Let’s face it ... Halo is a religion for some people and it doesn’t matter what I say here, when April 9th comes round, you’ll disregard everything I say and fire up your 360 and go download this bad boy. So for those, let this serve as more of an insight in to Bungie’s third map pack (not including Cold Storage ... it wasn’t a pack) so you really know what you’re getting into.

First, let me clear up a few common misconceptions ... the Mythic Map Pack, as in the one on general sale on April 9th, consists of 3 maps; Assembly, Orbital and Sandbox. Yes, I said 3, not 6 ... the other 3 Mythic Maps (Longshore, Citadel and Heretic) will come bundled with ODST when it hits this coming fall.

We’ll kick off proceedings with a look at Orbital, a map that is set in the Quito Space Tether; a UNSC Space Elevator used to ship materials to and from a planet’s surface. This space station-esque environment makes use of cargo crates and long corridors to create the majority of its action. This asymmetrical  map consists of two overlapping U shaped corridors with a base situated at the end of each making it perfect for objective games, but equally so for slayer. Slayer games are possibly its forte, especially the race for the rocket launcher at the beginning. You’ll find that so many of the battles take place in and around the cargo crates in the centre which makes for some interesting showdowns. Objective games can start off pleasant enough, but the samey environment makes it easy to lose your bearings.

The second of the three maps is Sandbox ... a map that really doesn’t feel very Halo-esque when you kick things off, but soon grows on you. The map is a wide open desert type landscape with various Egyptian like architecture dotted around the map in the form of two bases either side, a small structure in the middle and some block pillars around the edge. This is the only map in pack that really warrants the use of vehicles and accordingly you’ll find a Brute Chopper and Warthog at each base. In my experience with Halo, I can’t say I’ve experienced a map as open and as flat as Sandbox. It’s kind of a shock to the system in all honesty and it’s absolutely necessary to make use of the structures on the map if you are going to succeed.  Once you do get used to it, the map becomes somewhat enjoyable ... we’re just thankful there aren’t any snipers on the original map variant. The weaker of the three maps for sure, but one that is a grower, and one that will certainly hit home with the Forge fans out there.

The third, and possibly our favourite of the three maps is Assembly which reminds us a lot of the classic Halo 2 map, Midship. Not only is the environment the same, Assembly is set in a Covenant Scarab Manufacturing Facility, but it’s also very similar in layout. Both of the maps in question are circular maps with bases either end, and similarly to Midship, Assembly has a central structure; although it is more of a central pivot point, rather than a suspending platform as it was in Midship.  Around the map you’ll find a strategically placed rocket launcher and a giant Brute Hammer smack bang in the middle as well as a number of battle rifles and what not. Great for slayer (especially Swat) and team objectives ... gah, we miss Midship, but this is as close as you’ll get without getting the Halo 2 disc out.

After spending countless hours flying through these few maps recently I can’t help but feel that the matchmaking is a little imbalanced. In a 6 hour session the other evening, out of 23 matches, 12 of which were on Orbital, we only got to enjoy Assembly 4 times. So many times did we get the sensation of “oh my, not Orbital again ... we want Assembly” and the inability to choose our gametype before a game kicks off is a tad annoying. The choice of choosing slayer or skirmish would have been welcomed, however, the fact that it’s only 4 on 4 social games at the moment, chances are additional modes are being held back until general release.

The achievements are ... well, confusing. It currently is NOT possible to get the full 1,750 out of Halo 3 because you must remember, we’re still 3 Mythic Maps shorts of the full collection. It also seems as if you can unlock the Legendary Map achievements on the Mythic Maps as well, further confusing what achievements belong to what (although it does say), yet we find it funny that we couldn’t unlock the MVP achievement from the original game despite coming first in a team slayer match with the most kills. It seems to be pretty inconsistent. There are 20 achievements in all available for the Mythic Map Pack worth 500 points (25 points each) but you can only get 250 (on an educated guess that is, because we have no idea what the zombie achievements are) because a.) there is no sword to do the “Get the Horns” achievement (well, not that I could find) and b.) the others are allocated to the other 3 maps. There are some tricky ones also so don’t think it’s all easy; Exterminator requires you take out the whole of an opposing team with an overkill, Save This Film requires that you get a Perfection medal (15 kills in a slayer match with no deaths or betrayals) and getting a Killtacular whilst playing 4 on 4 means you have to overkill the opposition and then pick up one of them respawning. The rest will have you scoring points for Killjoys, collecting skulls and doing a few level specific tasks. All in all, not a bad set despite a few really tricky ones and the confusing nature of the Mythic Map Pack as a whole.

There is no doubting Bungie’s ability to create a damn fine set of maps and they’ve proved it once again. There are many that question paying for Map Packs these days, but when you can spend hours and hours on keeping your favourite multiplayer game fresh, the 800 point outlay seems like a bargain. If Bungie can tweak the matchmaking to be a little more even and add in plenty more modes, then the Mythic Maps could give Halo 3 the legs to keep up its impressive online figures until ODST drops in the fall.

Halo 3’s third downloadable map pack will be available for general sale on April 9th for the usual 800 Microsoft points. Can’t wait that long? Try your luck in our Mythic Map Pack giveaway that ends on the weekend.