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Major Nelson sends word that Microsoft is beginning a new promotion this week, the Xbox Live Marketplace Holiday Deal of the Week. Throughout December, Microsoft will announce a new deal of the week for Gold members only on a certain content from the Xbox Live Marketplace. This week's deal is the Legendary Map Pack for Halo 3, which will be discounted from 600 Microsoft Points to 400 starting tomorrow (Halo fans may recall that the original 800 point price was reduced to 600 earlier this year).

For only five bucks, you can grab three maps for Halo 3 which include Ghost Town, Avalanche and Blackout. The deal will only be available for one week -- again, starting tomorrow -- so you'd best think fast if you want to take advantage of it. A new deal will be announced next Monday and more deals are expected to follow throughout December.

Following a tepid Black Friday sale this past weekend, Major Nelson has announced the Xbox Live Marketplace "Holiday Deal of the Week." Launching tomorrow, the weekly promotion will feature one discounted item for, well, one week during this month of December. First up, the Halo 3 "Legendary Map Pack" will be offered for 400 ($5) -- marked down 33% from 600 -- tomorrow, beginning 12 pm ET, through next Monday. (Can't these maps go free already -- like the Heroic pack? Sheesh.)

The month-long run of deals will only be available to Xbox Live Gold members and is open to all Xbox Live regions. Major plans to announce a new deal every Monday, with the item going on sale the following day (Tuesday) for a full week. What goods would you like to see propped in the bargain window?

As we continue our April 15th Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack news bonanza, we thought it'd be nice of us to inform you about a few other Legendary promotional goodies. Like free downloads. If you can spot a Legendary Map Pack banner on the XBLM, click it and you'll be treated to a free dashboard theme-o-greatness. If gamer pictures are more your thing, you can grab the super hawt Legendary gamer picture (previewed above) via the XBLM as well. That gamer picture plays two rolls and will also enter you into the special Play & Win sweepstakes that begins April 25th where, if you win, you can walk away with arm-loads of Halo 3 swag. Start downloading and get registered, because it's (unofficially) Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack day!

Read - Free Legendary Map Pack downloads
Read - Legendary Map Pack Play & Win

In case you didn't mark your Cortana swimsuit calendar, we wanted to remind you that today, April 15, marks the release of the "Legendary Map Pack" for Halo 3. For 800 points ($10) you can pick up Ghost Town, Blackout (a remake of Halo 2's Lockout) and Avalanche, a new take on Halo: CE map Sidewinder.

When the Heroic map pack went free (as we presume Legendary will at some point) there was actually a mini-renaissance of Halo 3 around the Joystiq offices. Now, that doesn't mean we're going to drop 10 bucks for one fresh map and two remakes, but we are looking forward to the Legendary pack going free. We are curious though: Are you playing enough Halo 3 to justify the purchase? Or will you be waiting?

The day has finally come! No, not tax day silly, today is the release day for the Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack! Woohoo!

For 800 Microsoft points, you'll be treated to a 411MB download that is comprised of three new multiplayer maps including the Sidewinder inspired Avalanche, the Lockout remake Blackout and the inspired by creativity Ghost Town. Remember too that, for a limited time, anyone who makes a Legendary Map Pack purchase will get a free four month subscription to Bungie Pro as a bonus. And if you're still not sure 800 points for three maps is worth it, feel free to check out our Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack Dissection for a preview of the new maps and to gauge if it's worth it to you. To us, the new maps are definitely worth it. Enjoy!

Our pals at X3F scored early access to Halo 3's looming Legendary Map Pack, and -- bless their hearts -- they've decided to share. True, Bungie gave us a tour just yesterday, but X3F's video is no gallivanting stroll through a ghost town; there's no disarming charm to blackout the scrutinizing wit of the audience (that's you). This is a dissection darnit! An avalanche of insight seen through the carefully trained lens of the critic ... Oh, who are we kidding? They're just giddy Fanboys like the rest of yous!

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Come one, come all, gather round and feast your eyes on some deliciously new Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack media in both video and screenshot form. Yum!

Microsoft gave us early access to Halo 3's upcoming multiplayer DLC featuring Avalanche, Blackout and Ghost Town, so we figured we'd give you a little preview of what's to come in the latest round of DLC that's set to release April 15th. It's something we're calling our Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack Dissection. True, team Bungie did release a rather comprehensive ViDoc the other day, but our video and exclusive screenshots have that worn in X3F feel that you can't get anywhere else. The same feeling you get when putting on your favorite pair of jeans. So go ahead already, watch our official Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack Dissection video embedded above, get learnified, then take a browse through the new screenshots we uploaded to the gallery below. It's time to embrace your Legendary Map Pack obsession.


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The fervor preceding the Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack continues to grow (they're coming out next week, remember) with HBO letting the world know that Bungie has posted the heatmaps for all three upcoming new maps. As no one has access to the maps just yet, the heatmaps remain clean, preparing for the onslaught of death data that will flood them come April 15. So, all we have are empty overhead views of the new maps. Not very exciting, is it? Ah, who are we kidding, we're going to be staring at these things all day. Hit the "read" link to do some staring of your very own.

[Via HBO]

Of the three new maps coming in the "Legendary" Halo 3 pack, "Ghost Town" is the only one that's completely brand new with no roots in earlier Haloz. So it's understandable if you become a little disoriented the first time you play it or, like us, if you start spinning wildly, firing in every direction before finding a safe spot and having a good cry. But there's no need for tears, little one! Three Halo 3 developers are going to take you on a tour in the amusingly named Vidoc: "Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me A Map."

There's also dirt on the other maps, which, frankly, look delectable. Also, we just want everyone to know right now that we're never playing a game of Halo 3 without the old-timey filter. It's sepia or see-you-later, that's our motto.

Bungie posted a brand new ViDoc showcasing the upcoming Legendary Map Pack. Shot in a style similar to Red vs Blue (hmmm, sounds familiar), the video has Bungie's own map designers showing off each new map from within Halo 3 itself (one of them even gets a phone call -- is that Torgo's theme music?). The tour begins with Ghost Town, moves on to Avalanche, and finishes with Blackout. In addition to showing the maps, the Bungie folks also take time to show off some of the new Forge objects and the really spiffy Forge filters (we particularly like the grainy old-school film filter). One very cool addition is items that are specific to the maps, like shield doors in Avalanche that are designed to fit perfectly inside the map's entrances. Blackout also features closed doors that can be inserted into the various open doors, thus creating new paths for gameplay. All in all, the new maps and features are potentially looking to add quite a bit to Halo 3. Check out the video and let your thoughts be known.

If you just can't wait to get your eyes, ears and hands on Halo 3's upcoming Legendary Map Pack and will be in town for MLG's Meadowlands tournament this weekend, then Bungie has a wee little surprise for you. Attendees of MLG Meadowlands will have a chance to experience multiplayer map (and Lockout remake) Blackout, including a pro player exhibition and general free play for whoever can fight for a controller. The Blackout fun begins this Saturday, April 12th at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, NJ, so stop by, play Blackout days before its release and have fun. Oh, and if you can attend, be sure to grab a few pics and send them our way.

[Via HBO]

The crew over at 1UP just posted a handful of Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack screenshots, some being old, but quite a few of them are brand new screens that we haven't seen. And after paging through all the Legendary Map Pack screenshot goodness, admiring Ghost Town's detailed textures (that map looks amazing) and analyzing Blackout's Lockout inspiration we've come to one final conclusion. We're uncontrollably excited to get our hands on these maps. Even if they're going to cost us 800 Microsoft points. Just look at the crate of barrels and try to tell yourself that you aren't amazed or excited. Personally, bundled up blue barrels get us every time.

Wow, this new trailer for the Halo 3 Legendary map pack sure has us feeling nostalgic, and it's not just because two of the three maps are remakes! The trailer reminds us of the mid-autumn media frenzy that was the Halo 3 launch, with all its glitz and splendor. Those were high times for the video game blogger.

Back then it was just "OMG, this is new media for Halo 3! Consume!" You didn't have to worry about what you wrote because you knew no one was reading it. Check some of those old jams out, we bet half of them are just "All work and no play makes Joystiq a dull boy" over and over again. In fact, we're feeling so nostalgic for those halcyon days that we're about to go old school and leave this post with a completely underwhelming ending.

Bungie just released a new "Darkness" teaser trailer for Halo 3's upcoming Legendary Map Pack and what more can we say? Delectable? The new trailer can be viewed above, can be downloaded off of Bungie.net or can be taken off the XBLM and gives a preview of all three included maps; Avalanche, Blackout and Ghost Town. And, surprisingly enough, it's a very well done teaser. We aren't saying that Bungie has ever released a crappy trailer (ahem), but this one is dark, eerie, carries that emotional vibe and has a wickedly dark voice-over. Watch and get excited for April 15th. Love, X3F.

While you're busy downloading the now free Heroic Map Pack, indulge yourself with news of even more maps coming to Halo 3. Coming on the heels of Ghost Town and last week's Avalanche – itself a remake of Halo 1's Sidewinder – and rounding out the triptych of new battlegrounds is the above pictured Blackout, a remake of Halo 2's Lockout map. As promised, Bungie has dropped details of the final map, including pics (hit up the gallery below) and an interview with four of the contributors to the project. The Legendary Map Pack is scheduled for release on April 15th for 800 points ($10) and, if it follows the basic model laid out by its Heroic predecessor, should be free-of-charge in roughly late July.

[Thanks, herr zrbo]