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Reviewing a map pack is weird. It's like the old adage that says writing about music is like dancing about architecture. The mechanics, the gameplay, everything that we'd normally sink our teeth into is a known quantity. What we're really doing is reviewing a space and how people move through it - an abstract thing to pin down at the best of times. It's like town planning with heavy ordnance.That being the case, the Crimson Map Pack, Halo 4's first selection of additional arenas, was a lot like a bland new town from the 1970s. Functional but devoid of personality, and probably full of roundabouts and shopping arcades. To stretch this dubious metaphor beyond breaking point, the Majestic Map Pack offers vibrant and lively old-fashioned villages with everything you need right on your doorstep. Which is another way of saying that these three maps offer the sort of compact and punchy close-quarters locations that made Halo such a multiplayer mainstay in the first place.
Let's start with Skyline, a tight, two-storey structure set at the base of a space tether construction site. It's downright tiny by current Halo 4 map standards, a jumble of ramps, stairs, short corridors and balconies all piled on top of each other. There's an elevator for rapid transit to the upper level, but you'll rarely need it. Those with the jetpack armour ability will be able to hop freely from one to the other in seconds, while agile players with an eye for parkour-style routes will quickly work out the scenery items that can act as stepping stones. Failing that, wherever you turn, there's always a way up or down.
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