The issue with the map is that unless you are in a vehicle, the small sliver of outdoors is your only real chance for survival. Too much of the rest of the map is reserved for high-speed vehicle chasing; leaving gamers hoping to run along the road spattered as road kill. With the one solid battle zone, it makes for a map that gamers will spend a minute or so running to the open garage, only to kill a few or die and have to repeat their run. As a result, the map can feel very claustrophobic, with most of your on-foot fighting done in very cramped quarters. You would think that the circular track for the warthogs would open the playing field, but it does just the opposite.
StandoffStandoff is perhaps most akin to Valhalla, with its sprawling desert layout leading from one base to the next. Each base is identical, and comes complete with working shutters and side-door. Each base comes equipped with a turret, from which gamers can pick off unsuspecting enemies and get a great overview of where all the action is taking place. The beauty of the wide-open layout is that there is no one set area for battle to take place, leaving it up to the particular strategy of each team to dictate. The downside of the open layout is the quickly found spartan laser, which will leave a dent in your plans for enemy base infiltration. So long as the other team does not have someone scouting the landscape, the level makes for one of the better 'sneaking' maps.
The level, being the only one of the three to incorporate outdoor battle successfully, is the most visually appealing map; complete with giant satellite dishes, landing pods, and distant moons to admire. While there are a few vehicles to use, the warthogs go mostly unused on this map. Most battle and travel on foot, with a keen eye trained on the distance to make sure the other side has not gotten wise to their turret or spartan laser. With a good amount of cover both at the front and just inside of each base, Standoff makes for an killer round of Multiflag Capture The Flag.
ConclusionDespite the challenges each map poses, Bungie did a great job at making sure none of the three new maps gave an advantage to either team. The symmetrical layout and well-placed bases make for battles decided on gameplay rather than where your team starts. It would have been nice to see these three maps split apart in three separate packs focusing on the type of play they represent. Gamers who love wide-open battles will fall head-over-heels for Standoff, those who love vehicular fights will dig Rats Nest, and do-it-yourselfers will twist Foundry around for days. The problem is that each map caters to one type of gamer, making the 800 Microsoft Point price tag a bit of a stretch.
