Halo 2’s Lockout is the quintessential arena map

Three consecutive beeps sound and my body begins to tense. This was my belief that this response came from the fact that I had previously been exposed to a lot of beeps. Mario Kart 64 Or any other Nintendo 64 video game. It was a game I had played many years ago. Halo 2 on the weekends when I was younger — and only weekends, because my grade-conscious Latinx parents wanted what was best for me. And while I enjoyed Big Team Battles on sprawling maps like Coagulation and Zanzibar, I loved cutting my teeth in Halo’s smaller arena maps.

Lockout was my favorite. This map consisted only of one large area and four outlying regions. This makes the map ideal for Halo. Max Hoberman designed it. Chris Carney created it. Halo 2The map This is where a beginner can learn to move smoothly through space. The icy, below-ground pit was so intense that I found myself spending so much time there, I started to settle disputes with my friends through playing the game together.

Lockout’s simplicity is deceptive. Sure, it’s a basically a few rooms connected by bridges. Its tight turns and corridors force players to a traversal flow mode, where they find the most effective routes for attacking or evading their enemies. In order to hunt others, the combatants use microcircles. This allows them to move around in a tight circle and go up and down three levels.

Image: Bungie/343 Industries

You need to weigh strategic alternatives when moving through the arena. For example, there are many ways to reach the Battle Rifle Tower. You could check for the Energy sword position by jumping off the main square at the second floor, taking the ramp up, returning to the original route and hunting. To avoid getting caught in open space on the main square, it is possible to take a safer approach by going down the lowest level.

Lockout also worked especially well for players who mastered the original Halo series’ various jumps, making the map even more of a playground. You can move fast through the levels by jumping from walkways high above the endless abyss. A skilled player would simply navigate the hardpoints (such as the Sniper Tower or gravity lift). The arena’s interconnectedness was enhanced by the fact that these points served as important orientation markers for skilled players.

Bungie and 343 Industries kept adding more Halo maps to every installment of the franchise. I was always looking for the next Lockout. However, I have yet to find a multi-player map comparable in quality with the original. Even though the original was remade, it still felt great to play. Halo 3As Blackout I was unable to see the cooler hues on the original map. Certain Affinity has made some minor modifications to the map. Halo 2: Anniversary’s Lockdown — like extending the Elbow below the Grav Lift with additional cover — it still didn’t give me the same rush that I was looking for.

Listen, I love The Rig, Midship, And The Pit. But they don’t trigger those same youthful brainwaves I craved when I jumped into Lockout. Maybe I’ll just have to accept that Lockout is always in the Halo conversation because its flow is perfect. I don’t think I’ll find something like it for a while.