Developer Interview

Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard gives you the full scoop on the map pack in this exclusive interview.
Watch | Download

In the six months since its release, Halo 2 has continued to enrapture gamers with its rich multiplayer component. While the single-player experience had a polarizing effect on gamers, there's no denying the multiplayer is like digital crack for discerning fans of online first-person shooters. Ever the perfectionist, Washington-based developer Bungie will soon feed its fan base's addiction with a Halo 2 update of unprecedented scale. User feedback and Bungie's own observation of the online community have informed a major patch to the game that will roll out in stages over the coming months...starting today, actually. Once the final updates have been released, Halo 2 will have gained nine new maps and a slew of significant mechanical changes. We recently got to spend a day at Bungie's Redmond offices to check out all the new content, and we're pretty sure this is going to be a much more balanced and robust multiplayer game, when all is said and done.

Bungie is using a combination of Xbox Live and traditional disc-based methods to distribute the content that, for retail purposes, is being referred to as the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack. But there will be a lot more going on under the hood than just some new maps. For starters, there's the comprehensive auto-update, which is the one available right now on Xbox Live. Bungie reps referred to this patch as Halo 2 1.1, and for good reason: The multiplayer gameplay has been completely retuned to make it a more dynamic experience, and one that's more similar to the original Halo than the shipping version of Halo 2 was. Anyone who plays the game on Xbox Live will receive the 1.1 patch automatically when they connect, and the upcoming retail disc will have it as well, for those who only play system link against local friends. Bungie has even thoughtfully made 1.1 compatible with the original, such that the version used by whoever is hosting a game will determine the rules.

'Halo 2 1.1' will make grenades and melee attacks more important, while it will tone down some of the more potent dual-wield combinations.

Dual wielding was inarguably the most important addition to Halo 2's gameplay. Bungie says that dual wielding weapons has proven a little too powerful online, though, which has made alternate offensive options, such as grenades and melee attacks, ineffectual by comparison. Recalling the halcyon days of Halo LAN parties, the designers are making those other methods of attack just as viable in the new version of the game. Melee attacks have received a substantial damage bonus, for instance. Grenades will do more damage, and their timers have been shortened as well, making them much deadlier than they were previously. The poor, unappreciated brute shot has gotten the biggest improvement. Its melee damage is even higher than the other weapons (it does have a big blade attached to it, after all), and since its projectile is a grenade, its overall damage is up as well.

The designers have also taken certain dual-wield combinations into consideration in an effort to further balance online play. For instance, many players have used the dual-magnum combo to score easy headshots, so it'll now be more difficult to do so while spamming two pistols. The popular submachine gun-plasma combo has had its damage reduced as well, since previously it was almost inescapable once someone got you in their sights with it. Overall, Bungie says its goal with the auto-update was to make Halo 2 play more like Halo. We spent hours testing out the new version and noted a significant number of melee and grenade kills, which made the game feel a lot more dynamic than it's felt in the past few months.

Thankfully, Bungie isn't turning a blind eye to the rampant cheating that's been occurring in Halo 2 online. Players have found ways to pull flags through walls, fly through the air with the energy sword equipped, and even use their cable or DSL modems to gain illicit winnings. In light of all this naughty behavior, the auto-update will address every known exploit in the game, making it impossible for people to pull off these cheats in the future. Furthermore, community managers will have access to new data-driven tools to keep eyes on cheaters. If your records indicate consistently suspicious behavior, you could be banned from the matchmaker, with all your stats on bungie.net eradicated. The message seems clear: Don't cheat.

Filthy cheaters will finally get their due after the auto-update, because Bungie is ready and willing to ban all offenders.

Finally, the auto-update will open the way for Bungie to retool Halo 2's playlists based on player feedback and its own observations over the past few months. The designers expect the new playlists to go live roughly a month after the auto-update, and these new lists will address certain map exploits that have become apparent over the months since release. The playlist update will be accompanied by one more change that will surely have a lot of players up in arms: a full leaderboard reset. Bungie says this is necessary because players' levels and records are simply too polluted by cheating, and since the game mechanics are being altered radically, now is the best time to start everyone over at zero. On the upside, the truly skilled players should quickly rise back to the top. Since the skill-matching system has been made more intelligent, you should more consistently be provided with matches that are at your own level.

If you like the sound of these balance changes, you can hop on Xbox Live this very moment to check them out. But how about those new maps, which should really add some new value to the package? Read on for the full details.