Last five Halo 2 maps released

Frugal--and patient--gamers around the world today scored a victory as Bungie released the final maps from its Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack for free over Xbox Live. To get the five new maps, Halo 2 owners need only to sign on to Xbox Live and select the content download option from the game's menu.

The company took an interesting approach to releasing the nine extra maps by offering options to buy the maps and have them sooner, or wait a bit longer and get them for free. Bungie initially offered four maps--two for free and two for a price--over Xbox Live in April, the remaining five maps for a price over Xbox Live the same day it released the complete set in a retail version in June, and today made all the maps available for free download.

The final five maps are Relic, Elongation, Terminal, Backwash, and Gemini. Gamers will be required to download the maps by next week's matchmaking update if they wish to continue playing the ranked multiplayer sessions. Those who wish to explore the new territories can do so in custom games, Rumble Preview, or Team Preview playlists.

For an in-depth breakdown of the new maps, check out GameSpot's coverage of the latest battlefields.