Review: Halo Reach Defiant Pack - Worth It If You're A Regular

This add-on brings three new maps to the table: Condemned, Highlands, and Unearthed (for Firefight).  Condemned is a square-shaped map that is located on a space shuttle, presumably outside of Reach's atmosphere.  As a "circular" map, Condemned mostly resembles a flattened version of Zealot in structure and is best suited for 8-player Objective and Slayer variants (the current Defiant playlist supports 6-on-6 action).  The corridors are taller and wider so that you aren't immediately aware that an enemy is lurking in your section, giving you more elbow room for gunfights.  

Perhaps the best part of this map is its "common area."  There's a low-gravity room in the middle of the circle that everyone tends to meet in.  As a resting spot for the sword or rocket launcher (depending on which version of Condemned you play), there's always action found in this room.  The lack of gravity in the room makes things even more hectic.

Highlands is best compared to Hemorrhage, in structure.  It's smaller, but is still best for Big Team Battle variants. The red and blue bases are more complex and have large towers that houses each team's flag.  In addition to the bases, there are two structures on the sides of the map which will provide alternate routes to the enemy base if you decide to travel on foot.  

In the 6-on-6 games I've played on Highlands, I rarely found myself without a power weapon as each of the four main structures contains either a rocket launcher, Spartan laser, shotgun, sniper rifle, or plasma launcher.  Since the map is smaller than Hemorrhage and contains more coveted weaponry, Highlands provides a more "intimate" Big Team Battle experience.

Unearthed is Defiant's third map and is for Firefight.  This map immediately reminded me of a larger, flatter version of Overlook.  I'm not the biggest fan of Firefight, but I prefer this map over the default maps that came with Reach.  The area outside of the base is a large, open-spaced desert that you and a buddy can run amok in with the Warthog.  The flat terrain makes it easy for any designated marksman to pick off covenant from the base walls when they "see the whites of their eyes."

Is the Defiant Map Pack worthy of your $10?

"Well, if you squint your eyes this Defiant map kind of looks like that map."  Did you happen to notice that I prefaced my description of each map with something like that?  Chances are that if you've left the battlefield and don't play Reach on a regular basis, you've already had the best that this universe and online community has to offer.

The Defiant Map Pack brings new matchmaking experiences to the table, but it's possible that these subtle experiences may be lost on someone who hasn't booted up Reach since the holidays.  They're new maps, but it's the same game.  If you're a gamer who has left Reach before, Defiant probably won't be the add-on that will put Halo back into your weekly gaming rotation.

What if you're the type that gets all their daily/weekly challenges in and plays a few times a week, every week? Then, is Defiant worth it?  

Absolutely.  Besides, you wouldn't want to be the only kid on the block without the new hotness.  Right?