Halo 2 gets Maptacular

Those explosions heard and felt yesterday weren't leftover pyrotechnics from the Fourth of July. Legions of Halo 2 fans flocked to either local retail stores or their Xboxes yesterday to get the next set of bonus maps for the first-person shooter.

The Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack comes in two versions: a downloadable set through Xbox Live and a packaged retail edition. The entire Multiplayer Map Pack contains nine new maps of varying shapes and sizes, as well as a new auto-update that further tweaks the game's parameters for more-balanced play.

Xbox Live owners can purchase and download the "Maptacular" pack for $11.99. This quintet of maps includes Relic, Elongation, Terminal, Backwash, and Gemini. Four other maps were previously available exclusively on Xbox Live.

Gamers without a broadband connection and Xbox Live can continue their LAN-party fragfests by purchasing the nine-map set through retail outlets for $19.99. In addition to the five maps mentioned above, the packaged Map Pack includes all the game patches previously available to Xbox Live users, the first four bonus maps (Turf, Containment, Warlock, and Sanctuary), a patch that unlocks the first bonus map (Foundation), a behind-the-scenes documentary about Bungie Studios and the creation of Halo 2, and an animated featurette that delves into many of the game's side stories.

The Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack is rated M for Mature and requires a full retail version of Halo 2 to play. For more information on the new maps, head over to GameSpot's previews of the bonus battlefields.