The instruction booklet features notes about each map and a great view from overhead, along with weapon locations. You’ll notice an excellent variety among the maps. Some are big, sprawling expanses meant for vehicles and mass combat out in the open. Others are tight, cramped experiences that force the playing up close and personal. The maps fit in with the existing experience perfectly, and it’s obvious a lot of care went into them so that they appear as a seamless addition.

Relic features a beachside fortress and lots of open space dotted with things to hide behind. Turf offers the city streets from one of the single player levels. It’s a nice change of pace from the futuristic, alien settings. Terminal stays true to its name and has trains running through the field every few minutes to keep you on your toes. Backwash is a dingy swamp that seems perfectly suited to alien and human life alike. Warlock is very interesting. It’s built with four objective points and promotes a clash between four different teams. Containment is enormous and features two complete bases with gates. It’s perfect for large capture the flag matches.

The disk also comes with some extras, like the original Halo movie from E3 2000, the Halo 2 trailer and a clever surround sound test featuring everyone’s favorite slave warriors. It also provides an update to the game for those who haven’t yet downloaded it. Grenades and melee attacks are more powerful, for example. If you play a lot online, the difference will be noticeable. Whether you like the change or not is a matter of personal preference.

Halo 2 multiplayer was already a one of a kind experience. But now with a total of 21 maps to play, it’s that much farther ahead of the curve than anything else. All of these maps will be available for free download sooner or later, but $20 seems like a small price to pay to get into these maps as soon as possible. If your friends list is full of people who are willing to wait, obviously it’s easier to sit tight. But if you find everyone you know on maps you don’t have, the low cost makes expanding on one of the best online gaming experiences quite painless.