NMPD HQ (ODST)
ODST’s campaign provided a different rhythm to the Halo formula, adding a mystery noir detective vibe to the proceedings. As the Rookie, players had to roam around the abandoned New Mombasa in search of what happened to the remaining members of their squad. Eventually, the Rookie finds something tangled in the city’s power lines: a sniper rifle belonging to his teammate, Romeo.
The flashback mission has Romeo and Buck in the city’s police station headquarters high above the city. After the Covenant shoot down their ride out of the city, the two head to the crash site to rescue their squadmates Mickey and Dutch, who were among those on the Pelican. There’s a lot of fun in playing Romeo, popping off enemies heads like it’s no one else’s business and then crossing a perilous gap using a piece of construction equipment.
The final third of the mission is pretty awesome; the four ODSTs are forced to hold out as long as possible against the aliens, using missile launchers and turrets to get the job done. Backed by an awesome soundtrack and electric guitar by Marty O’Donnell, this level shows what ODST is aiming for: classic Halo action with the very real threat of dying.
Long Night of Solace (Reach)
Aerial combat is nothing new to the series, but space combat is something that’s been sorely lacking. Halo Reach provides the perfect justification for this, since a Covenant super carrier has shown up in orbit over the titular planet. With no other options, Noble Team makes for a launch facility that contains exactly what they need: a Sabre ship that can help them mow down the defenses around the carrier and deliver a bomb.
Controlling the Sabre is easy and fun, nothing new for Halo vehicles. Shooting down enemy ships and working with other soldiers is pretty awesome in a “Battle of Coruscant” way, especially on higher difficulties. Plus, while you’re waiting for more baddies to shoot down, you can always do a barrel roll.
The fun continues once you leave your Sabre and are back to on-foot combat. The Covenant return to being formidable enemies to fight, especially in the bridge room. This is the level where it truly feels like you and the planet are doomed, from the moment you look outside and see your frigate getting torn apart, to the final cutscene where Jorge detonates the bomb… only for an entire Covenant fleet to emerge from slipspace.
The Covenant (Halo 3)
“Breach the barrier. Stop Truth” is the description for this level, but as is the case with these games, it’s a lot easier said than done.
Sure, everything starts out simple enough. Chief (and maybe Arbiter) go to shut down one shield tower, while separate teams handle the other two. Grab a Warthog, take out the Wraith turret and the aliens on the cliff, then head inside and deactivate the shield. So far, so simple. Hopping into a Hornet and shooting down Phantoms, piece of cake. Sure, the Flood shows up and things get a bit hairy, but nothing you can’t handle.
The real problem comes when you’re asked to go up against two Scarabs at the same time. Truth really doesn’t want you to stop him from firing the rings. The level isn’t just the standout mission for this particular game, it’s also the last level in the entire trilogy where players fight the Covenant, which also explains why it’s the longest level in the trilogy. As a finale to the war with the aliens, this level certainly makes sure to go out with a bang.
The Arbiter (Halo 2)
Thel ‘Vadam is in a bad place as Halo 2 starts. The Master Chief destroyed the Covenant’s “holy relic” and the Prophets need someone to pin the blame on. Stripping his Elite rank and publicly torturing him wins the rest of the crowd over, but he’s still got a greater purpose to them.
The Arbiter is a Covenant rank given to those who go on missions for the Prophets with the vague hope of doing enough to rejoin the Great Journey, or at least die and be given a posthumous award. He’s literally just being sent to die with a fancy title added to his name; the Shipmaster clearly states that his life is nothing compared to the other Covenant on the ship with them, and even Thel views this new job as a death sentence. But when you’ve got nothing else in your life, anything will do.
This level isn’t just important because it helps set things up for the Covenant Civil War that kicks off a few missions later. It also provides a quick glimpse into Covenant culture and their hierarchy for the Elites, certainly the most famous of the Covenant. While there isn’t an enormous difference to playing as Elite, you do get to use their active camo and wicked energy swords, which makes playing as the Arbiter all the more worth it.
Midnight (Halo 4)
343 wanted to take the series to a new direction with Halo 4, and they definitely succeeded in bringing the sci-fi elements from the books into play. The game’s villain, the Didact, shows himself as a big threat with a huge hatred for humans by taking the Forerunner Composer and heading to Earth with plans to turn humans into AI constructs for his Promethean Knights.
Naturally, Chief and Cortana aren’t going to let this happen without a fight. They arm a Broadsword ship with a nuke and fly it into the heart of Didact’s ship, the Mantle’s Approach. The journey through the machinery of the Mantle is action packed and has an even greater “trenches of the Death Star” feel than Reach’s space mission did. Being able to see Earth in the distance looming overhead, backed with Kazuma Jinnouchi’s excellent score, makes you truly feel like you’re the last defense for Earth.
Of course, this wouldn’t be Halo if your plan didn’t go to hell at the end. Taking down the Didact and Composer isn’t as easy as dropping the nuke and flying away. You have to take out plenty of Prometheans along the way and use an increasingly rampant Cortana to get to the Didact, no small task. The scale across the entire level is something to marvel at, from the moment you hop into the Broadsword to taking down the Didact with a grenade. But it’s not a complete victory. It costs you your best friend…
Lone Wolf (Reach)
Halo Reach is all about finality. It’s not just the final game in the series by Bungie, it’s about taking a last stand against the Covenant and trying to hold out against overwhelming odds. So it’s only fitting that you make a final act of defiance while their ships are glassing the planet completely.
At the start of the game, Carter tells Noble Six to “leave that lone wolf stuff behind,” but those words mean nothing now. You’re the last surviving member of Noble Team still on the planet – Jun managed to make it off world, but Jorge, Kat, Carter, and Emile have all given their lives to this planet in its last hours. You helped the Pillar of Autumn make a clean escape, so what else is there left to do? Survive.
Lone Wolf is a nice mix of story and gameplay that previous Halo games haven’t entirely achieved. You know full well that you’re going to die from the moment you pop the game in; it opens with your destroyed helmet on the ruined planet. But you can either go out with a whimper or take as many of the bastards with you as you can. They can take a lot of things, but they can’t take your spirit.
The Silent Cartographer (Combat Evolved)
For a lot of fans, this is the level that sold them on Halo as the first game and as a series as a whole. The fourth level of the game is a perfect mix of what makes this series so popular: fun combat, epic music, gorgeous vistas, and a feeling of power.
From the moment you touch down on the beach, you feel like you’re supposed to be this hero leading the charge, with the game forcing you to go up and fight the Covenant head on. Your assault rifle can’t do jack at long range, so you may as well cut out the middleman. The combat is, to quote one writer, a dance between you and the enemies. You gun down the Grunts, throw a grenade to weaken the Elite’s shields. Or maybe you throw a grenade at the Grunts and wait for the right moment to end the Elite.
Silent Cartographer constantly invites you to choose how you want to take out enemies – if you want to, hop in the Warthog and jump that ramp. There’s a perfect ebb and flow to all of the action with a natural progression of fighting and downtime. Subtly, Bungie introduced the various parts of Halo combat that players would encounter over the course of the game – on foot, vehicular, power ups, going up against enemies twice your size. Despite the short length of the mission, it feels like it’s endless in the best ways possible.
What’s your favorite level in the Halo series? Let us know in the comments below.
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