Biggest disappointment, though? Health packs. Shields regenerate, but you have health bars that don't unless you pick up health kits. I realize that chronologically this makes sense. But it is a huge step back in the evolution of First Person Shooters.

Guard is great for flag carrying. Drop the flag to do the super shield explody thing to kill everyone(or to keep yourself alive until backup shows up) and then pick the flag back up and keep running. This assumes your team isn't a bunch of retards, of course.

You have to hold it to the end, I think it's around 4 or 5 seconds? I'm not sure. But there is a counter for it. If you are good at throwing grenades and if you time it right, you can throw a grenade at the guard, it will blow him up right after the emp goes off. Also, the emp seems to have a rather short range. Not as short as point blank, but it should be fairly easy to avoid. Lots of people complaining about it just the same, though.

Still, of all the four abilities, armor lock is the best. Camo being a close second.

There is also another mode of play where everyone is an elite. Elites even have their own class ability. It's a super dodge. I haven't played or watched a match like that yet, but my brother did and he said he got the hammer right away and within 4 minutes, he had 46 kills out of the 50 needed to win the match because he really got the hang of the dodge. Plus, he said the hammer lunges you forward kinda like the sword can in Halo 3.

Hammer lunges you in Halo 3 as well :p

Halo: Reach is a fantastic package, with several core components that on their own can outclass many other games. The campaign is excellent, backed by solid storytelling and a powerful audio-visual experience. The competitive multiplayer is familiar, yet brand new with a lot more options and a faster pacing. And the cooperative Firefight arcade mode has finally met its potential. Whether you like playing with friends like me or you're more of a lone wolf, Halo: Reach has evolved to the point where it'll make everyone happy. It's a fitting end to Bungie's involvement with the franchise, one that both references the past and injects new life into a tried and true formula. Newcomers and Halo fans alike will find plenty to love in Halo: Reach. Even if you've grown tired of the Halo formula through the years, I'd still recommend this game to you. It's just that good.