Mythic 2 Map Pack for Halo 3 Arrives in February

Microsoft and Bungie are announcing that they are planning to release the Mythic 2 Map Pack for Halo 3 on February 2 on Xbox Live. The three maps that are included in the new package have been previously only offered to those who picked up Halo 3: ODST, via the second game disk, which delivered the definitive multiplayer Halo experience. With the upcoming 3 there are now 24 maps, which gamers can enjoy as they engage in adrenalin-fueled Spartan firefights. Those who are interested in picking up the 3 new maps need to pay 800 Microsoft Points, which is the equivalent of ten dollars in real-world money.

The three new maps are pretty varied. Heretic is taken from Halo 2 and offers players a chance to again stalk around the interior of the Pious Inquisitor, with team work and strategy needed to conquer the symmetrical spaces offered. Citadel is a much more intimate combat affair, with close quarters being the main mode of operations in a space that might be a long-lost Forerunner base. Finally, Longshore is set in the port of Old Mombasa and its best suited for larger scale battles, with its sniper-ready positions and with its large avenues of advance.

In response to the Haiti earthquake, Halo players can take part in the “Be A Hero” campaign. Gamers need to log in to Xbox Live and play Halo 3 or ODST while wearing a red heart emblem. For each group of 1,000 people who logs in, Bungie will give 100 dollars to the Red Cross relief efforts, up to a total of 77,000 dollars.

While it might be cheaper to actually get the two Mythic Map Packs on Xbox Live than getting ODST, those players who have bought last year's Halo title will be able to get into the Halo: Reach beta stage when it is launched later in 2010.