New Halo 2 Maps RELEASED! [Archive]

Icy Guy

27th April 2005, 08:47 PM

I hope this doesn't come across as sarcastic, but...

...I want to congratulate you guys on keeping the Halo news trend going. :)

I haven't downloaded any videos relating to the new maps yet, short of a video of how to get out of Warlock. (I almost figured that out last night, except I kept getting stopped by an invisible barrier.) However, I have downloaded the Bonus Pack (two freebie maps), and I'd be lying if I didn't think they were awesome. So far, I've played a few rounds of CTF (pretty tense if you don't use the teleporters; red vs. blue matches work best) and Slayer on Warlock, and a Snipers match on Containment. Really good stuff. I can't wait to get on Live again, so I can do the following:

1) Time how long it takes for the gate to lower/raise in Containment. (EDIT: 7 seconds. Bungie loves their 7.)

2) Time how long said gate stays down before automatically going back up. (EDIT: About 75 seconds.)

3) Play a 12- to 16-player CTF match on Containment. (EDIT: Done. :))

4) Play more of both Warlock and Containment.

5) Download the Maptacular pack, and then go nuts with Turf and Sanctuary. (EDIT: Done. :))

6) Play some of you guys on these new maps, once I get back into the swing of things. Since I'm kind of ill and out-of-practice, I'll need to "turn down the suck."

In other news:

-Someone noticed that there's a face on the Halo above Containment. So far, the general consensus is that it's Chris Carney, who's designed several maps. Additionally, Chris is responsible for various maps' "Carneyholes," which are basically hiding spots people can use to gain an advantage. Think the protrusion behind the control tower's circular ramp on Ascension, the side extensions on the ramp leading to the grav lift room on Lockout, etc. (In fact, Bungie has called those two examples "Carneyholes," so I know I have those right.)

-Turf has a couple of interesting soda machines. One has a picture of a rooster, and one has a picture of teeth. Put 'em together, and we get..."Rooster Teeth." (http://www.roosterteeth.com/) More proof that Bungie values their fan community.

-The Halo 2 autoupdate is out, updating the game to version 1.1. Fixes include the removal of sword flying from multiplayer, the removal of the "dummy glitch," alleviation of standby/modem suspend problems, removal of the ability to grab stuff through walls (no more pulling an SMG through the base walls on Beaver Creek, I guess), and a fix for the flag bounce on Colossus. Additionally, there have been a few weapon changes: melee attack damage has been increased for EVERYTHING, melee attacks are location-sensitive (head and torso hits will hurt the most; jumping melees supposedly often result in an instant kill, like with the flag, bomb, Oddball, and Rocket Launcher in Halo 2 v1.0), the Brute Shot's melee damage has been increased a lot (you'd think a weapon with a massive blade on the side would do a ton of damage when the game originally shipped), both types of grenades do more damaged, the frag grenades' fuse has been shortened, the Plasma Rifle + SMG combo has been "Nerfed" (damn), and the Magnum has been brought down a notch again. The funny thing is, Bungie's constantly going on about "balanced weapons," but they never address the Plasma Pistol's capacity to work with the Battle Rifle, resulting in two hit kills, nor do they address the Sniper/Beam Rifle's super auto-aim (as far as I know). I rarely use "The Combo," except when the opposing team is using it. And the Combo-lovers say the Sword, Rocket Launcher, and Shotgun are "n00b weapons." Hah. If you take away The Combo, a lot of people (including players in MLG tourneys) wouldn't be anywhere near as "good" as they are now.

Right. That's it. Piss off. I've got some more cats to see...