Forum:What's the best-looking map in Halo?

What do you think is the best-looking multiplayer map from each of the Halo games?

This is really tough for me since I have so many favorites. Oh well, here they are:

Halo: Combat Evolved - Damnation This was a real tough one, since CE isn't exactly full of graphical beauty. Yet, Damnation gets my pick because of its interesting layout with the waterfalls and overhead ledges.

Halo 2 - Ascention While definately not my favorite map to play, it seriously looks cool. I love the gloomy setting and how the fog compliments the Halo and the structures of the map.

Halo 3 - Cold Storage Gah! There are so many good looking maps in Halo 3 that it's ridiculous. But, I think Cold Storage reigns above the rest (slightly). The mist on the floor and the shiny, blue-tinted Forerunner architecture really took my breath away when I first saw this map. I seriously didn't even believe it was a Halo 3 map at first.

Halo: Reach - Tempest This map is very simple looking at first glance, but you can really appreciate its beauty when you start to disect it. This map shows perfectly how Forerunner architecture blends with nature. The terrain is a really interesting light rock that adds some pretty big contrast to everything else and the foliage is just perfect. I especially love the forest base; it kind of reminds me of the Sacred Grove from the Zelda games. The biggest things that stand out on this map are the giant towers in the distance. They add an incredible sense of scale.

Well, that's my input. Let's hear yours. Also, you don't have to write an essay about each map like I did, lol.-- Fluffy Emo Penguin ( ice quack! ) 13:53, 11 June 2011 (EDT)

Halo 3 - Heretic I may be a bit biased,because I love covenant everything.But I really love how it makes the inside of a deadly warship look like a really fancy,purple hotel...in space.And it's one of the very few maps in the halo series where covenant materials are avaiable in forge,that make sense with covenant material.Though I really wish it were a lot bigger.

Mine (in chronological order) would be:

Halo: Combat Evolved: Blood Gulch

Halo 2: Midship

Halo 3: Valhalla

Halo Wars: Blood River

Halo: Reach: Condemned

-- Brute Honour Guard  ( "Talk" ) 03:03, 21 July 2011 (EDT)

Halo: Combat Evolved - Death Island Death Island isn't a very original map, being torn from the campaign, but the sheer size and the fact that the level is an island make playing on it so much different than any other map. See, with an island, the map can realistically justify barriers around the map, giving you the feeling that the only option is to fight everyone else. While the map is good for large-scale confrontations (8v8), it also works with just two people, since the size of the map gives you the uneasy feeling that the other player could be anywhere, and that you're constantly being hunted, making spotting them, even for just a second, such a rewarding experience.

Halo 2 - Waterworks For much the same reasons as I like Death Island, I like Waterworks. As the map is huge, it provides multiple opportunities to attack the other team in a Big Team Battle situation, to steal the flag/plant the bomb in an Objective game type, or, on a 1v1 scale, the feeling of being hunted by the enemy. Like Death Island, the enemy could be anywhere, and with the structure in the centre being multi-leveled, at any height above or beneath you. As icing on the cake, the atmosphere for Waterworks is dark, spooky, and rhythmic. The beating of the centre structure's mechanism makes you feel in tune with the map, so when gunshots start ringing out, you're shaken from that in-tune feeling and the hair on the back of your neck starts to stand up. Waterworks is an overall creepy experience that would be out of place in any other FPS, but seems to fit oddly well with Halo. Maybe it's because of how mysterious it all seems, the Forerunner having disappeared and all that is left are derelict, quiet places that keep on going without them, until someone with a gun comes along to disturb that rhythm.

Halo 3 - Cold Storage You might start seeing a trend in the maps I favor. I like Cold Storage because the map feels so creepy. It's a Forerunner facility, and the concept of the Forerunners, mysterious precursors that disappeared and left behind only these facilities and the 'dumb' AI that oversees the central area and is always watching someone. It always knows you're there when you enter the room. Tell me that doesn't make you feel a little It has Flood that aren't dead, but alive and penetrating the defenses put in place to contain them, though not posing any threat to the player. In every appearance, the Flood have tried to kill you. You never play as Flood, and you're only allied with them for a few moments in this one game. Yet, here they are, still trying to kill you, but neither you nor they are able to reach each other. The Flood is there, it wants you dead, and yet you're fighting the Elites and SPARTANs that are supposed to be your allies.

Halo Wars - Frozen Valley I like Frozen Valley because, while you never know quite how the game will play out, you do know that it won't be won by rush tactics. Knowing the details of the game is important, as it means you know how you should prepare for the opponent. If they try rush tactics, you know that they're going to be making frequent weak attacks and are impatient, so you can establish moderate defenses before focussing on building up an army to eradicate them. If they don't attack soon after the game begins, it means they're plotting to build up, meaning the first priority should be resources, and then building up strong defenses, expanding to other base sites slowly but making each one powerful enough that you could easily defend it should it be attacked. However, being so huge, it provides you and your opponent plenty of time to build up without actually falling into sudden conflict with one another, except for the odd resource-collecting units crossing paths.

Halo: Reach - Spire Now, I like Spire not because I like Invasion (I do, but that's beside the point). I like it because it allows for multiple battles to take place at once. In the first stage of Invasion, the SPARTANS rush up the hill and suddenly you're faced with two options: Alpha or Bravo. Both are difficult for the Elites to hold, and the same goes for the SPARTANS, but the SPARTANS usually succeed in unlocking the next stage. Suddenly, it's a rush to the Spire because there's two more opportunities for the SPARTANS to advance. While some are fighting on the circular platform the lifts lead to, others are fighting to defend Alpha and Bravo and others yet are fighting on the ground to halt the SPARTAN advances. If the SPARTANS get all twenty seconds down inside Alpha or Bravo, it's anyone's game. Suddenly, there's a battle in the air between the banshee, falcon and anyone with the gall to try to skyjack either. There's a battle on the top platform, where close-quarters dominates, the SPARTANS are trying for the core, and the Elites are trying to prevent that. On the ground, the warthog and number of vehicles and ground units are fighting to clear a path to the pelican or ensure that the exact opposite happens. This is the phase that the SPARTANS are least likely to succeed, and certainly the most fun, especially if you're with a buddy. This applies regardless of said buddy's gamertag, even if it is something ridiculous like 'Crooked Basher'.

If you opt for the path of TL;DR, just read the titles. You should get a fairly strong grasp of what I'm trying to say by those.

- DinoBenn says "Fight to the End,  Never Give In"   02:58, 24 July 2011 (EDT)

Halo: Reach - Hemorrhage The great grand child of Bloody Gulch it still brings the joy of being blown up by a wraith and a rocket launcher. Perfect map to see test out your snipping ability while earning plenty of splatter medals from running over those dare blues. When you play with friends you can enjoy this map for hundreds of minutes.

Halo: CE - Blood Gulch Halo: Reach - Spire or Tempest 'If only it were so easy'. - CovenantSeparatist 22:59, 30 July 2011 (EDT)

Halo: CE - Damnation

For the same reasons as Fluffyemopenguin, for the waterworks, cliff face and the covenant archetecture.

Halo 2 - Coagulation

I have always loved the simple-ness of the map, the two bases intersected only by grass and hills. I also like the forest and the caves around the map.

Halo 3 - Valhalla or Heretic

This is a tricky one. I like the mountains and forerunner archetecture in and around Valhalla, but I also like the covenant archetecture of Heretic, and looking out of the window to see the covenant fleet plus the planets and stars.

Halo 3 ODST - Lost Platoon

I love the way it blends the plains of Africa with the backdrop of an advanced city. Plus you can get a chopper!!

Halo Wars - Repository

I like the forerunner archetecture, specifically the bases and the sentinel factory, surrounded by mountains and hills. Also shows the way forerunner archetecture blends in with the nature around it.

Halo: Reach - Forge World or Tempest

Need I say why?

Thanks, -- Tentacle tornado  18:48, 31 July 2011 (EDT)

Halo: Combat Evolved: Blood Gulch

Halo 2: Waterworks

Halo 3: Epitaph

Halo: Reach: Forge World

Shadow Dancer |contribs| 06:51, 23 August 2011 (EDT)