There must be thousands of blog posts out there today commenting on the new maps. So, in order to not be a complete unoriginal clone, I'm going to ensure that this post is unique:
aLpAcaS
There. Now, if someone else out there commenting on the new Halo 2 maps also has the word 'alpacas' in bright colors and varying typeface in their post, let me know.
I came home after work yesterday and had a few minutes to download the maps and walk around them a little bit. This experience was a little dull as I had already seen the RvB map walkthroughs a few days earlier. I went to Medalist rehearsal and then came home and played some custom games with a few friends. Here's my take:
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Warlock - It's “Wizard” from Halo: CE, but it's better because its appearance is different. I really like the more organic “ruins” type of feel. The powerups in the map are also different from the original, and I think that also improves the gameplay (there's only one in the map rather than 4). An excellent map for Ball and King.
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Containment - I only got to walk around in this map on my own as I wasn't a part of a large enough party to play a decent game on this one. What I really like is the complexities of the bases: the moveable gates and the multiple entrances on foot (the side tunnels or over the wall). This is a gift to well-organized offences, and a headache for defences or poorly organized offences. Maybe the best feature about Containment is the tank mines: 1) you can slide them around when on foot, 2) make them blow up, 3) and change the pitch of their humming with each single round that you shoot them with. Sweet.
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Sanctuary - I really want to like this map. I love the setting and again the “ruins” look and feel. The map is a nice medium size with plenty of paths, passages, corners, bridges, and hiding places. Lots of variety for slayer and plenty of options for strategies in objective-based games. There's a large variety of weapons too. I only got to play this one once, and my team (outnumbered 4 to 3) got schooled. Because of the number of high-up places on this map, you can control the whole board if you put enough people with long/medium range weapons up high.
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Turf - Lots of nooks and crannies to hide in, and lots of high ground with a big field of vision for sniping. To me it seems that the vertical playing field is utilized on this entire map. Rather than just having a few towers or bridges, there is a second level on this map that is almost always directly above the first. Lots of obstacles, hallways, and corners. Not a lot to say on this one yet, but it definately has a very unique feel compared to the rest of the H2 maps.
Now, only a few months until the rest of them...