Halo 3 is moving into full gear with a release expected later this year, but that doesn’t mean Bungie’s giving up on giving Halo 2 fans a little love.

The company has announced the creation of two new maps – the last two they’ll do for the old game. Tombstone and Desolation are remakes of the old Halo 1 Hang ‘Em High and Derelict maps and they’re expected to come out later this month.

The folks at Bungie are calling this a “last salute to Halo 2 multiplayer as we move toward Halo 3 in the fall.”

“Lots of folks are asking us in direct terms, ‘why make maps for Halo 2, when Halo 3 is just around the corner?’ Well, because we love Halo 2 and we love our fans. They’ve continued to play Halo 2 solidly for three years, in vast numbers, and we owe them it.”

Of course they won’t be giving it away at no charge, but they are making the new maps available for both the Xbox 360 and the old Xbox.

“It was originally scheduled to be a 360 only game, but it just wasn’t going to work out. Number one, there are a lot of Xbox players out there who can’t afford a 360, or are waiting for a birthday or holiday gift – so they wouldn’t be able to play.

Worse still, we’d have to split the matchmaking playlists differently and that wouldn’t have been fair either. So in the interests of fairness and an easy life, it’s on Xbox and Xbox 360.”

The maps will come in at a cheap $4 and will be available April 17.

For more details, visit Bungie’s official site.

While it’s great to see Bungie give Halo 2 a little more love before it’s pushed aside for Halo 3, it’s my guess fans would be more excited about brand new maps rather than remakes, but maybe that’s just me.

Related:
Halo 3 Alpha Video Leaked
Halo 3 A-Holes Annihilated, Screens Leaked
Halo 3 Beta Rewards Players Find more...Comments >>

Labels: bungie, halo, halo 2, halo 3, halo maps, xbox 360