Halo 3 Map Guardian

Guardian was one of the original maps shipped with Halo 3.  It can be broken down into some really cool ideas, and then some just plain poor planning.  The Map offers some varied game play between its main yellow lift, and two man cannons.  It offers two distinct levels that each have their mode of play, such as being able to snipe people on the other side of the map via the sniper hallway.  The map also contains a multitude of strategically places exploding boxes to give one more level of strategy to a game.  The sniper perch on the opposite side of the lift, offers a great vantage point on the map, but at the same time it is a vulnerable place to be while in scope mode, and thus balances out the map.  The topography of the map may be good, but the main shortfall is weapons.

Guardian is all about the weapons.  Those weapons classified as ‘super weapons’, such as a gravity hammer, a sniper rifle, and shotguns can all be found on the map, the only one missing is a rocket launcher.  A shotgun player, well timed with invisibility can slaughter an entire team on the other side of the map.   You are basically underpowered, especially in double team, if you do not get a majority of the super weapons.  While holding a battle rifle may give you a chance, it in no way can be considered a saving grace.  An entire double team battle can come down to who go to the super weapons first.

While Guardian could be considered in having one of the best layout of the multiplayer maps, its weapon choice, could put it almost dead last.