There's something special about Bungie's press demonstration get-togethers. It's a magic formula that mixes sleep deprivation, pizza, and sixteen journalists, resulting in the most raucous bunch of unruly bastards you've ever heard. It's a spectacle of such magnitude that it was almost difficult to pay attention to the content on display, rather than my esteemed colleagues calling me "bitch" while smearing my head into the pavement.

But ghastly failures aside, I did manage to walk away from the slaughter with a fair idea of what to expect when the Halo 3 Legendary map pack goes live next week. Three new maps—two remakes, one brand new—might not be the weightiest offering of downloadable content yet seen on the Xbox Live Marketplace, but should prove a worthwhile addition to the burgeoning roster of Halo 3's multiplayer offerings.

Blackout
I'm a latter-day convert into the console FPS crowd. As such, I never experienced Lockout, a fan-favorite Halo 2 multiplayer map, prior to its leap to the latest entry in the Halo series. If I had, I'm sure I'd remark just how similar the map plays to its original counterpart, as many others in the room had during our one-flag and team slayer matches.

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Prior to kicking off the round, the design team reminded us that consistency with the original map was absolutely key in the creation of Blackout—aesthetic differences aside, it was important that the map played exactly like Lockout. To that end, weapon availability and gametype-specific features like flags, hill locations and territory markers are all as they were in Lockout.

"It's like coming back to an old pair of pants," said Bungie multiplayer designer Lars Bakken.

Situated as a UNSC Antarctic research facility, the level is built around stations interconnected with bridges, and towers surrounded with ramps for quick ascents. First time Lockout/Blackout players like yours truly might be a little confused at first. While the level is very logically oriented, close quarters and tight turns can get a little hairy, particularly in the heat of a fight. However, once you get your bearings, the map takes on a feel not unlike Guardian, featuring lots of alcoves and inner areas complemented by high-rise sniping positions and other locales from which you can rain fiery death upon your enemies.

I had the most fun when playing the map in a tiered fashion, working up a vertical path to gain advantage over my foes. As you might suspect, the best firing points on the map are themselves extremely vulnerable; popping your head out on the sniper tower is a quick route to a quick death. Players with itchy trigger fingers who play fast and on the move will appreciate the labyrinthine layout of Blackout and the tactical possibilities it offers.

The map is quite versatile in its support of different game types, and serves well for anywhere from six-player slayer to 12-player king of the hill. The chaos does get a bit out of hand with larger rosters, but never so much that an effective game can't be had. Fans of the old will likely be satisfied with Blackout, and virgin Lockout players will likely dig it too.

Oh, and before I forget: The truly insane can also spawn a Ghost or Mongoose on the map in Forge, which is about as bonkers as it sounds.

Ghost Town
Ghost Town is Bungie's new kid on the block in the Legendary pack, the only original offering among the three maps. Cast as an abandoned, decaying water facility, Ghost Town has as many nooks and crannies as you'd expect, offering loads of good ambush spots and intriguing arrangements best suited for objective gametypes.

The developers explained that though the map went through a long cycle of refinement and balancing, the core layout and structure of Ghost Town remained largely the same since its earliest version. Prior to arranging weapons and equipment, designers worked on assembling the level's basic geometry, playtesting a barebones version of the level to ensure a quality flow of combat throughout.

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"It's a medium-sized, asymmetric map, some Lockout, some Sanctuary," explained Bakken. "Internally we were calling it the Counter-Strike map for a long time, mostly because of the choke points and the sight lines. It plays really differently from the other maps we've had."

The description serves for a couple of reasons. Ghost Town is a loosely rectangular map centered around the aforementioned aging structure, with strategic points situated at either end. In single map CTF, it does feel a lot like Valve's Counter-Strike in that the push towards victory is a linear one, with defenses getting heftier as you move forward.

Turn the page for more on Ghost Town and Avalanche.