Halo 3: the best of Forge

Duck Hunt V2

Duck Hunt V2 – SandBox – CTF

An inspired retro-themed map, centring on a team-based sniping gallery with a twist. Played as a capture the flag variant, the offensive squad simply needs to bounce across two grav lifts and up a short incline to score – but it’s the finer details that prove interesting. A covering wall provides a mid-journey tactical break, allowing the offensive squad an opportunity to regroup and deploy in formation. With decoy runs and clusters of Spartans hell-bent on becoming Clint Eastwood in the line of fire, Duck Hunt is relentlessly entertaining and takes a revered position on many late-night sessions.

Arson Street

Arson Street – Sandbox – Infection/Anything with flame grenades

Wilfully idiosyncratic, Arson Street is nevertheless a shining example of the creativity the Bungie community can tap into when not bellowing obscenities into a headset. Loosely based around Infection, the concrete throwing gallery and opposing wooden structure reminds us of a Halo 2 era Dodgeball map, with one side hopelessly at disadvantage. The main gameplay hook consists of simply trying to stay alive amidst burning embers whilst fire rains down from above – a simple but superbly fun premise. It’s a snack of a level, but one you’ll want to dip back into between main courses.

Storm the beach

Storm the beach – Last Resort – Storm the beach

An oldie but definitely still one of the best, Storm the beach utilises Last Resort’s sandy shores as the set for an epic territories battle. With one team starting off under cover of metal ‘landing craft’ in the sea, their only objective is to rush the beach defences through a minefield of falling artillery, blocked paths and mounted machine guns. Having undergone several revisions since release, the design of this map is almost perfectly balanced for teams of five or more, with battles easily lasting upwards of an hour. Good Lord do you feel drained afterwards.