Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)

Looking for Halo, the superstructure?

This level begins on the morning of September 19, 2552. This level was beautifully designed, reflecting the Forerunner's love for beauty. This is the level where you'll take your first step on the breathtaking Halo. This is the level that really starts up the whole entire trilogy.

You'll navigate your way through ancient Forerunner structures, helping some lost Marines fight their way through to safety from the clutches of the Covenant. At the end of the level, your Marines, along with you, will be picked up by Echo 419.

This is the first level in the game where Jackals will be introduced as well as the first on Halo's surface. In addition, this is also the first of five levels in Halo: CE where the player will be able to use a Warthog LRV and the S2 AM Sniper Rifle. This will also be the last level where you will be assisted by the Autumn's crewmen.

Weapons

 * Pistol
 * Assault Rifle
 * Sniper Rifle
 * Frag Grenade
 * Plasma Pistol
 * Plasma Rifle
 * Plasma Grenade
 * Needler

Vehicles

 * Warthog
 * Banshee (Non-drivable)
 * Pelican (Non-drivable)
 * Spirit (Non-drivable)
 * Bumblebee (Non-drivable)

Part 01: Flawless Cowboy
Cortana: We're coming in too fast!

Pilot: Damn! Airbrake failure! They blew too early! I'm losin' her...brace for impact!

(White out)

Cortana: Chief! Chief! Can you hear me? At last! Are you alright? Can you move? (As you exit the lifepod) The others...the impact.... There's nothing we can do.

(As you exit the area)

Cortana: Warning! I've detected multiple Covenant Dropships on approach. I recommend moving into those hills. If we're lucky, the Covenant will believe that everyone aboard this lifeboat died in the crash.

(If you explore a little bit)

Cortana: I'm reading thousands of types of flora. The ring's ecosystem is incredibly sophisticated.

(As a dropship approaches)

Cortana: Alert! Covenant dropship inbound! They must be looking for survivors. I recommend immediate evasion.



(You wait a bit)

Cortana: Warning! They've detected us, here they come.

(Combat)

Cortana: I'm reading a lifeboat beacon over the next hill. We should check to see if there are any survivors.

(As you come up to the surviving Marines)

Marine (sometimes): I thought we were the only ones to make it off of the Autumn alive!

Sergeant Johnson: It's a mess, Sir. We're scattered all over this valley. We called for evac, but until you showed up, I thought we were cooked.

Cortana: Don't worry, Sergeant. We'll stay here until evac arrives.

Private Mendoza: (over radio) Heads up! I got a Covenant dropship headin' in, over here!

(Next wave)

Private Mendoza (O.S.): Look sharp! Covenant dropship on approach! I could use some help over here!

(Next wave)

Private Mendoza (O.S.): Uh oh, another bandit droppin' in behind us! They're tryin' to flank us!

(After the final wave of Covenant dropships)

Foe Hammer: This is Pelican Echo 419. Anybody readin' me? Repeat. Any UNSC personnel, respond.

Marine, Sgt. Johnson or Cortana (radio): Roger, Echo 419. This is Fire Team Charlie. We read you 5-by-5. That you, Foe Hammer?

Foe Hammer: Roger, Fire Team Charlie. Good to hear from ya.

Marine, Sgt. Johnson or Cortana (radio): If you're not too busy, Foe Hammer, we could use a lift. We have survivors to transport to the Command Shuttle.



Cortana: Look, more lifeboats! They're coming in fast. If those lifeboats make it down, the Covenant are going to be right on top of them. (over radio to Foe Hammer) Foe Hammer, we need you to disengage your Warthog. The Master Chief and I are going to see if we can save some soldiers.

Foe Hammer: Roger, Cortana. Okay, Charlie Team, Warthog deployed. Saddle up and give 'em hell.

Cortana: Roger, Foe Hammer. Stand by to evac survivors and transport them to safety.

Foe Hammer: That's affirmative. Echo 419 staying on station. Foe Hammer out.

Cortana: The Master Chief and I need some backup, can you spare a few men?

Sergeant Johnson (If you kept him alive) or PFC Fitzgerald: Sure Cortana. All right ladies, volunteers step up on the double! The rest of you, get to the Dropship.

(If you walk away from the dropped Warthog or explore the area on foot for more than 5 minutes)

Cortana: We need that Warthog, if we want to get to the other lifeboats in time.

(As you drive through the cave structure)

Cortana: This cave is not a natural formation. Someone built it, so it must lead somewhere. (Pause) I've hacked into the Covenant battlenet. They're actually broadcasting tactical data on unencrypted channels. We should show them who they're dealing with. Master Chief, I'm going to use your suit's transponder system to monitor their chatter.

(After Master Chief kills everything in the big cavern)

Cortana: There must be some mechanism to cross this cavern. Look for a control panel or switch.

(Cinematic: When the Chief finds the panel and engage it, you get a nice little cinematic of the giant silver beam-generating structures extending across the chasm, and an energy bridge slowly fading into existence)

(As the Chief drives out the other end of the cave...)

Cortana: New traffic on the Covenant battlenet...a lot more crew made it off the Autumn than I had expected—the Captain must have really gave them hell! If we can find Captain Keyes and other survivors, we have a chance to coordinate an effective resistance.

Part 02: Reunion Tour
(This varies depending on the order you visit the crash sites)

(As you approach the rock-slide crash site)

Cortana: Survivors detected. The Marines are concealed in those rocks.

Any Marine that is closest to you: Contact! Covenant Dropship down there!

{after fending off attacking forces}

Foehammer: Echo 419 to Cortana, come in.

Cortana: We read you, Echo 419. We have survivors and need immediate dust-off.

Foe Hammer: Roger, Cortana. On my way. I've spotted additional lifeboats in your area. One near the cliff edge. And another near the head of the river. Hard to see from my altitude, but it looks like there are more survivors.

Cortana: Acknowledged. We're on our way.

(If you dawdle)

Cortana: We need to find the other two lifeboats.

(As you approach the river head crash site)

Cortana: There are some Marines hiding in the hills above the structure!

Marine: You're a sight for sore eyes Chief. We're in a bad way. We got wounded here.

Cortana: I'll call in a dropship to pick them up.

(When you kill everything)

Foe Hammer: Echo 419 to Cortana. Foe Hammer's on station and ready for another pickup.

Cortana: Affirmative, Foe Hammer. We're ready for dustoff. Approach when ready. We're going to look for the last lifeboat, Echo 419. Good luck.

(As you approach the river)

Cortana: Warning. I've picked up reports that the Covenant have located and secured the Pillar of Autumn's crash site. The good news is the Captain's still alive. The bad news is that the Covenant have captured the entire surviving command crew. Let's hurry and find the final lifeboat, so we can link up with the rest of the survivors.

(As you approach the fourth lifeboat)

Cortana: Lifeboat detected. No sign of survivors.

PFC Fitzgerald: This lifeboat is trashed, Chief. There are weapons and supplies but...no bodies.

{or}

PFC Fitzgerald: The life boat's totaled sir. There are weapons and supplies everywhere, but I can't find any bodies. Maybe somebody made out of here alive.

{or}

PFC Fitzgerald: The life boat's trashed Chief. There are weapons and supplies all over the place. Where's the bodies though.

(As you run around the final structure by the cliff edge)

Cortana: Maybe they took cover in that structure. Let's check it out.

{nearing the structure entrances}

Cortana: We should search the interior of those structures before we leave.



(As you arrive at the bottom of the cavern, where the Marines and the crew members are hiding)

Cortana: I've called for evac.

Marine: (presumably a Sergeant of some sort, though he's not wearing the normal Sergeant's cap, most likely a corporal): Marines! Assemble for evac, pronto!

(when you kill all the Covenant in the area)

Cortana: That's the last of them.

Foe Hammer: Roger that. I'm on my way.

Cortana: New traffic on the Covenant battlenet! I've found Captain Keyes! He's being held on a Covenant cruiser, the Truth and Reconciliation, a ship I disabled before we abandoned the Autumn. The Truth and Reconciliation touched down on a desert plateau roughly three hundred kilometers upspin.

(As Foe Hammer flies in)

Cortana: There's our ride. Get aboard, and let's get out of here.

Foe Hammer: Welcome aboard, Master Chief. Ready for dust-off.

(As you climb into the Pelican)

Cortana: We should move out, Lieutenant. And then we'll need your help on our rescue mission. ''Note that Foe Hammer is a Captain. She is also a Navy Lieutenant, which is the equivalent of a Marine Captain.''

Watch walk through to the level here: Part 1: Part 2: Part 3:

A Cruel Strategy
A recently discovered ingenious, though admittedly cruel strategy for beating this level has been discovered. When you get to the part where you must save the three groups of marines, you do not have to save them. If they all die, you can leave the battle early without having to kill all the Covenant. Killing a few marines is a lot easier than killing a huge horde of Covenant, so simply betraying all your marines then leaving each battle may help you out a lot. Be careful not to let the marines see you killing them, otherwise they will turn on you. You will only be able to skip two of the three battles using this strategy, so save the easiest battle for last. It is best to leave the battle with the hill for last so you can snipe all the Covenant or mow them down with your warthog turret easily. Hopefully the marines have not begun to shoot at you so you can join up with the final group and help them win the battle.

Trivia

 * At the start of the level, occasionally one of the Banshees will crash-land, intact. However, you cannot enter.
 * There is a Halo 3 Level with the same name.
 * The pilot of the Bumblebee is the only Female (apart from Cortana and Miranda keyes) seen in the first two games.
 * If you have a Warthog near the Pelican at the end of the level, the Marines inside will mysteriously disappear.
 * A dedicated Halo player made a site detailing a glitch found near the rockslide part of finding the marine escape pods where exploiting checkpoints to make 4 Spirits drop off a total of nearly 40 enemies back to back. It was called the Rockslide megabattle.
 * The beam in that is seen shooting up from the Forerunner base when rescuing the Marines in the building is used in Halo 2 used to deactivate the firing of Delta Halo
 * An interesting observation of this level is that when you tally up all the marines both living and dead from one crash site(even if you include the pilot who we will just ASSUME that is dead in the cockpit) are not equal to the max. number of troops one lifeboat can hold.