Just had a LAN PArty with my friends. It was kickass. 4v4 CTF on Coagulation and Zanzibar was awesome, and Swords on Lockout and Ivory Tower and Ascension are intense. With Lockout and Irvory Tower it's all about "Who's around that corner?" On Ascension you can get a vantage point fairly easily, so you can easily see someone, so then you both start hunting one another and skill, not reflexes, prevails. I like Ascension better because since I don't have the game I didn't have to memorize a complex map like Ivory Tower.
CTF we didn't play too much since none of us had played the multiplayer maps much, so we would be lost and not able to find the flag carrier. But when we did, it was still fun. Zanzibar is pretty cool, especially when I found the plasma sword by myself. You have to break off a piece of the windmill to form a path to the base then fall down a hole in the rotating wheel. But it's incredibly complicated to play it when you haven't played the game before. I was so lost. But in Coagulation(Blood Gulch but a little bigger) it was much easier. When we played single flag, I pioneered an amzing move dubbed "The Banshee Rush." I immediately got into our Banshee, boosted to the other base, dropped down through the hole for the flag, ran out of the base to drop to the bottom floor and take their Bansee back to my base. It took all of 20 seconds.
Kickass game. We also palyed Colossus, Midship(both of which sucked, IMO), Burial Mounds(Confusing), and some other level that was pretty good but I forget what it is called. We also played the copy of Battle Creek that wasn't that much fun actually.
Dual Wielding is pretty cool, and not overpowered, I refer without it. It's harder to aim, and you can only use weaker weapons with it so you really have to get used to a combination and get used to rapidly pressing the left trigger, which is tough. Getting used to a combination was lost on us since we had been playing the game for a few days, so dual wielding was only good with a plasma rifle to slow someone down so it is easier to aim. Otherwise it is better than using one weapon if the only alternative is to use a weaker weapon with grenade, but I wasn't so good at it. But the best combo is still a strong weapon, like Shotgun, Sniper, or Rocket with grenades. The Battle Rifle seems weak to me. The new Pistol requires headshots to be effective at all. I wasn't able to use the Covenant Carbine, Covenant Sniper or Sentinel Beam. The Brute Shot acts like a basic grenade launcher. It's much harder to snipe now, I think.
The Plasma Sword is awesome. Just line the enemy up, move close enough so the reticule is red, and press R and you zoom wicked fast and slice and dice. You can jump very high with it too. No falling damage in the game now means long falls on top of people are very viable especially with plasma swords. The Plasma sword is easily dominant in short range, but it's like a glowing beacon for snipers. Stealth with it is really essential though.
Great game, can't wait to play again.
(I think they should pay me for advertising 
