Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack Due for July Release

The Countdown Has Begun! Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack Due for July Release
Four new maps set for April launch via Xbox Live

Auckland, 29 March, 2005 - Microsoft Game Studios has announced a July release date for the highly anticipated Halo 2® Multiplayer Map Pack.

The multiplayer expansion pack – retail version (RRP $34.95 NZD*) contains:
- Nine new multiplayer maps
- Two new videos: (1: an animated side-story from the single-player story in New Mombasa. 2: a mini-documentary that includes interviews with the map designers, combat strategies and fly-throughs of the new maps).

The content will also be available via Xbox Live
As a special bonus, Xbox Live subscribers get an early chance to check out four of the maps in late April.

Two maps, Containment and Warlock, will be presented by Mountain Dew at no cost to Xbox Live subscribers.

Two additional maps, Sanctuary and Turf, can be purchased as a single download via Xbox Live for $7.99 NZD*. To complete the Map Pack collection, subscribers can download the five remaining maps on June 28 for $19.99 NZD*

About the first 4 Maps
Set in a Forerunner environment on Delta Halo, Containment is a massive, icy outdoor environment suitable for vehicle combat and large team objective games such as Capture the Flag.

Warlock, a small-to-midsized indoor arena set in ancient Forerunner ruins, provides ample opportunities for a variety of gametypes such as Territories, Slayer, Team Slayer and more.

Located in the streets of Old Mombasa near the wreckage of a downed Covenant Scarab, Turf is a midsize asymmetrical urban combat environment with narrow streets, dark alleyways and heavily defended buildings.

The sunlit remains of an ancient Forerunner temple, Sanctuary is a medium-sized symmetrical environment excellent for Capture the Flag, Assault, Territories and Slayer games.

More information on the individual maps and the Multiplayer Map Pack can be found at http://www.bungie.net.

Halo 2, the most popular Xbox game to date, has sold more than 6.8 million copies worldwide since its November 2004 release. Launched to critical and consumer acclaim, the game has earned more than a dozen awards, including several for "Game of the Year," "Best Soundtrack" and "Best Shooter."

Pushing the Xbox hardware to its very limits, Halo 2 expands on everything that made the original game great, while adding a wealth of technological and gameplay advances. Significantly improved graphics, enhanced artificial intelligence (AI), an advanced real-time lighting engine and destructible interactive environments are just a small part of Halo 2’s evolution of design and technology. Every improvement in Halo 2 is designed to take gameplay to a new level – and in the end, to tell a more compelling story.

Utilising Xbox Live to redefine online play, Halo 2 delivers superior online multiplayer capabilities. Whether playing with a clan on a new multiplayer map, boarding a friend's Warthog, dogfighting in Banshees or checking player stats, Halo 2 brings the social experience to a higher level via Xbox Live. More information about Halo 2 is available at http://www.halo2.com.au/.

*prices subject to change
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About Bungie
Bungie was founded in 1991 with two goals: to develop games that combine brilliant technology, beautiful art, intelligent stories and deep gameplay, and then sell enough of those games to achieve the real goal of total world domination. Over the past 10 years it produced games like the "Marathon Trilogy" and the first two "Myth" games, hailed as classics by critics and gamers around the world. "Halo 2," its latest game, has achieved phenomenal success on the Microsoft Xbox video game system. More information on Bungie can be found at http://www.bungie.net/.

About Xbox
Xbox (http://www.xbox.com.au) is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the most exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live online service. The new tagline, “it’s good to play together,” captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment lifestyle. Xbox is now available in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia

About Xbox Live
Xbox™ Live is the first comprehensive, online game arena fully dedicated to fast-action broadband gaming experiences. Xbox Live will allow gamers to play multiplayer Xbox games with other gamers everywhere via a high-speed Internet connection. With a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port, the Xbox console was built from the ground up to be an online gaming system so there’s no need to buy additional peripherals. Xbox Live will enable all gamers to find and play with their friends easily; talk to other players during game play through the Xbox Communicator headset; and download current statistics, new levels and characters to their Xbox hard drive.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.

This document is provided for informational purposes only, and Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to this document or the information contained in it.
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