Two new Halo 2 maps will be available for download on April 17th, for just $2 bucks each. I mashed together the two new screenshots above, but you can check out the originals below. The new maps are named Tombstone and Desolation, here's their official descriptions:

The king of “Halo” maps has returned at last. Hang ’Em High, arguably the most popular multiplayer map for the original title, has been reimagined for “Halo 2” as Tombstone, with all-new graphics, features and a few hidden surprises. Now fans will enjoy the dangerous catwalks and trenches that made this the most requested “Halo” multiplayer map ever, with a modernized “Halo 2” flavor.

The second map, Desolation, is a symmetrical, Deathmatch-oriented map and a beautiful remake of the original Derelict. With new graphics and effects and a massive gameplay overhaul, the old favorite is now faster-paced and more balanced than ever — perfect for intense “Halo 2” combat.

You'll need an Xbox Live Gold account to download and play them though. I'll get them both, but I'll definitely be playing Tombstone way more than Desolation, Hang 'Em High was my favorite map in the first Halo game. Actually, it was pretty much the only multiplayer map I really liked in the original, Halo 3 better have some addictive levels for online play. Maps like Zanzibar that have gameplay progression flow even in multiplayer are my favorite, I'd love it if Bungie took the idea of a moving level, like in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and made an orbiting space travel level where the environment changes ships every few minutes. If you don't hop onto the next spacecraft in time you're left behind and have to commit suicide to catch up.

While Sony was busy talking about trophies today, an announcement on achievements was made that's worth pursuing if you're a Gamerscore addict. For the first time in the history of the Halo series, you'll be able to earn achievements for assaulting aliens, and Halo 3 won't be the first game to do it. Bungie will be adding new features to the Windows Vista version of Halo 2,  and online achievements are one of them. It'll be hard for Bungie to go back and add the new goals, but they've got until May to work on it when the game is released. So far they've  mentioned achievements for finishing the campaign levels on each difficulty, and hinted that they'd also reward skilled sword and sticky grenade players.

During a recent trip to the Bungie studio where the first two Halo games were made, one of the technical leads had some negative comments about their Halo 2 game. If you've seen the "making of" video for Halo 2 then you know that they were extremely rushed on finishing the game, but the mandatory morale boosting beach trips didn't help much either. Here's what Chris Butcher has to say about his disappointments:

"We had about four to five weeks to polish [the first] Halo at the end. No more than that. And that last five per cent is responsible for 30 per cent of the success of the game, or more. The entire game came together within that four- to six-week period. One of the things that stuns me when I think about it, and I can't believe this is true - we had none of that for Halo 2. Take that polish period and completely get rid of it. We miscalculated, we screwed up, we came down to the wire and we just lost all of that. So Halo 2 is far less than it could and should be in many ways because of that. It kills me to think of it. Even the multiplayer experience for Halo 2 is a pale shadow of what it could and should have been if we had gotten the timing of our schedule right. It's astounding to me. I fucking cannot play Halo 2 multiplayer. I cannot do it.

Looks like even a few Bungie dudes hate Halo 2, but what's more important is that it's obvious they're putting a ton of extra time into Halo 3 - far more than they did with the first game. So if they fuck anything up it's their own fault. If the Halo 3 beta (I still haven't received an invite yet, damn) goes well, then we should expect an awesome FPS game for the Xbox 360. Here's an awesome preview video if you're still clueless to what the Halo games are like.

Gaming on TV, that embarassing zit on the face of every gamer trying to remain dignified. We long for a gaming show to be proud of, but we have yet to find one to support adamantly. Starting November 11th, at Saturdays at 10am EST/PST, the USA television network will be hosting a show that focuses on bringing competitive gaming tournaments to mainstream media. Luckily they aren't doing their own thing either, they are attempting to channel the best of the best by covering Boost Mobile Major League Gaming Pro Circuit, giving 90 million viewers a chance to see true champion gamers' skills. Ok, so you'll get to know pros like Team Final Boss, Team Carbon, and even 16 year old gaming girl Xena, the top woman Halo 2 player in the world, but 10am? Fuck it, this is the first time a TV channel has made a real attempt at giving gamers what they want to see -- call up your friends and party all night Friday to your games of choice and show some support to your industry, there's nothing wrong with sobering up at noon. First one to fall asleep pays for drinks next week!