We all love Portal. Whether you played it on Xbox 360, PS3, or PC it’s just one of those classics everyone loved. Portal: Still Alive tacks on 14 new levels. So, for anyone looking to play Portal again, here’s the stand alone arcade port: Portal: Still Alive.

Story:  So we all know the story. Your name is Chell. You are a test subject in the Enrichment Center for Aperture Laboratories. Throughout the game you are directed by GLaDOS (the Genetic Lifeform Disk Operating System ). She encourages you to do your best and praises you once you complete a level, all the while taunting the human species.

Gameplay:  As you go through the game you are challenged to make your way through the many rooms in the Aperture Science lab using an ASHPD (or Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device). In the beginning you start out with only one portal. As you start to get the feel for how to play the game and use the device you’ll find the second portal. Now you have both portals at your disposal to use whichever way you want to get through the laboratory.

The portals create a physical connection between two locations. An important aspect of the game’s physics is momentum redirection. As moving objects pass through portals, they come through the exit portal at the same direction as the exit portal is facing and with the same speed with which they passed through the entrance portal. Using this you can get to places that look nearly impossible to get to. Also, if portal ends are not on parallel planes, the character passing through is reoriented to be upright with respect to gravity after leaving a portal end. All objects in the game can fit through the portals, such as Chell, the weighted companion cube, and any other object you can pick up.

Only one portal of each color, blue and orange, can exist at any given time. Some surfaces in the game cannot accommodate portals, surfaces like, glass, moving objects, liquids, special walls, and areas that are too small. As mentioned earlier companion cubes will be provided to you to assist with climbing and holding down the large buttons to open doors open. At the end of each level you will notice a screen of blue covering the doorway to the elevator. These screens erase the portals on the level and block the portal from being fired through them.

There are a few things in the game that can kill you. Falling isn’t one of them. Chell has been equipped with heel springs that absorb shock when falling. She can be killed by various other traps, such as turret guns, bouncing balls of energy, and toxic liquid. She can also be killed by falling objects and hydraulic pistons that appear throughout the game. There is no visible health meter: Chell dies if she takes certain amount damage in a small amount of time. If Chell is hit she recovers very quickly. Single blows from anything else but turrets cause instant death.

The portal gun allows for many different approaches to complete each test chamber. As you go through each level they get more difficult forcing you to get more creative.

Graphics/Sound:  The graphics in my opinion are pretty basic, but clear.

Overall: Portal as always been a favorite game for many. You get the whole game on the Arcade plus a little bit more. It takes up 629 MB on your hard drive for 1200 Microsoft points.

Pros:

• Easy to understand
• Easy to get into if you love puzzles

Cons:

• Can get difficult at times

Score: 9 out of 10

Fenix Rising marks a return to multiplayer downloadable content for Epic Games and Gears of War 3. With five new maps, two new characters,  two previously pre-order only characters included in the pack, and more, there is a ton of bang for your buck.

With Fenix Rising comes the option to “Re-Up” for another tour of duty. Meaning yes, get ready to level to 100 all over again. Those who do will receive a different colored rank in-game along with a new weapon skin for each time they do so, with three times being the cap.

The content also adds Recruit Clayton – which is pretty much just Clayton in generic COG armor sporting his minor changes – and the Savage Marauder -arguably the coolest of Locust we’ve seen in awhile. Meanwhile, Epic decided it was wise to add Thrashball Cole who was previously only available to those who completed a challenge in the multiplayer beta and Savage Kantus which was only available to those who preordered from Amazon. However, those who have both will notice that there are slight differences such as color, or under-armor. Many fans were upset to see this happen.

Depths takes place somewhere near Azura’s entrance. Leviathans can be seen swimming outside while the battle rages on inside. With a raised central position that can overlook everything around, large battles are sure to commence. While up there, you better watch your head however, there isn’t a ton of cover to be had.

Anvil tends to keep players within mid-range of each other before the shotgun battles break out. With only one power weapon each round, fights tend to congregate around this area as it can be the deciding factor in the outcome of the match.

The Slab takes place in the prison where Marcus was busted out of prior to the events of the original Gears of War. Graffiti and words are jotted all along the walls. The Boomshot/Digger lies in the middle of the map which finds itself relatively vulnerable to those who flank or who are located near the pistol spawn. Spawn camping isn’t uncommon as there are only two exits to each spawn, allowing the team in control to kill anyone who attempts to come out.

Academy is the training camp that Marcus attended when he decided to enlist in the COG, much to the dismay of his father. The Torque Bow/Sniper spawn overlooks the Boomshot/Digger spawn which finds itself located on the other side of the map. However, a large gateway in between the two, where grenades spawn, normally keep each spot from being camped. With so many ways to circle behind your enemies, this is one map where flanking is relatively common.

Escalation makes its return from the original Gears of War as well. With one team spawning on the top of the staircases and the other at the bottom, the advantage is clear. Sure the top has the so called height advantage, but the bottom spawns with two snipers and grenades. It’s relatively unbalanced, but it brings back a lot of good memories.

The Fenix Rising Map Pack will set you back 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and is “free” for those who purchased the season pass.

Pros:

• Re-uping ads hundreds of hours of leveling.
• Escalation is an old fan favorite.
• Depths is visually intoxicating.

Cons:

• Making us pay for characters that some people already have.
• Ads hundreds of hours of leveling. (Good and bad, now we have to play even more – Ed)

Overall: 9.0/10

A code for this content was provided by the developer.

Survival horror is a genre I hold dear to my heart. Starting with the first time I booted up Alone in the Dark back in my youth I have been hooked. Through good (Resident Evil) and bad (Illbleed), I have tried most titles in the genre. Sadly Amy falls into the bad category.

Story- You play as Lana who is somehow connected to a mute girl named Amy. You both have seemingly escaped a place called plainly “The Center”, while on the run from “The Professor”. Why were you there? What are you running from? Well good luck cause the plot in Amy is about as deep as a puddle. A little later in the game you find out Amy has psychic powers that she can use, but even that is left in the dark as far as the plot is concerned .

Gameplay- Well where should I begin? Terrible, almost tank like controls ala Resident Evil plague you from the start. Partner that with laughably bad and glitchy melee combat and you pretty much have summed up the gameplay. The mingame for hacking is also incredibly broken. For instance on the first hacking puzzle I thought I had the solution, but upon inputting it I was told it was incorrect. A couple tries later I retried the original answer I had and voila it worked. The game feels almost unfinished and untested.

Graphics/Audio-visual- Lana and Amy’s character models are very well done, as a matter of fact all of the character models are pretty nice. Is framerate important to you? If you answered yes just stop right here. Amy runs at a solid and steady 20-30 fps. Infected (ha pun) with choppy framerates is an immediate turnoff for me and it lasts throughout the whole game. Some textures seem ripped directly from PS1 games. Overall graphically it is an insult to players to produce a game with textures and visuals this bad this late in a consoles life. The sound in Amy is well, like the rest of the game bad. Music adds nothing to the atmosphere and you never feel immersed. The voice acting is also terrible, how terrible you may ask. I would rank it #1 all time above Resident Evil and at least the voice acting in RE is quote worthy.

Overall- Amy is just plain bad. The game feels very undone and I am ashamed to admit I spent $10 of my own money on it. I cannot in my right mind recommend this game to anyone, unless you are incredibly masochistic and love suffering through the worst of the worst. The worst part is the trailers for this game make it look really promising but it fails to deliver.

Pros-
-Character models

Cons-
-Terrible plot
-Bad controls
-Glitchy combat

3 out of 10

Saints Row started off as what seemed to be an attempt at dethroning Grand Theft Auto. However, with the release of the second game, the series found its niche with over-the-top action, hilarity, and outrageous events. Saints Row: The Third looks to carry this success into the future and stands as yet another improvement over the previous game. The Saints are now a global icon, making movies, commercials, and energy drinks has put the Saints on top of the world. One would think that this would give you free reign over the entire world but the Special Tactical Anti-Gang (STAG) paramilitary police force has something else in mind.

Story: The Saints are superstars and they practically feel invincible. So when they decide to rob a bank with an movie star who is researching his part in a Saints movie, things inevitably go wrong. The star thinks this is all play, so when the place ends up full of people trying to kill you, he doesn’t react well. The Saints get to the vault and are ready to fly it out when the star hits the button to alert the police; this puts the Saints in jail.

The Syndicate, an international crime organization, gets the Saints out of prison and into their custody. At this point, Phillipe Loren tries to convince them to hand over the majority of their profits in exchange for allowing them to stay in Steelport. Things go horribly wrong when the Saints break free and start a gunfight. As they manage to land safely on the ground, the local gangs the Morningstar, the Deckers, and the Luchadores all team up to take down the Saints.

You’re job is to wrest control of the area and insert Saints influence over the entire island all while maintaining your image, of course.

Gameplay: Saints Row: The Third is pure action. The activities have actually been justified this time around, but they’re still insane. Trail Blazing is a way of toughening you up, Heli Assault is a way of defending a teammate who’s actually accomplishing things, while Professor Genki’s Super Ethical Reality Climax is simply entertainment at its finest.

Flying VTOLs, destroying competing gangs, and just blowing stuff up is the heart of the game.

Graphics/Audio: The music is simply stunning. Never before have I seen music be utilized so well as with “Power” when you’re assaulting a crib, or when you and Pierce sing along to a song on the radio on the way to a mission.

With OnLive, so many factors such as bandwidth, the unknown settings on the servers hosting the game, and the fact that lag means the graphics go standard definition until it buffers again; make it hard to rate the graphics. I’ve seen the game on other platforms and they arn’t anything to complain about.

Multiplayer: Volition has removed the competitive multiplayer that received mixed review in Saints Row 2. Instead the developer added “Whored Mode” which is exactly what it sounds like. Players will face wave upon wave of crazy, obscene, over-the-top action. Take on giant women with nothing but the Penetrator and other unbelievable things. All the while, trying to survive with one of your friends.

Overall: Volition has put out another solid Saints experience. Where the previous installments simply won you over with their over the top action, Saints Row: The Third successfully justifies the madness and has you laughing all the while. With the new weapon upgrade system, the phone interface – which allows you to upgrade everything from health, to ammo count, and reload speed – and “Saints Book” which gives you access to a ton of side missions; this is one game that begs you to attempt to 100% it.

With OnLive having no install is both good and bad, but without top notch Internet, there’s bound to be some issues. Lag, frame-rate drops, and freezing were all issues that were relatively common.

Pros:

• Best utilization of music we’ve seen in awhile
• Makes you want to 100% it
• Great voice acting
• Hilarious

Cons:

• Typical OnLive issues such as lag, framerate drops, and freezing
• No access to future downloadable content (On OnLive)
• Can’t change the graphics settings (On OnLive)

Score: 9.5/10

Access to this game was provided by OnLive for review purposes.

I was a little unsure of how I would like Halo: Evolutions given the fact that it was simply a compilation of many short stories. Typically I find myself to be a fan of longer overarching stories, however, I thoroughly enjoyed Evolutions. Since the stories are condensed into a much smaller page number, they get to the point right away.

“Pariah” by B.K. Evenson tells the gripping story of Soren-66 who was given a choice by Dr. Halsey, if he wanted to become a Spartan or not. The ramifications of that decision on Halsey are evident by the end of the story which becomes one of the more gripping stories in the anthology.

“Headhunters” by Jonathan Goff tells the story of a bunch of Spartan pairs, with focus lying on Jonah and Roland, and their epic struggle to do some damage before a full-scale assault on a Covenant moon.

“The Mona Lisa” by Jeff Vandermeer and Tessa Kum is the longest tale in the book, highlighting the events of the UNSC Red Horse and it’s journey into the remains of the first Halo. A team from the ship is sent to investigate a derelict ship which may still contain the location of Earth, but there are other factors unknown to the team as they struggle to get out alive.

“Palace Hotel” by Robt McLees is the only story that has Master Chief as the central focus. This is a must read for any Halo fan, as you will gain valuable insight into John’s history. Let’s just say the Chief finds himself face to face with someone from his old life, back when he was only eight years old.

“Human Weakness” by the epic, excuse the pun, Karen Traviss, on the other hand, gives you insight into Cortana. Highlighting the events when the Chief leaves her on High Charity after the events of Halo 2 until he rescues her in Halo 3, the story also gives you a deeper understanding of the Gravemind and Flood infestation.

However, it’s the final short story, “The Return” by Kevin Grace that is the single, most important story to read in the entire book. They saved the best for last, per se. This one is told through the eyes of a single Elite Shipmaster on his return to a planet he glassed by hand and his personal struggle to find direction, now that the truth has finally emerged.

Put simply, any hardcore Halo fan that’s bothered to read the other books should make no exception here. With three crucial stories to be read, it would be stupid not to give these short stories a read through. After all, it’s pretty hard to read the Chief and Cortana sometimes, what could possibly be better than to experience something through their own eyes?

Story: The game starts you off inside the Mage’s house when all of the sudden a white light appears beckoning you outside. As you follow the light you encounter your old friends the Warrior and Thief. You quickly learn that the Trine wants you to partake in another quest. This time it seems the forest is in danger but you don’t know why and your goal is to stop whatever tragedy from happening.

Gameplay: You play the role of one of three characters. One of them is a Mage while the other two are a Thief and Warrior. Each character can do something the others cannot. Your goal is to beat each of the levels puzzles. Some are simple while others are somewhat complex and can take hours to figure out. Some puzzles may appear to be difficult yet the solution can be rather simple and will cause you to laugh once you figure it out. The controls are rather simple yet the actions required to complete some of the puzzles can be complex and require perfect timing. The game is rather fun and some levels can be played over and over again and remain quite enjoyable.

Graphics/Sound: The game looks like a simple 2D sidescroller but the backgrounds and sounds can be somewhat inspiring at times. The particles in the water are simply amazing when used in some puzzles.

Overall: Trine 2 really hits the mark and continues where Trine 1 left off. Though this is the first entry for the series on the Xbox you do not feel left out once you start playing. The game is quite fun and can be very challenging. If you love puzzles games like Braid this is one game you cannot pass up.

Score: 8.5 out of 10

Story: Bright lights, fame, glory, the world. Joe Danger had it all once but then it was all snatched away when a stunt went awry. Joe Danger is now back on the track to get it all back and has even brought a new mode to his XBLA attempt at a comeback. Can you help Joe seize back his spotlight and adoring fans?

Gameplay: Side scrolling motorcycle games are few and far between, but they are always fantastic (Excitebike, Trials HD) and Joe Danger is no exception to that. The physics of Trials are all present here with less of a focus on leaning your bike and more of a focus on hilarious tricks and bouncing. All levels are setup in the old school Tony Hawk format we all remember: Collect D-A-N-G-E-R, Break scores, Find the secret star, etc… This all helps Joe Danger become what could be the best XBLA game to date. Joe Danger also adds a level creator similar to Excitebike, drop pieces in real time right in front of Joe and give them a whirl. The Special Edition moniker isn’t lost on the re-release of Joe Danger (Originally a PS3 exclusive) with the addition of Lab Mode. In Lab Mode you will find even zanier challenges and hours of more fun. They also threw in 10 unlockable characters which adds a ton of replay value to this already addicting title.

Graphics/Audio: Being a stuntman is apparently a pretty colorful and vibrant gig. Levels jump from your screen in almost Pixar quality presentation. The layout of each is varied and many different backdrops give the game a great overall balance of keeping the story going while not staying in the same generic stunt track venue. Sound in Joe Danger is just as you would expect, it involves a lot of motorcycle vrooming and some hilarious crash sounds. Music is there and neither adds or takes away from the title, nor is soundtrack really that important in a title like this.

Overall: Hello Games jumped 10 buses with the original release of Joe on the PS3 and they have come back again and added more buses to the to this attempt and landed it perfectly. Joe Danger Special Edition is the most fun I have ever had with an XBLA title and I’m a guy who sunk about 40 hours each into Castle Crashers and Castlevania:HD. This is a game you NEED to play, don’t just get the demo, splurge the $15 and get immersed into the world of rebuilding a stuntmans career. Trust me this is the most fun you will have this year. My only regret is the game came out so late it will miss my GOTY vote for this site.

Pros:
-Tons of content
-Easy and addictive
-Reminds me of the original Tony Hawk titles.
-Lab mode

Cons:
-It will take hours away from your life without you noticing

9.5 out of 10

A copy of this game was provided for review purposes.

The first campaign DLC for Gears of War 3 has arrived. “RAAM’s Shadow” has nothing at all to do with the third installment in the Gears of War trilogy, in fact, the add-on serves as a prequel to the entire series. With the return of two of the more influential characters to have died in the previous two installments along with two new characters, many fans were pretty excited about the arrival of this DLC. The longest campaign add-on in Gears history, topping or approaching four hours, “RAAM’s Shadow” looks to give those long time fans a chance to play as RAAM himself.

Story: “RAAM’s Shadow” tells the story of Zeta squad, Minh Young Kim, Tai Kaliso, Alicia Valera, and Michael Barrick, in their attempt to save civilians before the impending Kryll storm. With seeders launching nemacysts in an attempt to clog the skies full of ink, Zeta has to struggle to beat the clock and evacuate everyone before the storm hits.

Along the way, RAAM is busy with his two elite maulers, elite theron guard, and the boomer – carrying a hammer to summon the seeders. When you play as RAAM you simply eliminate all COG resistance and then defend the area while the seeder is summoned. It really is a simple experience highlighted by RAAM’s special execution.

With Minh and RAAM’s encounter being foreshadowed the entire time, anyone who knows what’s coming is sure to get some enjoyment out of the experience.

Gameplay: The gameplay feels like a combination of Gears 3 and the original with the return of emergence holes and the lack of lambent. Playing as RAAM wasn’t quite as fun as I thought it would be. Sure it was fun to execute enemies but it seemed rather rudimentary only having the option of either casting your kryll shield at the COG soldiers for an instant kill or retro charging to impale them.

Zeta squad has some good moments highlighted by a creepy adventure through an old school. The constant switching between Zeta and RAAM led to me becoming detached from the squad and not really caring what happened to them. The squad is personable for sure, and there are some laughs to be had, but overall the game felt a little dumbed down.

Epic has said that their are sawed-off shotguns with retro lances attached but I went through the entire DLC without even seeing it, let alone using it.

Graphics/Audio: Obviously this area remains largely the same with the same great Unreal Engine graphics. The kryll storm is really something to behold as what seems to be impending doom approaches. It’s really an anxious, nerve racking feeling that is only made even better with the updated graphics.

Overall: “RAAM’s Shadow” is simply alright even for a hardcore Gears of War fan. Playing as RAAM isn’t nearly as awesome as it sounds and Zeta squad is merely a means of foreshadowing the events between RAAM and Minh. I often found myself just playing the game in hopes of getting to the end of the add-on which proved to be the strongest point. The part I appreciated the most was the additional multiplayer characters, as weird as that sounds. Tai and Alicia look great with their alternative armor colors, while the chocolate weapon skins are meh at best. Owners of the Season Pass get this add-on “free” while everyone else has to pay 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) for an experience that is only supplemental to the Gears experience.

Pros:

• Return of old characters and addition of new characters.
• RAAM’s execution
• Foreshadowing of events between RAAM and Minh.
• Kryll storm in updated graphics is beautiful.

Cons:

• Gameplay feels dumbed down.
• Story doesn’t grab you emotionally like it tries to.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

A copy of this downloadable content was provided for review purposes.

Many have been nervous, to say the least, about Assassin’s Creed going with a yearly release schedule. Brotherhood featured many minor improvements over Assassin’s Creed II; needless to say, Revelations is more of an improvement over Brotherhood than the prequel was over the original.

Story:  Desmond wise, the story picks up right where Brotherhood left off. Desmond is stuck inside the Animus, trying to keep himself from being lost inside. Lucy has died and Desmond has very little left for his life as he explores his past in the Desmond Sequences which are unlocked through the acquisition of Animus fragments. Rebecca is seemingly being forced to attempt and save the life of Desmond while another voice, in command, pushes for more progress.

Desmond has no choice but to continue exploring what the Animus has to show him in hope that the Animus will run out of content to show him, at which point it will be able to separate the three intertwined memory sequences.

This time around Ezio finds himself as a man older in years, still searching for answers after the last game. He has moved to Istanbul and Constantinople, this time searching for the legendary Masyaf keys, each of which contains knowledge from Altair himself. The entrance to Altair’s library requires five of such keys to access, the first of which was found by the Templars after an earthquake.

Ezio comes to deal with the head of the local Assassin order along with prince Suleiman himself and a local Italian traveler and book collector Sofia.

Gameplay: Flow has been dramatically improved as the path finding works almost all of the time now. Long gone are the days where Ezio would always do exactly what you didn’t want him to do.

With the addition of bombs, the game plays entirely different. The ability to take out multiple targets with one bomb, in a variety of ways mind you, leads to more offense. Distraction bombs lead to increased stealth while tactical bombs help you escape and pick targets out of crowds.

The hookblade allows for faster scaling of buildings, increased reach, and the ability to zip-line across vast distances.

Graphics/Sound: When compared side by side, there’s actually a noticeable improvement over Brotherhood. The much more detailed armor and a whole knew slew of kill animations means you will be stunned over and over again. A filter is set over the screen which gives Constantinople to dusty feeling which it should have, which is actually very welcome. This makes the game feel that much more gritty and down to earth.

The soundtrack, once again, is simply amazing. The main theme combined with Istanbul, Desmond Sequence 4, and even some of the multiplayer music will have you begging for more. The voice acting is superb as always, and the environments sound more lifelike than ever. Be prepared to be transported back to 1511.

Multiplayer: The multiplayer continues to be tweaked, tuned, and improved. With new modes like deathmatch and corruption, there is even more fun to be had. Deathmatch is basically Wanted without the lookalikes roaming around, instead you become the only person in the crowd who looks alike. Chaos always ensues as people desperately attempt to hide. Corruption is basically zombies with two people starting off corrupted while everyone else attempts to hide. This is a surprisingly one of the more fun gametypes now offered. Matchmaking seems to have improved slightly, but there are still issues every once and a while.

Poison is still unbalanced but the system remains solid overall. There is a clear attempt to copy Call of Duty‘s success as there are a total of 50 prestiges to be had, meaning there are 2500 levels in total. A little much in our opinion but hardcore fans will approve. The only bad thing about this is that most of the cool profile customization options require at least one prestige.

Overall: Revelations is yet another solid installment in the franchise with an even better story this time around. Ubisoft Montreal was smart in taking away the Subject 16 nuggets and replacing them with longer events which flesh out Desmond’s backstory even further. Not to mention Sequence 4 with it’s awesome music. Any fans of the franchise will not want to miss out on this one. There hasn’t been an overhaul but there has been significant improvements.

Pros:

• Improved pathfinding
• Great environment
• Great soundtrack
• More story and fleshing out Desmond

Score: 9 out of 10

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Beaver Creek returns in all it’s glory as Battle Canyon which remains largely the same, if you want it to. 343 has made some changes to accommodate for Reach’s online and to generally improve the experience. The steam in the center of the map now has small tunnels circling around back as to provide means of moving without always being under fire. Behind each base now lies an alleyway which contains the teleporters as to help keep campers out and act as spawn points. Replacing the teleporters are air lifts. Overall, the map plays largely the same, you get the original map along with the new an improved, which allows for a great amount of fun.

Damnation returns as Penance, which features a massively overhauled, beautiful backdrop. The map plays almost exactly the same with weapon spawns having only been tweaked a little bit. The rocket launcher and sniper are both where they originally were. Navigating this map while keeping your cranium perched upon your body is certainly a challenge as someone who knows how to handle the sniper can dominate the crossways which remain pretty much wide open.

Hang ‘Em High is now High Noon which is probably tied for the most impressive map visually. Sure the blockiness was kind of cheap and simplistic back in the day but now that no game features anything like it, I have a much larger appreciation for it. Out of all the maps returning, this brings back the most nostalgia. With the same spawns, including overshield, the map still plays amazingly. With an amazing view outside the window, I found myself going into a custom match just to look around. Check out some gameplay in the video below.

Halo PC players will recognize Ridgeline as a remake of Timberland. The fun continues to spiral out of control on such a small and obscenely bumpy map with both teams attempting to move their Warthog efficiently. Many times I found myself being squashed by a misplaced jump or two which just happened to land on my head. This map is the equivalent of the barrel roll button that many noobs are fond of. The bases (which are identical to the basses from Sidewinder) serve as chokepoints which make for awesome Capture the Flag matches.

The other impressive map visually is Solitary which is a remake of Prisoner. Besides the Cold Storage feeling that emanates throughout the blue side of the map, a quick look outside will reveal a breathtaking scene of more spires like the one you’re fighting in, perched on top of thin spires thousands of feet in the air. The map plays well with the air lifts which allow the shotgun users to move around rather efficiently, while the sniper can still control things pretty well from the top. Basically a smaller (and better) version of Sword Base.

The crane returns in Breakneck, a remake of Headlong, minus the Wraith. Both teams now spawn with two Ghosts and a Warthog, while the (now single) Banshee has been moved to the wall side of the bridge, making for a frantic struggle. The teleporters have been swapped out for a one-way man cannon, and the bridge/crane have been reangled to make traversing the area easier. The layout of the map makes for a lot of vehicular carnage resulting in bodies flying everywhere while close quarters battle rage on the inside parts of the map.

Installation 04 is the new firefight map taken straight from the level Halo. For the first time fight alongside ODSTs against the Covenant onslaught. The map features a good amount of variance, from close quarters to long range, the choice is yours. This enters the fray as one of the better firefight maps to date.

Anyone who’s been a long time Halo fan needs to experience these maps in all their beautiful glory. Hang ‘Em High and Solitary are certainly my favorite out of the bunch and look absolutely jaw-dropping. Just don’t get caught staring for two long, those baddies love a chance at your backside.

Pros:

• The new maps are gorgeous.
• Hang ‘Em High!
• Firefight with ODST buddies is pretty cool.

Now’s your chance to snag a code for the Anniversary Map Pack, just use the widget below to enter! Contest ends December 8 at 12:01 AM.