halo 2 updates.
9 new maps will be out in the near future, ALL FREE by the end of the summer, and released staggered online as premium content, and also in a $19.99 expansion type package in stores, and as I said finally all will be free by the end of the summer.
The first 4 maps will be out in late april, preceeded by a patch to fix some glitches, cheats, exploits, etc. that are abused in mulitplayer and make for a generally unpleasant time. I haven’t experienced very much cheating, but last night i played 2 games that really put a sour taste in my mouth. One game the host used a standby cheat in which the host can hit a standby button to temporarily disable their connection. meanwhile they go around killing other people and then they reeneable the modem and everyone’s dead because the host’s version of the game is the “right” one.
In the other game the other team used some strange glitch in which you can make it look as if the bomb fell below out of the map, but is apparently not actually gone, and as long as someone is standing in the right spot, the bomb is “contested” so it never counts down and resets.
All these things should be fixed once the update arrives in the next few weeks.
As for maps, 2 will be released for free (sponsored by mountain dew…) and 2 will be released as premium content, all 4 in late april after the update is out. Then on June 28th you’ll be able to buy 5 more maps through Live, or buy the Expansion Disc in retail stores for $19.99 which includes the 9 maps and a sidestory cinematic, plus a documentary type movie.
And finally by the end of summer, all the maps will be avalalbe to as free downloadable content.
Personally, I like the “pay now, or get it free later” approach that bungie is taking. A lot of other premium content has been later released for free, but it was never announced as part of the plan, and I think bungie is doing the smart thing by saying “you can get it early if you pay, but if you can’t or don’t want to , you’ll be able to get it later, so don’t worry.” And by having it available in retail stores, people without live can get the new maps and the fixes that they haven’t been able to in the past.
It makes sense from a money-making without being a bastard point of view.
here’s the official news story from xbox.com
and here’s bungie’s explanation and more detailed map description.