Top Ten Halo Multiplayer Maps

If you’ve been with the Halo trilogy since the beginning, selecting the best multiplayer maps is a lot like saying whom out of all your children is your absolute favorite. Or whom you would save between you and your spouse if only one of you could survive the impending zombie apocalypse. Or whom you would vote for if both Master Chief and the Arbiter were running for president. That’s right, it’s damn easy. Here are what I have deemed the all-time top ten multiplayer maps from the Halo series. Remember, this list represents a single opinion and a single opinion only. It just so happens that this opinion is right. Off we go!

Warlock, a remake of Halo: CE’s Wizard, is a dark, smaller arena that includes four bases, each with a corresponding teleporter. Super bouncers be damned, the action on this dungeon-esque map is often frenzied, frantic, and all sorts of shotgun in your face awesome.

A large asymmetrical map set in New Mombasa, Terminal features a huge train station complete with an accompanying parking lot and garage. While this isn’t an overwhelmingly popular map, you can’t tell me getting smacked by an invisible train while speeding across the tracks in a Gauss hog isn’t completely bad ass. Because it is.

The Pit, a mid-sized map housing a plethora of power weapons and power ups, offers several different levels and routes for getting from Point A to Point B. Perfect for a variety of players, there is only one thing to beware. Brutes and Jackals. Actually I guess there’s two things to beware, my bad.

A map which was later remade into Tombstone, Hang ‘Em High is a dream for those that excel with a long-range weapon in their virtual hands. Even with an active camo, the chances of your face escaping this map intact are ridiculously low. And by ridiculously low I mean zero percent.

Beaver Creek, which is a remake of Halo: CE’s Battle Creek, is an outdoors map set in a small canyon. Two symmetrical bases separated by a creek, this map is a playground for snipers, rocket aficionados, and flag throwing fanatics. Beaver Creek is so awesome I once designed the interior of my hermit crab tank after it. True story.

Prisoner is a Halo: CE map just begging to be redone in Halo 3. A multi-leveled building with not many places to go, the abundance of bridges and varying levels simply scream for gravity lifts. The tightness of this map assures a pleasurably fast paced experience. Yup, that’s what she said.

Zanzibar, which was faithfully recreated as Last Resort, is one of the best asymmetrical Halo maps out there. Allowing for everything from long range sniper fights to close quarters combat to varying vehicular duels, what’s there not to love? By the way, sniper at Froman!

Providing the inspiration for Guardian was Lockout. While spawns on this map are frustrating beyond belief (unless you enjoy being assassinated before you can even take a single step), it still allows for some of the most strategic gameplay out there. Oh, and Blackout sucks balls. Just throwing that out there.

A very small Covenant-themed map, Midship provides a tiny space for a very large amount of fun. From plasma punchout to stickies only and snipers to swords, both slayer and objective on this purple map are a pleasure to play.

Blood Gulch, the big daddy of all Halo multiplayer maps. It spawned Coagulation. It inspired Valhalla. It even made it into Halo Wars. There’s a reason why this map continues to create new life. That’s because it’s fucking awesome. Simplicity at its best.

Honorable Mentions

• Ghost Town: If this list was top ten most beautiful maps, Ghost Town would be sitting pretty at number one. It is, in my opinion, the most gorgeous Halo map ever.
• Sidewinder: Sheer size and availability of vehicles make Sidewinder an easy favorite. Avalanche isn’t so bad either.
• Standoff: Any map where I get to say, “Bomb’s going into birth canal!” gets my vote.

*I know you have your favorites as well. List your top ten in a comment!