Halo:Reach Noble Map Pack Review

Before the Covenant was defeated on Earth, before all humanity could be saved, and epic battle took place for planet Reach that would change the course of history.  Halo Reach, the first chapter chronicling the epic story of our survival is finally here.  Join Noble Team on a crucial mission through our darkest hours to ensure the continuation of the human race.   With the courage and sacrifice of a Spartan, it’s up to you to make sure humanity’s last stand is not our last. [Microsoft]

As a big fan of all of the Halo games, I was already looking forward to this DLC. Eventhough I don’t actively play Halo: Reach I love to see what Bungie has in store with each Map Pack they have released for all their games.  The Noble Pack is no step down in quality from the original Reach content, and it adds alot more to the already robust multiplayer that is Reach.  Honestly, I haven’t played Reach in about a month or so before playing the Noble Pack, and now I can’t put it back down.  Perhaps it was the fact that most of the jackasses seem to have moved on to CoD, or more likely it was just the freshness of the new maps and how well they are put together that keeps me plugging along.  Plus, I really want to earn my Pestilence Armor Ability before all is said and done.  Equally well done, the three maps each have their distinct characteristics which you can take a look at below.  It’s hard to pick favorites here, but Anchor 9 is great fun.

Tempest: A map that bottlenecks the action to a hilltop and gives some excellent opportunities for snipers and players to creep around the back for flanking attacks.  Set on a beach front this map is a bit of a deviation from what players are used to but a quality map nonetheless.

Anchor 9: Anchor 9 is not for the faint of heart.  A very small map with a lot of nooks, crannies, cover, and quick combat.  Split into two sections. Inside the airlock and outside you can get outside of the main area where you have the opportunity for flanking maneuvers plus that really cool feeling of weightlessness.

Breakpoint: If you are more the big team battle, invasion, or objective player Breakpoint is gonna be your favorite map of the bunch.  This huge map, features, banshees, tanks, warthogs, and alot of spots to do some serious damage as a sniper or other power weapons like the laser.

It’s really hard to justify not spending the $10 here to increase the enjoyability of this already great game.  These new maps for Reach are just a constant reminder that Bungie is always watching and knows exactly what you are craving to make your gaming experience that much better.  I’ll take more Bungie, when your ready of course.