Microsoft sets March release for next trio of multiplayer levels for last year's blockbuster sci-fi shooter.
Last week, a French Halo fansite published--and then pulled--details and screenshots supposedly showing a new Defiant Map Pack add-on for Halo: Reach. The site's original report proved true today, as Microsoft officially confirmed the map pack and set it for release next month.
Like the Noble Map Pack before it, the Defiant Map Pack adds three new levels to Reach's multiplayer mode: Condemned, Highlands, and Unearthed. Condemned is a space station level supporting 6 to 12 players, while Highlands takes the fight outside for 8- to 16-player battles in the wilderness of Reach. Finally, Unearthed is set in one of the planet's mining operations and supports up to four players in the Firefight mode.
The Defiant Map Pack was created with the help of Certain Affinity, an Austin, Texas-based studio founded by Halo 2 multiplayer team lead Max Hoberman. The studio has also contributed to shooters like Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty: Black Ops, as well as creating its own game in Age of Booty.
The Defiant Map Pack will cost 800 Microsoft points ($10) and adds achievements worth 150 Gamerscore to the shooter. The pack is set to bolster the franchise's already popular multiplayer offering. Halo titles have clocked 3.3 billion hours of playtime across the 40 million copies of series entries sold since the franchise debuted in 2001.
A chart of the top Xbox Live games of 2010 from Xbox Live director of programming Major Nelson, based on activity in the week following a game's launch, placed Halo: Reach second, with Black Ops in first place. For more on Halo: Reach, check out GameSpot's review.
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
@Sigil-otaku Fair enough,glad we do agree on somethings :) I was reading something yesterday I'd clicked on out of interest and read something which is completely relevant to what we are talking about. Go down to Halo 3 in 6th place and read it; it says how much Microsoft spent on Halo 3 promotion. http://www.digitalbattle.com/2010/02/20/top-10-most-expensive-video-games-budgets-ever/
@MEDzZ3RO: Okay fair enough then but it did seem rather dismissive when the quality of the game wasn't in question but rather its difference to the other titles. I don't see why it wasn't a genuine entry while still being a money spinner, Halo was originally designed as an RTS before being changed to FPS and with Microsoft having Ensemble studios (makers of age of empires) then they put a popular franchise into talented hands for a console attempt at an RTS and to be fair it was limited from the start by that. Well I hope they do sell really, I'm not against those games but they are just not my favourites. Demons souls on the other hand I bought myself and I buy other games I think are good like Ninja gaiden sigma 2 despite owning ninja gaiden 2 on 360 as well. No one can sell a crap game on PR alone, like you said it was a good game and the series has never matched combat evolved since but is still a good series that peaks above any other FPS in my opinion. Anyway it seems were not really arguing anymore and coming to more agreements so I guess thats the end of it and I accept your views are rather fair but disagree on how much you think PR has kept Halo up.
@Sigil-otaku I'm not being agressive. I loved Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Wars was a Halo game but was a money spinner, it wasn't a genuine entry into the strategy genre. MAG and Killzone have sold alot more then most think. Killzone 2's topping 2 million and MAG isn't far off 1 million. Killzone 3 is likely to sell more then it's predecessors. I'm not comparing Halo and Demon's Souls as games because they are very different but rather because Demon's Souls had no backing what so ever and has still sold modestly well. Combat Evolved was heavily backed by Microsoft before and after the Xbox launch. For me, I just felt the sales were forced and have since continued partially because of it. No denying Combat Evolved was a superb game. Sales don't always mean a entail a good game, just look at Final Fantasy XIV online.
@MEDzZ3RO: I'm sorry but your predictable aggression towards the Halo wars title wasn't in any way relevant, I was citing you counted it as a Halo game that didn't change when it was completely different. You'll find even as a niche title it did sell well enough to get a sequel (spiritual successor at least) and other hard games like Ninja gaiden have also sold. Hard games do fill a niche in the market and have little competition so you can say they don't sell well but its highly possible they will see the turn around none the less and will see sales just for being hard since there's little in the way of competition. That is true, it is easy to enter to the FPS genre but you have to consider its also got the most competition. Games like MAG and Killzone aren't automatically selling millions, they either earn it or don't see quite the success of Halo. Same with Perfect Darkk and other FPS. It may be easy to enter but competition is still there and sales come from standing out, Halo does that and so sees it's sales. Demons souls deserved more sales but it's not Halo's fault (or should we say bungies?) so quite why Halo is being compared to Demons souls goes amiss. Sales don't equal quality but equally good games sell more. Not always the case but I feel Halo has earned its sales.
@Sigil-otaku Halo wars was nothing other then a cash-in on the Halo brand. Graphics are aesthetic and isn't necessary for a game to have advanced. Halo had Microsofts backing from the off, that's what originally got it hype and why it's had such strong backing from Xbox users; it's the Xbox game so to speak. People won't queue up to try and match Demon's Souls because it's a niche market and sales-wise it sold well but nowhere near the amount Halo has. Also, the fps genre as a whole is one of the easiest to enter into; look how many half finished fps games have made it to market and sold well: Haze comes to mind.
@MEDzZ3RO: I disagree, I don't see why they would be worlds apart as I can't think of many series that are worlds apart. Sequels tend to be designed to please there fans and I'm not saying Halo has changed every generation but lately it has been changing more with the armour abilities etc. so there are extra layers to the combat that do change things. And if your saying Halo is on its 6th outing then that counts Halo wars which was a completely different genre so did change a lot. Improving graphics with things like an updated engine is hardly a reason to state unreal somehow became different gameplay wise. Halo has changed engines over its gens but it won't be recognised for that. Are you kidding? Halo got hype because it was good, from Halo 2 onward it was a hype fest but Halo CE did earn its rep on its gameplay alone. Hence why reviews were so high, why people often state it revolutionised console FPS gameplay etc. Demons souls is a good game, but its not going to become the standard for anything. I don't see anyone lining up to imitate or beat demons souls quite like Halo because you may want to pretend Halo is just hype but it didn't have a such great reviews and such a dedicated fanbase (online and off) for nothing.
Only 2 multiplayer maps?I'm not interested in firefight and the last map pack was pretty weak.Come on Bungie up your game, not a snowballs chance in hell is this worth $10.
@Plague That does not justify the price. If you divide the cost of the map pack for each map, you're paying more for Halo Reach maps, than you are for Black Ops maps. The COD maps may be dull but they still require creativity and talent, as do the Reach ones.
@Sigil-otaku Killzone 1 is nothing like Killzone 2. Killzone's on its 3rd outing whilst Halo ison its sixth edition. You'd think after 6 generations the original and the latest would be worlds apart; they're not. Look at Bad Company and Bad company 2, the gameplay's similar but doesn't feel the same at all but you can still tell it's a Battlefield game. Call Of Duty's a poor example because the last 4 games have ran off the same engine. Unreal Tournament 4 will bring with it the new Unreal engine which if you know anything about gaming you'd know that's a big thing. Most games do suffer from the same criticisms but they don'y have the same hype Halo gets. It's put up on a pedestal for no other reason then it sold the original Xbox and was heavily backed by Microsoft. It didn't stand on its own 2 feet to gain popularity like Demon's Souls has; it was forced hype.
Did you miss my statements in which I clearly pointed to the equipment and armour adding that gameplay change? Along with assassination moves then yes it has changed a little short of needlessly making the game different so that fans are divided but adding new elements like armour abilities ontop of existing elements maintains that it stays a 'halo' title without failing to improve. Tell me what will uncharted, Killzone, Call of Duty, Unreal tournemant, Half-life etc. do to change there gameplay so much as what Halo's added armour abilities / equipment did for the combat? You mentioned titles like Killzone and Battlefield earlier but please explain how they actually changed that much short of killzone having a dulled aim with the attempted weighted movement. Still I believe that was also present in KZ1 (movement wise, just not aim wise). My point is give me an example of these FPS and TPS that have changed so much during iterations and explain how Halo is somehow bad when it did change and add extra elements yet others like COD, Unreal, Killzone, Half-life etc. can avoid these same criticisms?
@Sigil-otaku Every shooter adds new weapons and modes, it's almost a rule for a sequel. I'm referring more to the gameplay, it has almost remained unchanged from Combat Evolved to Reach. The lack of real aiming is rather mid-1990's and the fps editing isn't something that's not found in other games, Far Cry 2 for instance.
I'm still hoping for them to add multiplayer space combat. They've got the controls and graphics engine in place, so why only use it for one in-game mission?! C'mon.... gimme space dogfighting!!!!
@MEDzZ3RO: Are you high or something? Personally the fact we've been playing around with equipment on Halo 3 and armour abilities on reach suggests unlike most FPS halo DID add a huge extra layer to the combat that made it not just another iteration. Then there's always new modes like firefight and invasion along with playing covenant on the multiplayer side and on the single player they decided to add that space flight mission and since Halo 3 there's been the addition of skulls to add extra challenge to the more hardcore gamers. That sounds like quite a few changes to me, especially when they also pimp out there features by improving forge and adding forge world. Halo is relevant because it DOES improve and add things unlike most series. Even with these map packs being charged for they've made great use of forge by adding free maps to play with on the play lists just for the fans and the DLC is in a separate section so you don't even need to buy it to keep playing. Halo is full of added features, a wealth of modes, MP level editing and new stuff so compare that to Killzone and Battlefield as you seem to have mentioned them and we'll really see why Halo is popular.
@MEDzZ3RO Yes people are still playing Halo and the reason why is because Halo is such a well-built series. Each title Bungie made very well from CE to ODST and finally Reach. Haters gonna hate but the facts are Bungie does good work, and CoD? After 4 it lost all relevance now it should be called Fighting the Russians number blah blah blah
People are still playing Halo?, shocker O_o Call Of Duty and Halo are the 2 most overrated fps games ever but I have to say Halo would be on the highest podium. Combat Evolved worked because it brought an innovative control scheme, good graphics (for its time) and was heavily promoted by Microsoft. Halo 2 worked because again it brought alot of new features and improved over its predecessor greatly. After that Halo hasn't really changed over the years, ODST was a money spinner and Halo 3 just felt rushed; as for Reach, it all seems too little, too late. You compare the second most overrated fps, Call Of Duty and you'll see the series has changed considerably more. It went from being a realistic shooter to a run-and-gun movie experience. They made most changes from CoD 2 - CoD 4 where all 3 games are very different from eachother. The only reason it's hated so much is because Activision refuse to stop milking it. Either way though there are better online shooters out there, Battlefield and Killzone for instance.
@Spartan_418 Playing online has nothing to do with getting mileage out of the maps packs. I had plenty of mileage out of all the maps for Halo 2 and 3. Can still have a lot of fun playing offline and still have interesting game types offline. Not everyone needs to be online to get the most out of multiplayer for Halo or any game. I'm not blaming Bungie for not having Xbox Live, I choose not to have Xbox Live. I tried it and couldn't get myself to like it. Developers cater for online players only for post game support! There are lots of people who play offline only that would still buy DLC.
Damn I dispise haters... there is an easy way around a "carp" game,.. don't play it. (Apologies to all others, I enjoy feeding trolls) ;)
@masterchiefmm map by Bungie and Certain Affinity ( the people who made the map pack for halo 2), says the leasts bungie update
@masterchief Im not against you. I mean there probably are people out there that dont know 343 is making it. But there are also alot of people that already know.
Hmmm, 1 fire-fight and and 2 multi-player seems lame, but I saw one map that looks insane, which is Highlands. I was really hoping for a Halo 2 remake like Headlong of something. Oh yeah, Unearthed looks like a really familiar map that I seen before Reach came out. I think Bungie had a few stills of it or something
@The THCGamer There is nothing wrong with Reach, there is just something wrong with you.
@masterchiefmm I am one of the many people in the world that know that this map pack is being made by 343. Either way the map pack will still probably be good.
I love how none of you realized Bungie didn't make these it was 343 industries not Bungie.
I still think 10 bucks for 3 maps is a little much, but if Noble is any indication, these maps will be awesome
i'll definitely be buying it... although i really wish these maps would be implemented into the regular playlists (a la CoD-style). imagine: team slayer with ALL the maps! wow!
"Map packs" have to be the biggest inside joke in the industry right now. I bet employees for these Devs and publishers gather around water coolers and make bets about how much money they can make off the least amount of value/content. Whoever bet on consumer intelligence and against these map packs is losing big right now.
@TheTHCGamer: So you mean they did the smart thing and didn't force people to buy it? And allowed people to specifically select the new maps if they wished? Which was rather cool when you just bought them and wanted to play them. Anyway I got the map pack for 800 points and I'm not much of a DLC guy but the noble pack had pretty damn good maps in my opinion. I felt I wasn't miffed off after buying them unlike the first halo 3 map pack I bought and in the end that shows it was worth the price. I'm not sure about jumping into more maps for me because I've not been playing reach enough but if any game has worthwhile maps it is reach (on consoles) since you can actually modify them unlike most games with forge mode so hell yeah and +1 to Halo.
So it's this Max Hoberman guy who was responsible for the best version of Halo's multiplayer: Halo 2. Now I know who to credit.
@silentscorn The people who will get the most mileage out of these map packs are those who play online heavily. The maps in the first pack were actually very well done and very fun to play on, provided you had a large number of players and interesting gametypes, and that means playing online. Don't blame Bungie for your not having Xbox LIVE.
@TheTHCGamer So Halo may have some similar things, CoD is not the first/only game to have those things. There is a ranking system in Reach, they just changed it. And you just have to learn how to use the armor ability, people are good at using it because they have learned to use it. One ability is not any better than the other.
The last map pack was a waste of 10 bucks for me. They were uninspired maps that were not really that much fun to play. And now they are releasing 2 mp maps and one firefight map. I don't play my games online and firefight offline just sucks because it is for only 2 pl split screen instead of 4 like they should have made it. So for me it would be 2 mp maps for 10 bucks...A big no thanks for me! I won't be buying it. Tired of these companies trying to nickel and dime their fans with these too high priced map packs. 5 bucks for 3 maps would be perfect. Another fail for this game!!
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