New Halo 3 maps releasing December 11th

If you've taken a short sabbatical from Halo 3 to get some Call of Duty 4 or Assassin's Creed time in, it looks like it's time to visit good 'ol Master Chief for some renewed fun. According to Microsoft, on December 11th there will be three new maps available for download.

The three maps titled Standoff, Foundry and Rat's Nest, will be available for 800 Microsoft Points, which translates to roughly ten dollars. Here is a description MS provided for the maps:

• The symmetrical valley of Standoff, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types.
• The vast, labyrinthine passages of the Rat's Nest bring something completely new to the multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise. Strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, this map is ideal for big team battles.
• Foundry is the ultimate Forge map. Players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, placing stairways, walls, bridges, and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map imaginable.

For those of us who can't afford to purchase the maps now, MS has stated that the maps will become available for free in Spring 2008, just prior to the next Halo 3 map release. Now if I can only get my Xbox 360's laser to read discs, then I'd be a happy camper. Bummer.

- R

* Microsoft Halo 3 Press Release