Microsoft, Bungie Release First Halo 3 Downloadable Content

Microsoft has announced that it has released the first set in a series of of downloadable Halo 3 content with the Heroic Map Pack, consisting of three new multiplayer maps, all customizable in Bungie's in-game editor Forge. First announced in November, Microsoft says each of the three maps will present a different play style. Standoff (pictured) features a symmetrical valley with entrenched bases and fields of bounders, oriented for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat's Nest features labyrinthine passages that create a Campaign-oriented experience ideal for indoor vehicles. The third map, Foundry, allows players to edit all of the objects in an industrial warehouse, placing stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to build their own play space and customize their own map. Apart from Forge editing, Microsoft says it and Bungie are continuing to make updates to the game's matchmaking playlists to "ensure that ranked and social gameplay remains dynamic and competitive." Currently the downloads are available at the price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10), with the maps becoming free downloads in Spring of next year, when Microsoft says the next map pack will be released.