Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack fires up Xbox Live

Arriving this week on Xbox Live was the first map pack for the critically and financially successful Halo: Reach. The Noble Map Pack (800 MS points, or $10) is now available to download either through the newly updated Microsoft Web marketplace or via Internet-connected Xbox 360s.

As for the content, the Noble Map Pack bundles three fresh environments for the game's multiplayer component. The maps--Breakpoint, Anchor 9, and Tempest--are each greatly distinct and have been built at the house of Master Chief specifically designed for certain game types.

Breakpoint is the new Invasion environment. The largest of the bunch, this map is winter-themed and complements the existing Spire and Boneyard locales. Anchor 9, a perfectly symmetrical environment set inside the human space station, is the smallest of the three fresh maps. It's geared toward Team Slayer matches and also sports small low-gravity sections, similar to that of Zealot. Finally, a map likened to Valhalla of Halo 3, Tempest takes place on terra firma and is "relatively" symmetrical and thus works well for game types like Capture the Flag.

For more on Halo: Reach's Noble Map Pack, check out GameSpot's hands-on preview with the maps and interview with Bungie's multiplayer designer, Chris Carney (below).

Microsoft added one Xbox Live Arcade title to its virtual storefront this week: Unbound Saga (800 MS points, or $10). From Vogster Entertainment, the side-scrolling brawler puts players in the shoes of Rick Ajax or Lori Machete, two fighters with unique skill sets. The title sports 10 levels, 35 unlockable abilities, and 30 enemy types and bosses to defeat.

Also debuting this week is free downloadable content for Uber Entertainment's stylized third-person shooter Monday Night Combat. The Spunky Cola DLC gives players a new environment--the Spunky Cola Arena--to battle in. Additionally, the new DLC offers a new Super Sudden Death mode, playable in Blitz mode on another new locale, the Survivitol arena. For the entire list of changes coming to Monday Night Combat in the update, check out Uber Entertainment's blog entry.

Fans of the physics-based motorcycle title Trials HD can download the game's second batch of DLC today. The add-on (400 MS points, or $5) packs in 40 new tracks, which include 10 user-created levels. Also up for grabs in the new content are three additional achievements and 50 Gamerscores to amass.