343 Guilty Spark (level)

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Summary
A campaign level in Halo: Combat Evolved. This is the first time we see the Flood. It is also the first level you'll use the shotgun. It is the last level where you will be aided by Marines. Compared to the previous levels, this level is very dark, dank, and creepy, and if this is your first time playing, you'll find yourself becoming very jumpy as you go, unless you've got nerves of steel. The first chapter of the level is set in a rainforest, and the second chapter, "The Flood" is set in the main Alpha Halo Flood containment centre. There is a Covenant guard protecting the complex that are massacred once the Flood are unleashed, and some survivors of the Marine force that accidentally released the Flood by opening the door the Covenant worked hard to close down. All members of the advance party of Marines (with the exception of Sgt. Johnson) became Flood including Private Mendoza and Private First Class Wallace A. Jenkins.

Usable Weapons

 * Pistol
 * Assault Rifle
 * Shotgun
 * Frag Grenade
 * Plasma Pistol
 * Plasma Rifle
 * Needler
 * Plasma Grenade
 * Shade

Drivable Vehicles
none

Part 01: Well Enough Alone
(Opening cinematic-Camera flies over a group of Jackals and Grunts running through a swamp, panicky and obviously in retreat. As it pans over them, you see through the fog and rain the outline of a dropship, which further materializes as the camera draws closer)

Foe Hammer (radio): The last transmission from the Captain's dropship was from this area. That was over twelve hours ago. When you locate Captain Keyes, radio in, and I'll come pick you up.

(In certain parts of the level, you can hear a radio transmission coming from a crashed human dropship and a Covenant communications terminal. As it repeats, it seems that this is some sort of distress beacon. Static pervades the transmission, and the signal fades in and out of clarity)

UNKNOWN HUMAN MALE: Dropship Victor 933-(static)-Pillar of Autumn-(static)-eed assistance. We are under att-(static)-attack by some new kind of hostile-(static)-isn't Covenant. (Static) Captain Keyes has been captured by hostiles. (static) -dug in at a large structure in a swamp-(static)-We need to pull out. Please-(static)-I will set this message to repeat at-(static)-given interval. Dropship Victor 933, clear.

(After passing through several large rooms and many smaller ones inside the structure, as you come into an area blasted with gunfire and scorch marks. A lone Marine sits leaning against a wall, Pistol pointed at you. He shoots at you if you come too close, while screaming at the top of his lungs the following phrases. He also fiddles around with his pistol a lot, checking to see if the clip is full)

Marine:
 * Stay back! Stay back, you're not turning me into one of those things!
 * I'll blow your brains out! Get away from me!
 * Gaaaaahh! Aaaaaahh! Don't touch me, you freaks, I won't be like you, I'll die first!
 * Find your own hiding place, the monsters are everywhere!
 * Play dead! That's what I did... played dead. They took the live ones... oh, God, I can still hear them!
 *  Monsters...
 * Ahhhhhh! Ahhhhaaahhh! Aaaaaaaahhhhhaaaaaaa!
 * Just leave me alone!
 * Sarge? Mendoza? Bisenti? Oh, God... the things took them... They're gone! Get it? Gone!
 * They won't get me! Oh God... oh God I don't want to be like them, please, please no, nooo...

(As you come down one of two ramps on either side of a door which has been locked down with some sort of keypad-cinematic)

(The Master Chief approaches the door cautiously. At a noise, he turns around, gun ready to blow away anything around him. After a moment, he turns back to the door, places his gun on his shoulder, and opens the door. When it opens, a dead Marine falls into his arms. The Chief advances a few paces, places the body on the floor gently, and sweeps his assault rifle about the room. He notices a helmet lying on the floor, and, crouching, moves swiftly towards it. Once he's there, he surveys the room one more time, places his rifle on the floor, and picks up the helmet. There is a large, jagged hole punched through the top of it. The Master Chief shakes his head, and removes a Recorder Chip from inside the Helmet Recorder, near the HID, and inserts the chip into a socket in his helmet)

Open Record View (2552.5.27.5:52:56 L)

Pvt. Jenkins, Wallace A.

>Play>

(Helmet cam view. A Marine (Jenkins) looks around the inside of the dropship Victor 933. There are several other Marines seated in the dropship with him. Loud rock music blares over the cabin speakers)

Private Mendoza: Why do we always have to listen to this old stuff, Sarge?

Sergeant Johnson: Watch your mouth, son. This "stuff" is your history. It should remind you grunts what we're fightin' to protect.

Private Mendoza: Hey... if the Covenant wanna wipe out this particular part of my history, that's fine by me.

Private Bisenti: Yeah... better it than us.

Sergeant Johnson: You ask 'em REAL nice next time you see 'em Bisenti. I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige.

Dropship Pilot (Radio): LZ looks clear! I'm bringing us down!

Sergeant Johnson: Go go go!

>FFW>>

>PLAY>

(The squad advances through the swamp towards the same structure you are in now)

Sergeant Johnson: Stay close Jenkins!

(They reach the entrance and sweep their weapons across it, wary)

Sergeant Johnson: Mendoza! Move it up!

(Mendoza advances in a crouch, gun at the ready)

Sergeant Johnson: (To Jenkins) Wait here for the Captain and his squad, then get your ass inside.

Private Jenkins: Sir!

Sergeant Johnson: Okay, let's move!

>FFW>>

>PLAY>

(The squad stands around a dead Elite. Its stomach is torn open)

Private Mendoza: -which is weird, right? I mean... look at it. Something... scrambled the insides.

Sergeant Johnson: What's that? Plasma scoring?

Private Mendoza: Yea... I dunno. Maybe there was an accident. You know, friendly fire or something?

(Captain Keyes approaches the squad)

Captain Keyes: Well what do we have here, Sergeant?

Sergeant Johnson: Looks like a Covenant patrol. Badass elite units, all KIA.

Captain Keyes: Real pretty. Friend of yours?

Private Bisenti: Naw, we just met.

>FFW>>

>Play>

(The squad, along with Keyes and his own squad, stand around a locked door-the one you have just come through)

Captain Keyes: Right. Let's get this door open.

Private Kappus: I'll try Sir. But it looks like these Covenant worked pretty hard to lock it down.

Captain Keyes: Just do it, son.

Private Kappus: Yes, Sir.

(Kappus removes a Spoofer from his pocket and sticks it to the door. He punches a few keys, and the door opens. He waves the squad through. Jenkins takes point through the door, and the rest of the squad fans out around him)

Private Mendoza: I've got a bad feeling about this...

Sergeant Johnson: Boy, you always got a bad feelin' about SOMETHIN'.

Corporal Lovik (radio): Captain, Sarge... can you hear me?!

Captain Keyes: What's going on, soldier?

Corporal Lovik: We've got contacts...lots of them...but they're not Covenant...they're just tearing through us...what the!...ooooohhh...nooooo!!

Sergeant Johnson: Corporal? Do you copy, over? (No response) Mendoza, get your ass back up to Second Squad's position, and find out what the hell is goin' on.

Private Mendoza: But, Si-

Sergeant Johnson: I don't have time for your lip, soldier! I gave you an order.

Private Mendoza: Sarge! Listen!

(An odd hissing noise grows louder and louder)

Private Bisenti: What is THAT?

Sergeant Johnson: Where's that comin' from, Mendoza?

Private Mendoza: Everywhere... I don't-there! Mira!

(Mendoza points to a nearby door, which has just exploded outwards. Small squid-like creatures (infection forms) pour from it)

Private Riley: Ahh... augh! Get it off!

(Riley lies on the ground, one of the infection forms attached to his face. Kappus tries to pull it off him.)

Private Kappus: Hold still, hold still!

(Kappus pulls the creature off of Riley, who collapses. Riley tries to hold the creature which is now trying to infect him.)

Sergeant Johnson: Let 'em have it!

(The Marines open fire, to little effect. Infection forms are now all around them.)

Captain Keyes: Sergeant, we're surrounded!

Sergeant Johnson: GodDAMMIT Jenkins, fire your weapon!

Private Jenkins: There are too many, Sarge!

Sergeant Johnson: Don't even think about it, Marine!

Private Mendoza: Yo this is loco!

Captain Keyes: Get back here, Marine! That's an order!

Sergeant Johnson: Jenkins!

(Infection forms cover the Marines. Captain Keyes and Sergeant Johnson fall, eventually Johnson survives infection.)

(Infection forms attack Jenkins and block his helmet cam. After a moment he falls over, and the screen blacks out. After another moment, words flash in red)

>Unexpected Halt X (WND/INCAP/KIA? Ref.a4 3d.3)

>End Record View (2552.5.27.6:39:23 L)

(The Chief removes the chip from his helmet, shakes his head, and tosses it to the ground. He stands quickly, gun ready)

Note: Even though Jonhson is attacked by infection forms, survives because flood cannot infect him due to his Boren´s Syndrome. How he manages to escape to the surface is explained in the Halo Graphic Novel story: "Breaking Quarantine", and how he escapes Halo on "Halo: First Strike"

Part 02: The Flood
(As you reach the final elevator and rise to an exit from the structure)

Foe Hammer (radio): This is Echo 419. Chief, is that you? I lost your signal when you disappeared inside the structure. What's going on down there? I'm tracking movement all over the place!

Private Dubbo: Sir! Thank God you're here! We've been lost out here for hours. After we lost contact with the rest of the mission, we headed for the RV point, and then these-these. these things... they ambushed us. We've gotta get out of here!

Corporal Lovik: We could use your help...sir.

Foe Hammer (radio): There's a large tower a few hundred meters from your current position. Find a way above the fog and foliage canopy and I can move in and pick you up.

''(As you come near the tower Foe Hammer was speaking of, an odd blue object (aka. 343 Guilty Spark) and a flotilla of floating robots (aka.sentinel minors) descends from the mist. The robots begin to slice away at any nearby Flood, avoiding your Marines. After a few minutes of fighting around the base of the tower, you suddenly find yourself enveloped in a bright gold light, and then appear on top of one of the legs of the tower. The blue object hovers in front of you)''

343 Guilty Spark: Greetings. I am the Monitor of Installation 04. I am 343 Guilty Spark. Someone has released the Flood. My function is to prevent it from leaving this installation. But I require your assistance. Come. This way.

(You vanish in another series of amber flashes)

Foe Hammer (radio): Chief, I've lost your signal! Where'd you go? Chief? Chief!

Part 01: Well Enough Alone
Walk straight ahead and a downed Pelican will loom out of the fog. That's the third busted Pelican in as many levels. Makes you a little more grateful to have Foe Hammer as your pilot, doesn't it? Anyway, move ahead and behind the dropship you'll find a stash of ammunition and health packs. The green boxes are full of shotgun shells and two shotguns are behind a rock (On legendary you cannot get a shotgun untill much later in the level). Fill up your assault rifle, switch to your pistol, and move ahead. A few grunts and jackals will wandering around up ahead, so find some cover near them and zoom in. Pick them off with the pistol then switch to the assault rifle if they get too close. The jackals will tend to hang back so finish off the grunts first. Then you can either hang back as well and snipe them with the pistol or run in and waste them with grenades and the assault rifle. Since there are three health packs by the downed Pelican, feel free to grab one now.

Switch out your assault rifle for a plasma pistol. There's one or two lying on the path ahead with 100% charge. You don't find one of those every day. Moving along, another downed dropship will come into view, only this one is a Covenant ship. There may be a couple of jackals hanging out near here, but after a few charged plasma shots, they'll retreat. Don't follow. Get directly in front of the Covenant dropship and look up at it. There's a path to the left of it that goes around the tree it's propped up against. Walk up the hill and take the path around. Keep turning right and trying to walk up higher on the hill and you'll see a huge fallen tree stretching across a depression. Continue around and you'll end up behind and much higher than a group of jackals. Zoom in and gun down a few with the pistol. Once they get their bearings and start to shoot back, send off a few charged shots then retreat. Walk back the way you came to the Covenant dropship and continue on the normal way. Now some of the surviving jackals may have their backs turned and should be easy prey. Zoom in and shoot off a few rounds, then switch to charged plasma shots until you have to retreat. Go back and forth and attack them from both positions until they're all dead. Now you can go back and grab the second health pack.

Hop up onto the log and walk across. Hey, wait. What are those yellow blips on your motion tracker? Never mind, they're probably nothing. While you're walking across, stop for a second and turn right. See that pipe? There's an active camouflage just to the left of it hidden back in some bushes. You'll be wanting to save that for later.

At the end of the log, hop up onto the ridge and get into the Shade on the right. Aim for the lit area in front of the tunnel. A whole boatload of grunts and jackals will come pouring out of here, apparently getting their butts kicked by marines. Carpet the area with plasma as they flee. Keep shooting and aim for any gaps in the trees. Eventually these guys will notice you're a sitting duck and start firing back. That would be a good time to get out and duck back behind the ridge. Toss a couple of grenades towards the bad guys then go grab that active camouflage. It's a little hard to get to the alcove where it's hidden. Look for a little ridge that leads up to the left. Once you have it, get back to where the Covenant are gathered. Just start beating them down. Hit them from behind, of course, and try to finish off all the jackals before you become visible. Any leftover Covenant should be no problem. Grab one of their plasma pistols if you're running low and go back for health pack #3 if you're not already maxed out. Move into the structure and hit the switch to ride the elevator down.

There's a whole pile of Covenant in this next room, but they're all packed in the doorway and won't be able to see you when you arrive. Run behind one of the energy shields and take a look. They're just sitting there, waiting to die. Bounce a grenade or two into the middle of the group. Open fire with the plasma pistol after they go off. Mop up any survivors that stay in the room, but don't pursue any that leave. There should be a ton of plasma pistols lying around from the explosion and were going to use up as many as necessary. Charge up your pistol, open the door ahead, and nail the nearest jackal. Fire off a few more shots if you can then duck back under cover. Just keep peeking in and hosing down the area with plasma until all of the jackals are toast. Now all of those jackals have littered the next area with plasma pistols, so we get to do it all over again.

Take a look around the room. There are two levels to the place. The exit is on the lower level on your right. The remaining Covenant should be clustered around this door. Stay on the upper level and move up against the right wall. Look down on the enemies below. There should be a pillar coming out of the wall on the right at the edge of the ledge. It's just perfect size for you to hide behind. Peek out and start sending charged plasma shots into the group of Covenant. Once you empty a plasma pistol, go back and grab another. Once the number of Covenant down there has dwindled considerably, you can find the fullest plasma pistol and hop down to finish off the rest in person. Here's yet another pile of plasma pistols for you to use in your next battle. There's also a health pack on the far side of the room somewhat hidden behind the large pile of Covenant boxes. You shouldn't need it now, and you'll be coming back later, so leave it.

The door ahead leads to a square hallway that leads to the next big room. There are five jackals guarding the exit to this room on your left. Toss a grenade or two into the mix and start sending charged plasma shots over to soften them up. Retreat into the doorway to recharge and keep sending charged plasmas shots in until they've been taken care of. Go back whenever you need to pick up another pistol or grenades. Run in and finish off the last one with a couple of punches to the face if he's being annoying. Once these guys are dead, you can relax. You won't have to fight anything for a while.

The next square hall leads you to... an empty room. Creepy. One thing to note is that there are several needlers lying on the ground to the right between the two Shades. And there are clips of needles lying there too. This is one of two places (both on this level) where you can see needler clips. They are nowhere else in the game. Hmm... maybe Bungie is trying to tell us something. While needlers are very useful for some of the battles ahead of you, I wouldn't pick one up now. To get out of here, you have to jump on the short platform above the needlers and go through the door.

Another square hallway leads to a room where some serious combat took place. The crazed marine here still gives me the willies. I hate to say it, but you should put him out of his misery. He's got ammunition for the pistol, which is scarce on this level. Plus, he's just going to get his insides scrambled by some... uh, never mind. You haven't gotten there yet. Head to the back of the room and jump up on the rubble to get to the upper level. Exit through the door above the one you used to enter.

After another hall you'll be on the upper level of the room with the needlers. Hit the switch to activate the light bridge. Move across and look for an assault rifle on the ground. It should be right in front of the door. Pick it up and ditch your plasma pistol. Reload it and head through the door.

Look around this room and you'll find two ramps down to the lower level. The one on the left has two health packs and some ammo. Don't grab the health unless you really need to. You shouldn't be too badly injured. You've hardly fought anything yet. Go down a ramp and walk up to the door to trigger a cutscene.

Part 02: The Flood
Look around the room. There are four groups of enemies that are going to attack in succession. Each group seems to be triggered by killing off a large fraction of the previous group. The first will come out of the door directly in front of you across the room. The second group will come out of the door nearby on your right. The third group will be coming out of the far door on the left. The last group comes out of the door you used to enter this room. And on your left you'll find a bunch of assault rifle ammo as well as pistol ammo. Move over this ammo and fill up. Then head to the back of the room and get out your assault rifle for the first group of Flood. As the door bursts open, start firing. These guys are the infection form of the Flood. You can just let small numbers pop themselves on your shield or smack them with your melee attack, but large numbers can be a problem. If one of these guys hits you while your shield is down, he will eat you alive, literally. So empty a full clip at least on them then head to the next door. Once you're in front of the next door you can fire off a few rounds at any stragglers from the first group or smack them if they jump at you. Once the door starts to give way though, turn back towards it and open fire on this group as soon as you can. Again empty a full clip at least then move to the next door. Once you've got the next door covered, pop any wandering Flood nearby until the door starts to open. Burn through another couple of clips until almost all the little guys are gone. Don't worry about gunning down the last few. Get to the final door. Remember it's the one you came in through. More infection Flood will be coming in along with their big brothers, the combat Flood. Again you can take a second to off any leftover infection Flood until you hear the ominous thud of the door being bashed open. Drop a plasma grenade right in front of the door and back up. Plasma grenades are not normally good to use against the Flood because the Flood are faster then you. Most of the time, you'll end up sticking a grenade to a Flood who will promptly run right up in your face and explode. They work well though when you drop them on the floor as you're retreating. The Flood will run right over them as they explode. So drop one for these guys as they enter the room and open fire. It should take out almost all of the infection Flood leaving the combat Flood for you to deal with. The key to dealing with combat Flood is to keep moving, preferably backwards while shooting at them. So basically you want to keep circling the room backwards shooting at anything you can. Don't get too close to the wall or you may get pushed into a corner. That would be bad. Circling the two raised areas in the middle of the room seems to work well. Use the assault rifle against multiple targets and at close range. The pistol works better against a single target at medium to long range. Just keep pouring on the hurt until they all go down, get back up, and go down again. Whew. Your first battle with the Flood is over. Go fill up on ammo.

Step through the door and look up one of the ramps. There is another group of Flood up there so fire off a few shots to get their attention then retreat into the room. If you're really low on health, grab one of the health packs before setting them off. Drop a plasma grenade in the doorway as you're retreating and then open fire when you see the combat Flood coming in. There aren't as many in this group. A few clips from the assault rifle should do it. Fill up again after the battle. Head up one of the ramps and grab a health pack, even if you don't really need it.

Moving along you'll see a bunch of Covenant and Flood duking it out. Ignore these guys for now. Stay on the upper level and exit through the door on the right. After another hall you'll end up in a room full of Flood. Head to the right or left and back yourself up into a corner. Normally this would be a suicidal tactic against the Flood, but I got a plan. Fire off a few dozen assault rifle rounds at the ground below to get the attention of everything in the room. Snipe at any Flood that jump up to the upper level with your pistol then switch to the assault rifle when they get too close. You can move around a bit, but try to stay near the corner. Once the upper level is clear, get back into the corner and face the middle of the room. The Flood on the lower level will be mindlessly trying to get to you, so they should be right below you in a big pile. Look for them congregating on your motion tracker. In front of you is a pillar, but in between the very corner of the walkway you're on and the pillar is a little gap, just big enough for a grenade. Toss one (either kind will work) through the little gap and it should drop down into their midst. A few seconds later, BOOM, all the Flood die in a messy explosion. If you can still hear a lot of Flood moving around down there, drop another. Maybe try a different kind. Follow it down and clean up any survivors. Leave through the door below the one you used to enter and follow the hall back to the previous room.

The battle between the Flood and the Covenant should be dying down by now. Peek in and gun down anything nearby with the pistol then retreat into the doorway. Hose down anybody who comes in after you with the assault rifle. Drop a grenade in the doorway if it looks like a whole lot of Flood are coming at once. Repeat until the room has been cleansed of enemies. The Shade in here works well against Flood, but I'd only recommend using it once the number of enemies is very small. Now you can go back the way you came through the gore-spattered hall then through the door on the right.

The next room has both Flood and Covenant again. Wait around in the doorway for a moment and they should notice each other and start fighting. Once they're finished you can take out a Flood or two with the pistol then retreat into the hall and whip out your assault rifle. Mow down anything that shows its ugly mug. Drop a grenade if things get really nasty. Keep popping in and sniping with the pistol then falling back and tearing through pursuers with the assault rifle until there are no more Flood around. Move into the room now and look for stragglers. After you're through down here, you'll have to get back to the upper level. To get up there you have to jump on the Covenant boxes in the corner. Behind these boxes is a health pack (unless you picked it up earlier) so grab it if you need it. After you jump up look around the upper deck and kill off any jackals or grunts that may be hiding up here. There's a door open right next to where the Covenant were, but we don't want to go there yet. That is the way ahead, but we have some more Flood to kill. You can peek in here and snag some assault rifle ammo though if you're running low. We want to go directly across from this door to the other side of the room. Hit the switch and walk across the light bridge.

Now you're back at the elevator you used to get down here. Maybe you can ride it back up. You can use the same strategy here you've been using. Peek in and get their attention by gunning down a few with the pistol then fall back and drop a grenade in their path. Waste any survivors with the assault rifle. Repeat until the room is clear. Move in and hit the switch to activate the elevator. Aww, sad. It's broken. I guess you'll have to find another ride up.

Go back into the previous room and through the door on the far side. Here you can finally grab yourself a shotgu... oh wait. This is Legendary. No shotgun for you! That would make things too easy. There is an awful lot of ammo here though and two health packs so fill up.

After a little hall and an empty room with a cool lightning thingy, you'll come to another elevator. Maybe this one will take you out of this hellhole. You know what to do. Peek in and snipe at one with the pistol. Fall back and drop a grenade if a whole swarm comes after you. Blow away the rest with your assault rifle. Once the room is clear, go back and fill up then hop on the elevator and ride it... down. You'll get a checkpoint as you're riding the elevator. Save and quit when you hit it. This is always a good idea when you know you won't have to go back, but it may come in especially useful here.

Crap. Well it looks like you're just going deeper down into this little nightmare. But wait. It gets worse. While you've been riding the elevator, they've been learning how to use guns. And you get your first peek of Flood-infected marines. Recognize anybody? This room can be pretty tough. Turn on your flashlight while you're riding down and get your pistol ready. As soon as you land run out and gun down the nearest Flood. Keep moving and finding new targets quickly. Go for the guys with the assault rifles if you have a choice. They can really hurt. Keep shooting until you empty your pistol clip then switch quickly to your assault rifle so you can keep firing. There are usually only four armed combat Flood in here, but it seems like more. After a great deal of shooting, the room will be yours. Hop up on the big pile of Covenant boxes and grab the over shield.

There are a couple of marines in this next room, but they are most certainly going to die within seconds. So don't bother trying to save them. Grab one of the active camouflages and hose down any Flood on your side of the upper level. Spraying bullets while invisible pretty much negates the stealth factor, so expect to get smacked around a bit. Switch to the pistol and gun down any on the other side. Stay on the upper level and shoot at the Flood down below. They tend to cluster beneath you, so while you're still invisible try to throw grenades down at any groups. Once your active camouflage wears off, they'll be less likely to sit around while you toss grenades at them. So once you're visible, just keep moving around and trying to find spots where you can shoot down at the Flood with your pistol. Once you've taken most of them out, grab the second active camouflage and drop down to finish off survivors. Just mow them all down as usual.

Now you may retrieve the almighty shotgun. It's not always here, but often one of the marines or one of the Flood will be carrying it. Comb the room looking for it. If you find one, ditch your assault rifle in favor of it. It's the ultimate Flood-killing machine. Just make sure to keep it full of shells. Reload as often as possible. If you can't find the shotgun, I'd suggest reverting to your saved game on the elevator. This is why it's good to save your game there. Exit through the blood-spattered door that's been torn to pieces.

This next hallway has a few Flood hiding in rooms on either side. Put that shotgun to work. You should wait until they're relatively close, but be careful. If they hit you as you're firing, you'll waste the shot. And when in doubt, shoot them again.

The next room is pretty standard. There's more pistol ammo in the back next to a health pack, so use up those rounds. Shotgun anybody who gets too close. Clear out the lower level first then move around looking for a good view of the Flood on the upper level. Take them out with the pistol. Once you're tired of sniping at them head to the back of the room. Jump up on the flaming pile of rubble and grab the pistol ammo and the health pack. Run up and blast any remaining Flood with the shotgun. Leave through the open door on the upper level.

The next hall should be empty. It leads to the upper level of the room you were in before. Things should be quiet around here unless you missed a Flood earlier. Head straight across to exit. This next hall may have a Flood or two. Nothing you can't handle. Keep on moving.

Enter the next room and head straight for one of the corners. You remember this trick. Shotgun any Flood on the upper level as they get close using the pillar for cover. By now everybody on the lower level is clustered beneath you. So back up into the corner, face the middle of the room and toss a grenade into that little gap between the walkway and the pillar. If you still hear lots of commotion, drop another or a different kind. Drop down and blow away any survivors. Exit through the door on the lower level that's been ripped open.

Peek into this next room and blast somebody with either weapon. As the Flood on the lower level run at you, give each one a shotgun shell to the face. Back up to recharge and repeat if you need to. Now you're free to move into the room and take potshots at any Flood on the upper levels with your pistol. Try to finish most of them off. To the left of the door you came in through is an unlocked door. It's the one on the little platform. Through this door is a bunch of Flood and not much else, so taking them out isn't necessary. It's a lot of fun though, so run in and clean house with your shotgun.

The way ahead is directly across the room from the door you came in through. So after you're through blasting all the Flood in the area, go there. You'll know you're headed the right way if you run into a bunch of Flood in this hall. Shotgun shells for the lot of them. Don't worry about conserving ammo. You're about to get a lot more.

Once you're through in the hall, peek into the next room. This should be pretty easy for you by now. Run in and clear out the lower level with some crazy shotgun action. The upper floor can be taken out a number of ways. You can stay down below and snipe with the pistol or you can jump up there and finish them off with the shotgun. To get up you have to jump on the bloody fallen pillar. It's a tough jump, but you can do it. On this pillar you'll find a health pack, which you can feel free to grab, and a ton of needler and shotgun ammo. Here's the other spot where you can find needler clips. Ignore these until you've finished cleaning out the upper level. Once you have the room under control, switch out your pistol for a needler. Fill up on everything and get your shotgun ready. There are two exits from this room, not counting the way you came in. They're both on the same side, one on top of the other. Let's take the one on the upper floor first.

This next hall is empty and leads you to another platform with a switch for a bridge. Don't hit the switch. Shotgun any Flood on your side and use the needler on the Flood on the other side. Spend the rest of your needles on any Flood down below. Now we get to go back and clean out the lower level. Exit the way you came and go back through the hall. Now you should be back in the room with all the needler and shotgun ammo. Fill up then go through the door on the lower level below the one you just came back through.

This hall is not empty. Keep your shotgun up and spend as many shells as you want. There's plenty around. Take out one side completely then the other. Once the hall is yours, move into the room ahead. The upper floor should be clear, so just run out and put a shotgun shell into each of the Flood. Keep moving and these guys will go down easy. Now that everything's been cleared out, you can move back up to extend the bridge. Head back the way you came and hop up onto the bloody pillar. Fill up one last time. Head out the door on the upper level again.

Now you can extend the bridge. A whole mess o' Flood is about to come pouring through the door on the other side of the bridge and you've got two ways to deal with them. You can hang back and use the needler long-range. This works well and allows you to find cover if necessary. It also allows you to turn the bridge off if they start to pour across in droves. Remember you can turn the bridges back off. Or you could run across as fast as possible and take them all out with the shotgun and grenades. This works well, but is obviously a little riskier. If you choose the more aggressive route, just keep tossing grenades in the doorway and blasting away with the shotgun. Once they stop coming, take a deep breath. You're almost done with this level. If you want to be extra careful, you can go back and switch out your needler for a pistol. Either pick up the one you dropped earlier or look for one amongst the bodies. Otherwise move into the room ahead and check around to make sure everybody's totally dead. Don't worry about filling up down here. Just ride the elevator.

Finally, an elevator that takes you out of here! You get to talk to Foe Hammer and chat with your marine buddies and fill up on health and shotgun ammo and everything. Run out into the swamp and you should get a checkpoint. This is another one you'll want to save. You're full of health and shotgun ammo and that's all you'll need. This area is pretty big, but you basically want to keep moving forward and blasting any Flood nearby before they get to your marines. Just what you'd expect. Eventually you'll come to a narrow pass. It's the only way forward and it's basically booby trapped. So wait for your marines to catch up before going through. Once they're with you, take off running. A whole bunch of infection and combat Flood will leap down on you from above. The marines should distract them long enough for you to get away. They're isn't really a way to save them here, so the least they can do is be used as an effective diversion.

Once you're through the pass you still have a fierce battle ahead. Keep blasting any Flood within range and reloading as you go. The depression you're in opens up now so it's a little hard to give directions, but you want to turn left now and eventually circle around to your right. There's a tall structure in the middle you're heading for, but you'll encounter less resistance if you approach it from behind. After the mass of enemies seems to be behind you, start to circle right and look for lights on the ground. Keep moving ahead and the structure should loom out of the fog. I have no idea what this building is for, but there are four huge pipes that extend out of its sides and plunge into the ground. Run alongside one of the pipes towards the structure and it will lead you into a little alcove. You can stay right here with the pipe on one side of you and part of structure itself extending out on the other side. With your back and sides covered you can wait out the rest of the battle blasting any Flood that get too suspicious with your remaining shotgun rounds. Eventually 343 Guilty Spark will show up and beam you away. Pat yourself on the back. You've survived your first encounter with the Flood.

Normal Walkthrough
"Finally, he concluded with chilling certainty that he was not alone, that there was something else in the invisible beyond, lost to his poor vision, but watching with bated breaths and demonic stares, their claws sharpened to shed his blood... -H. Lecter

Hmmm... this place is a lot darker than the rest of Halo. The designer mustve been depressed. Ah well, time to find some ammo (why dont we ever start out with a full AR combat load?).

Anyway, walk over to the downed Pelican. Seriously, why do these other pilots all screw up? Fill up on AR ammo, and take a look at those green boxes. Those are shotgun shell boxes. They contain 72 shells apiece. On Easy, there would be two shotguns, but this is Normal. No Shotgun for you? Yet all those shells... Bungie has a sick sense of humour.

Move down the path through the big puddle. A little up ahead, you will find a couple of dead Covenant with two PPs and one Needler. Ignore it; its dead empty. On the other hand, those PPs are fully charged. Ditch your Assault Rifle for one of them.

Aww, the fresh scent of a fully charged directed energy weapon. Move ahead, and you should see another downed dropship, except this one is Covenant. There is a small group of Grunts and Jackals (about six total). The Grunts are stupid enough to charge straight at you, so switch to your Human Pistol and pump each one a headshot. The Jackals tend to stay back, so time to get that PP ready. Feed each one an Overcharge, and melee them dead (to save Pistol ammo). Once theyre gone, keep moving til you reach this sort of ramp made of a large tree root. There is a Jackal nestled in a crook on the other side, so feel free to feed him an Overcharge and a melee. Now go back for your other Fresh PP.

Go across the tree bridge, and you should see a Shade on the other side. Keep moving, and you should see an explosion, and another group of Grunts/Jackals getting their alien asses kicked by (what I hope to be) Marines. Feel free to start unloading Overcharges on anything that moves. Once the main faction has been fried, go in and melee anyting that remains. Now go back for your Assault Rifle (chill, you critics, i know what Im doing!)

Well, if there were any Marines in the first place, they sure bugged out real damn quickly. Ah, well, you need to get used to being alone. Thats how its going to be from now on. Get on that lift and get down into this damn creepy structure.

When you stop, switch to your AR and get ready to have some fun. In the little antechamber, there is another squad of Grunts/Jackals (where are the Elites?) Newbies prefer to toss a frag grenade among them, but I like to blow away the nearest Grunt to get their attention, then move through the other end of the antechamber and melee the first mofo in front of you, and repeat/rinse til their all dead. Serious fun.

In the next room, grab a PP and send some Overcharges over to the Covenant on the floor. Once most of them are RIPing, grab your AR and get on the floor, and beat the rest to death. Moving on to the next room, youll see three Jackals;proceed to beat their damn brains out. In the next hallway, you should see a dead Jackal, a lot of Covie blood, and a small room full of mangled Covenant corpses. Obviously, this place has something thats lurking in its dark corners. Lets hope we dont run into it on a bad day. The next couple of rooms are just as creepy.

Eventually, youll come to a room that has seen soem serious combat. Bullet holes, plasma scoring, blood, mangled bodies, flaming, wreckage, complete with one scared-out-of-his-mind Marine. That poor bastard obviously saw some bad things goin down, and he gives me the creeps even today. I sure hate to say it, but put him out of his misery. Just go in and melee him. After that grim job, go to the other side. You should probably find a fully charged Plasma Rifle (cooler than Fully charged PP!)Ditch your Pistol for it (yes, the Pistol!). Afterwards, get onto the second level, into the next room, and activate the light bridge and down the ramp into... H-E-L-L

Part Two:The Flood
Jesus, after a cinematic like that, I could use a break. Do so, and save and quit here. You got some tough battles ahead of you.

Okay, once youve had some therapy, load your game and take a good look around the room. There are four doors on the ground level: behind you, in front of you, and on either side of you. To your left, there is a supply of Pistol and AR ammo (guess who its from?) Fill up on AR ammo, then go to the door in front of you.

Right about now, that door will bust open and a wave of those little squid things you saw in the cinematic( Flood Infection Forms) will com for you. A word of the wise: if one catches you with your shields down, youre screwed badly. But just unload a few dozen Assault Rifle rounds into the main faction and melee the survivors.

As you finish off the main portion, the door on your right is going to bust open too. Feel free to unload the rest of your AR clip into that swarm.

The door on your left is going bust open now, and this wave is pretty big, so I prefer to toss a Frag Grenade to clear out the first couple dozen, and unload on the rest with your automatic weapon.

Now, the door you came through is going to bust open, revealing a bunch of Infection Forms and a couple of infected Elites. HOLY FRICKING CRAP WHAT'S THAT GET IT AWAY FROM ME is probably your first response, and with good reason. Protip: pause the game if you are hyperventilating. Once you're back to normal, unleash the pistol on those wackos. The evil space zombies don't have shields, but they pack one hell of a punch, and you want to stay pretty far away from them. Use the pistol on the general area of their chest, as they don't really have a head to aim at. The tentacles make a good target.

After a few seconds, all those nasty Flood should be dead. Head up the ramp you came in by, but watch out for more Combat Forms just waiting to ambush you. If you see them, you could always neatly blast them in the chest with your M6D, but it's more satisfying, in my opinion, to unload the MA5B on full auto. Ah, the joy of 7.62 mm rounds.

In the next room, a pack of Flood are takin' on the Covies. Stay on the upper level and exit through the door to the right. HEad through the hallway to find yourself in another roomful of Flood, and this time there are no Covenant to distract them from you. Oh noes! Well, actually, this isn't as dire a situation as it looks like. Stay on the upper level and back into a corner. Fire a few shots to get the attention of the Flood. They'll all gather into your corner, but not one of them will have the brains to try and jump up onto your upper level. Now, between the wall and the upper level, there is a tiny crack. Just big enough for a frag grenade! Well, well! I don't think I have to tell you what to do here. Exit Flood. Drop down, clear out any survivors, and head through the door below the one you entered by. Follow the hall back to the previous room.

The Flood should be done with the Covenant here by now. Peek out of the hall, gun down anything close by with the M6D, and then retreat into the doorway. When the Flood come for you, unleash the AR on them, and rinse and repeat as necessary. Yes, you fools! Chew full metal jacket death! Ahem. Head back through the disgustingly blood-spattered hall to the door on the right. This next room has Covenant and Flood again. Wait a while for all the Covenant to die, then use the same strategy as before on the remaining Flood. Once everything is dead, jump up the stack of Covenant crates to get to the upper level. There might be a few Jackals or Grunts that hid from the Flood up here. Waste them with the MA5B.

There's two doors up here. One is near where the Covenant where. We'll go through there eventually, but right now, we want to power up the lightbridge and head directly across. Hey, the elevator you got down here on! Fancy that! Well, the Flood fancy it, anyway. They come at you in droves, but you can use the same strategy you've been using. Hold the doorway with the AR and grenades, then finish things up with a pistol. This is one of the reasons I dislike the Flood: they make most strategies ineffective, so that there's only one or two ways you can play each fight. Now, get on the elevator and press go! Crap! I guess the Flood broke it, those morons.

Now, go back through the door the Covenant were at. Here we have no enemies (for once), a crapload of ammo and health (for once) and the M90 Shotgun (4EVAR!). The M90 is your prize; for the rest of the game, it'll be your go-to gun, as the pistol becomes gradually less effective. So, time to make use of the 8-gauge anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, as Sarge might say. This reduces the Flood from evil alien space zombies to playthings before your awesome might.

After the next hall, we come to another elevator room. This time, though, you don't need to camp in the doorway! Turn that shotgun on and blaze a path through the Flood. Once you're done, hop on the elevator and—well, sometimes you have to sink before you rise. Right? Well, you're going down. In more ways than one.

The elevator shaft's bottom can be a bit tricky. The Flood have really got you surrounded here. Luckily, a bit of jumping around and M90-ing will see you through the danger. Head to the right side of the door, climb up on the crates, and grab the overshield as soon as those Flood are all dead. Amazingly, in the next room, there's a couple of Marines left. If you are incredibly leet, you can save them, but mostly, you should just worry about yourself and let them eat the path. By "worry about yourself" I mean "be a cowardly fool". Grab one of the camouflages and start firing some shotgun rounds into the Flood down below, coupled with grenades whenever you feel one is needed. The shotgun, despite its reputation as a close-range nightmare, is actually pretty decent at long ranges too; you just need to aim carefully. After about a clip from it, those Flood should be dead. Once they're all cold, grab the other active camo and head down onto the lower level. Exit through the blown-out door. The next split-path hallway has Flood hiding on either side, so be careful. If you get surrounded, you're pretty much hosed.

The next room is pretty normal. Flood are on the lower and upper levels, but there aren't too many of them. Jump up on the flaming pile of rubble. Grab the ammo and health, then jump up onto the upper floor. Leave through the only open door. Keep going straight across the next room. Enter the next room. You're on top with Flood below. Luckily, you can use the "grenade through the wall gap" trick again, killing most of the Flood here. Drop down and blow away the survivors, then leave through the broken door. The next room is more or less the same as the last one, only now you're on the bottom. A shotgun shell for each Flood form, and you're on your way again. Directly across the room from the door you came in by is an exit. You'll run into a crapload of Flood in this hall, so open up with the shotgun. You're about to get a chance to refill on ammo, so don't worry about conservation. In the next room is a fallen pillar with health and a lot of needles and shells on top. Stock up, then jump from there to the upper level. The next hall is clear of Flood.

There is a lightbridge switch in this next area, as well as a bunch of Flood on the ground floor. You could try and clean them out, but I wouldn't recommend it. Extend the lightbridge and go across to the door. A LOT of Flood will come out—there's at least ten of them—but in the doorway, they're so bunched up that a couple of grenades can kill them all. Mop up the stragglers with the shotty. Head on through once you're sure everything is dead. Finally, another elevator. The first time I played this, I decided that if this elevator went down too, I would kill myself.

Luckily for you (and me) it goes up. There are a LOT of Marines up here—I count thirteen—and about half of them have shotguns. For a real challenge, try to kill them all. You might as well. They'll just die anyway, and it's good practice for multiplayer.

Anyway, if you aren't a treacherous swine who kills his soldiers, stock up on ammo and health one more time and move out of the base. The Marines know where to go, but they won't last very long. Rule of thumb: stick to the left. When you see a structure with big blinking lights, get close to it and stay close. The Marines, if they aren't already dead, will be soon. Luckily enough, some big flying robots will show up, go, "IMMA CHARGIN MAH LAZER", see the Flood, go "IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZER", kill the Flood, go "SHOOP DA WOOP", and ignore you. Then a flying blue ball will show up, and start humming. Then he starts teleporting you all over the place.

Interesting to note, by the way: it is possible for two 343 Guilty Sparks to appear in the cutscene—the one who's talking to the Chief and one floating aimlessly in the background. Probably just a glitch.

Reference Links
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