The successor to Blood Gulch (hence the name) has more varied terrain, a more complex underground base system including a Banshee hangar, and more obstructed views between the two base areas.

A Banshee approaches the high central area of the multiplayer map, Ascension. Most, if not all, of Halo 2's multiplayer maps are expected to be in settings similar to locations from the campaign mode.

Ascension has indoor and outdoor areas.

The Crazy King game mode is a variation on King of the Hill where the location of the hill moves randomly at intervals during the game.

Waterworks is easily the largest multiplayer map that ships with Halo 2, encompassing a large space between two large bases with a central area comprised of Forerunner machinery.

This screenshot made the rounds as a poor quality scan very early, but the official release showed that the Needler was, in fact, back in Halo 2, something not officially known at the time.