My two cents: I think the main problem with these two maps is the map layout. These is nothing wrong with "long maps" I just think these need to be designed better. On both First Light and Bastion the vehicles are mostly relegated to the outsides of the map. The center of the map is closed off and caters to mid range to close combat. This means if you want to use a vehicle or snipe you are mostly picking off new spawns or people randomly wandering out of the middle. With no access to the central area and a small number of vehicles this really limits a good snipers ability to cover his team or lots of intense vehicle on vehicle action. I am not sure who all played Halo: Reach but there were several really fun "long maps". Forge World (image linked above) was one of my favorites. It was mostly a big open valley with spawn bases on either end. There were plenty of vehicles and the middle of the map was always full of large amounts of destruction. Around the edges of the map there were tunnels that allowed for flanking and the mid to close range combat. A good sniper could cover most of the map but was never untouchable and the big open area in the middle was a blast destroying people with a tank. The way First Light and Bastion are currently laid out it just seems to make the vehicles / sniper strategy mostly an after thought. Not that you can't get kills or that people can't use the strategies effectively - just that it is seems to be more effective to go into the middle and stick to mid to close range fighting. The only reason I enjoy playing them is because it is a change a pace, just something different since there aren't that many maps to begin with.