Hardcore Halo fans already know this, but for the rest of you out there, Bungie’s Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack has officially gone live today. 800 Microsoft Points will get you Blackout, Avalanche, and Ghost Town.

I’ve been testing the three maps pretty extensively since about 8:00 this morning (it is now 11:00) and have some initial thoughts on all of the three maps.

The first map I played of course was Blackout, being a remake of everyones favorite Halo 2 map Lockout. My initial thoughts on the map is that it definitely does Lockout justice, weapons are placed perfectly, most of the jumps are there (the only ones removed are the ones that toyed with Halo 2‘s physics), and the new UNSC weather station theme gives the map a fresh new feel while still staying true to Lockout. So far I’ve only played 2v2 Team Slayer on this map and I must say, it really feels similar to Lockout. The thing I am really waiting for though, is to see how the map holds up under the new MLG rules.

Next was Ghost Town. I went into this map without really knowing what to expect. I thought it was going to be a huge and complicated map that I wasn’t going to like at all, however I was wrong on most of these points. First off, the map really isn’t all that big, complicated yes, big not so much. I found that while running 2v2 Team Slayer it really felt like a map that wasn’t going to get veto’d when it appears in Matchmaking and that people are bound to like it much more than maps that came bundled with the game (Snowbound and Epitah to be exact
). Ghost Town is sure to be a hit with Zombie game type fans as it looks like a gloomy run down facility with a sort of creepy feel. There is a Mongoose on the map with a pretty much circular path around the whole map for easy transportation. Weapon placement is fine, Sniper, Laser and Rockets were three power weapons I found with relative ease. There is also an Over Shield and Active Camouflage placed nicely on the map and with the set up of the map these two power-ups will prove to be extremely useful.

Last but not least, Avalanche. Not being a fan of large maps, out of the pack I was least excited about one. After running through it I see how it could be fun in Big Team or a similar play list, but it is just too huge to do anything else with. The enormous man cannons they have placed around the map, that shoot you about 2 times as far as the main one on Valhalla, were extremely entertaining, to say the least, for the 5 minutes I played with them. Another thing I really like are the arctic themed skins for the weapons and vehicles on the map, making the map feel much more unique and immersive.

Overall, the Map Pack is definitely something that any hardcore Halo fan will be sure to download, on the other hand if you are just a casual player and don’t want to spend the money, wait a while until the maps are offered for free. Of all the three maps you can without a doubt expect to see Blackout being played the most, now all we need is a Midship remake.