the heat maps and change the respawn points.

That's my opinion. All in all, I rather play ranked team slayer where the maps currently are not in rotation it seems. I don't think I'll get $10 of enjoyment out of the maps compared to offerings on XBLA or playstation store. Hell, I figure I could have more fun just buying ds/psp games from the bargain bin at walmart.

The maps aren't horrible, they're just not worth the money for how little they'll likely get used.

dan stabbingworth @ Dec 12th 2007 1:35PM

Bungie has a knack for making some interesting spawn choices. Generally I find their choices good, but every now and again they completely blow it. This map might just call for a different gametype. I often find spawn points on the Pit to be bad for CTF, but fine for most other gametypes.

It is a shame that the general concensus about these maps is mediocre/negative.

Grindstone @ Dec 12th 2007 2:37PM

Well also bear in mind that currently these maps are being featured in a 6 on 6 battle mode, which for Rat Race is fine, but for Foundry and Standoff, is probably "overkill", which was one of the medals I got last night from a few random grenades.

Is it worth it? Hmm, sorta. I mean, it's nice to have more maps in the rotation, but on an individual basis, probably not. Some of my cronies were complaining that Foundry was too "busy", and with 6 on 6, I would tend to agree. Also, Foundry is a forge map, which to me means very little, but for others, it may be perfect. GUess we'll see in the future.

Obie @ Dec 12th 2007 11:43AM

Call Of Duty 4 will kill me in my sleep if I leave it.
I am a battered gamer!

Player1 @ Dec 12th 2007 11:48AM

Call of Duty 4 has too many online multiplayer errors. I try to join a party it will tell me I need to log out or restart to download the lastest playlist (whatever that means). I try those things and it doesn't help at all. Then I try to join a party and it will just say "Error - unable to join server". Then when I finally get in a party if we try to go to a public match, it will randomly leave poeple in the lobby while others play the match. Lovely.

gonk @ Dec 12th 2007 11:52AM

i've never had any of those problems

Obie @ Dec 12th 2007 11:53AM

I never had any of those problems, sounds like your 360 is about to kick the bucket player 1...get yer coffin-box ready for shipping.

Q @ Dec 12th 2007 12:08PM

http://news.filefront.com/13587/

Note the "Fixed Playlist error when attempting to join from other games". I certainly hope this update hasn't come out already because if it did, it did not work.

Jtenma @ Dec 12th 2007 12:39PM

I just thought of something really funny when you said to get your coffin box ready for shipping.

Does this mean that he should PRE ORDER A KOFFINZZLOL

.......................no

I'll just go now.

LiK @ Dec 12th 2007 11:44AM

i'm gonna pass. i never pay for DLC maps and $10 for 3 maps is a bit hefty, imo. i'll get them when they become free in the future.

Mike @ Dec 12th 2007 11:45AM

waiting for the freeski

Jtenma @ Dec 12th 2007 12:41PM

OH MY FUCKIN...NO HE DIDN'T.

LOL!

Marty @ Dec 12th 2007 11:47AM

Personally, I think the new DLC looks pretty sweet, and I was glad to read the other day that they didn't gimp the matchmaking for people who don't buy. That said, I haven't bought it yet, and I probably won't until I have more time to play.

Pebo @ Dec 12th 2007 11:50AM

So Microsoft makes a TON of money and then they expect us to pay more for a few maps!? Are you kidding me? This is the same thinking that gets people paying for X-Box Live. They make more than enough in advertisement money that XBox Live should be free and they have made more than enough money that these maps should be free right now. In my opinion this is another example of gamers being ripped off. I mean do you really think these maps were just created? They had these on the shelf for that holiday season release. We are being scammed and we let them, shame on us and anyone who pays for it.

Marty @ Dec 12th 2007 12:21PM

I'm all for taking the ads off of Gold Account XBL, but I don't really think you have any idea how much money they make off of their ads there.

WizarDru @ Dec 13th 2007 10:07AM

So true...because Xbox-Live costs absolutely NOTHING to run. The only cost to developers or Microsoft are gumdrops and pixie-dust...and they get those for free from Rainbows! All DLC should be like manna from heaven! Just like print magazines, cable television should all have no advertisements and be free...because they don't cost anything either! Oh and they should nothing but things that I like.