Microsoft Announces First Halo 3 Downloadable Content

Microsoft has announced that three all-new Halo 3 multiplayer maps will be available in a single Xbox Live downloadable, called the Heroic Map Pack. The entire pack will be available for 800 Microsoft Points. According to Microsoft, 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. Additionally, all three maps are player-customizable through the game's Forge feature, and Halo 3's matchmaking playlists are also set to undergo ongoing updates to optimize the social gameplay. The three maps will become available for purchase on Xbox Live Marketplace December 11th, 2007, and Microsoft says that they will become free downloadables in Spring 2008, just prior to the next release of newer Halo 3 multiplayer maps.