Halo 3

Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game, based on the fictional events and settings in the Halo Universe. It was developed by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft. Halo 3 was released on September 25th, 2007 exclusively for the Xbox 360.

Halo 3 is the sequel to Halo 2 and concludes the current story arc that the previous two games told. It involves SPARTAN John-117 returning to Earth in order to stop the Prophet of Truth from activating The Ark, thus activating the Halos, which would result in the extermination of all life in the galaxy. Shortly into the game, he also has to contend with the arrival of the Flood on Earth, as well as retrieve Cortana from the wrath of the Gravemind.

Even though the game does not progress directly on from the end of Halo 2, it's cliff-hanger, Halo: Uprising, a comic book series released by Marvel, filled in the missing segments between Halo 2 and Halo 3 on Earth.

Halo 3 was released on the long-awaited September 25th in North America and Australia, the 26th in Europe, and the 27th in Japan. It has been rated "M" for Mature (blood, gore, violence, and mild language) by the ESRB, but M 17+ means that Halo 3 is recommended for 17 years or older, not restricted (this is only a rating for parental guidance) by the OFLC, but in many stores, like GameStop, ID was required because anyone under the age of seventeen is unable to buy a copy of Halo 3. Europe's PEGI rating system gave the game a "16+" rating, which serves as a guideline rather than as a rule. However the U.K. Release is rated 15 by the BBFC which means it is slightly easier to purchase.

Halo 3 grossed US$300 million in its first week. More than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours. As of January 3, 2008, Halo 3 has sold 8.1 million copies, and was the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S. Overall, the game was very well-received by critics, with the Forge and multiplayer offerings singled out as strong features. By March 2009 more than 1 billion online matches had been played.

Campaign
Campaign consists of ten levels, of which nine are playable, and tell the story of Halo 3.


 * 1) Arrival - "Brace for impact." (Cutscene, tutorial on single player)
 * 2) Sierra 117 - "Rise up. Start the fight."
 * 3) Crow's Nest - "Clear the base, whatever it takes."
 * 4) Tsavo Highway - "Mount up. Get to Voi."
 * 5) The Storm - "Reclaim the city. Make a hole."
 * 6) Floodgate - "Stop the infestation. Find Cortana."
 * 7) The Ark - "Search the waste for the Cartographer."
 * 8) The Covenant - "Breach the barrier. Stop Truth."
 * 9) Cortana - "Cleanse High Charity. Save Cortana."
 * 10) Halo - "Light the ring. Destroy the Flood."

Plot
The storyline begins at least a month after the events of Halo 2. SPARTAN-117 enters Earth's atmosphere and crash lands in an east African jungle. After being retrieved by Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, the Arbiter, and a handful of Marines, the group makes their way through the jungle toward a designated extraction point. Covenant forces are sighted in the area and Johnson makes a strategic decision to split the group up to reduce their chances of getting spotted. SPARTAN-117 and the Arbiter continue on their way to the extraction zone with the second squad, fighting off numerous Covenant troops in the process, but upon reaching the extraction zone, Avery Johnson's Pelican group consisting of two Pelicans, are ambushed and shot down by Banshees. Johnson and his men are then captured and taken prisoner by a number of Brutes led by a Brute Chieftain. The Master Chief, Arbiter, and company fight their way through hordes of enemies and eventually rescue them, after which a Pelican arrives and picks them up.



The Pelican brings them to Crow's Nest which is used as a local base of operations by the UNSC. Here, Commander Miranda Keyes and Lord Hood plan a last-ditch effort to stop the Covenant from activating a Forerunner artifact uncovered outside the ruins of the city of New Mombasa. Their plan is to have the Master Chief with a small group of marines to punch a hole in Truth's anti air defense, so that Lord Hood can initiate a low level strike on the artifact. Their planning is quickly interrupted when power is cut and the Prophet of Truth broadcasts an announcement to all surviving human forces that their doom is inevitable. Soon after that, the Covenant Loyalist discovers the facility and mount a heavy assault. After a brief struggle, the outpost is lost and is blown by a bomb activated by SPARTAN-117. Deep underground, the Master Chief regroups with the surviving Marines and makes his way into the African City of Voi, Kenya via the Tsavo Highway. Shortly afterward, SPARTAN-117 along with a handful of Marines destroy all Covenant anti-air defenses so that Lord Hood can lead the last of Earth's frigates against Truth and the artifact. As Hood mounts his attack on Prophet, Truth activates the artifact and creates an enormous slipspace portal, into which all the Covenant ships retreat.

At the same time, a Covenant cruiser controlled by the Flood, a parasitic species, had broken through the Elite's Quarantine of High Charity and arrived suddenly via slipspace and crashes into Voi, and the parasite quickly spreads throughout the entire city. As the Human forces attempt to fight the infestation, many are infected by the Flood. The Covenant Separatists lead by Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum, arrives at Earth and assists the struggle against the infestation. The Elites inform Commander Keyes that a UNSC construct is aboard the crashed Flood ship, and identified it as Cortana. After retrieving Cortana, SPARTAN-117 returned to the Shadow of Intent to oversee the repairs made by 343 Guilty Spark. However, it is only a recorded message from her. Cortana informs that the Gravemind is coming to Earth with an army of Flood, and that on the other side is a solution to the Flood infestation, without having to fire the rings. Lord Hood questions Cortana's plan, assuming that it could be a Flood trap, but SPARTAN-117 firmly tells Hood that he trusts her.

Lord Hood remained on Earth to defend it against the incoming Flood invasion while Commander Keyes and the Elites journeys through the Portal. Arriving at the Ark, the Covenant Separatist engages on the Covenant Loyalist fleet while the UNSC launches a ground campaign. After landing on the Ark, 343 Guilty Spark helps lead Master Chief and UNSC forces to the Ark's Cartographer, the map room of the Ark, to locate the Control Room of the Ark. In order to access the Control Room, the UNSC and the Covenant Separatists must deactivate three shield generators which are inside three separate towers. While SPARTAN-117 and the Arbiter succeed in deactivating the first and second towers, Johnson radios Keyes, telling her that he must retreat due to the heavy enemy assault. When SPARTAN-117 and the Elites arrived to the third tower, Johnson and his men are nowhere to be seen. After the final shield barrier protecting the Control Room deactivates, the Flood-infested High Charity arrives via slipspace and crashes onto the Ark, releasing Flood Dispersal Pods as it falls.

After handling with the nearby infestation, SPARTAN-117 leads the remaining UNSC and surviving Sangheli forces via armored vehicles in an assault on the Citadel containing the Control Room, which is heavily defended by Covenant Loyalist forces. Once inside the Citadel, Truth broadcast his sermon and reveals the captured Johnson to his followers. Just as Truth is about to force Johnson to activate the rings, Keyes crashes into the Control Room using a Pelican. Knowing she can't kill all of the Brutes, Keyes realizes that she must kill Johnson and herself to stop the rings from being activated. From behind, Truth fires several Spiker rounds at Keyes, and then pushes Johnson's hand down on the Ark's terminal, activating all of the remaining Halos in the galaxy.

Just as SPARTAN-117 and the Arbiter reach the top, two Flood Tank Forms confront them. Gravemind, through the two Flood forms, urges the two to join forces in stopping the initiation of the Halos and Truth. With the Flood's help, SPARTAN-117 and the Arbiter slaughtered all the Covenant forces defending Truth. Upon arrival to the Ark's Control Terminal, they find Johnson mourning over Keyes' dead body, and Truth partially infected. The Arbiter, after a short confrontation with Truth over the truth of the Halos, executes Truth with his energy sword, while the Master Chief deactivates all the Halos. Shortly after the deactivation of the Halos, the Gravemind betrays them and prevents the duo from escaping, although Johnson manages to, by Keyes' crashed Pelican.

The duo manage to escape from the Citadel via access hole near the elevator they used earlier. SPARTAN-117 then experience hallucinations of Cortana and follows the figure to a control panel. He then activated the panel, surprised to see that the Ark is manufacturing a replacement Halo in the event of one being destroyed. Knowing that the threat of the Flood is undeniably apocalyptic, SPARTAN-117 decides he will activate the new Halo. Needing an Index in order to fire the ring, SPARTAN-117 journeys into the crashed High Charity and fights against the Flood to retrieve Cortana (knowing that she still has the Index she acquired from Installation 04). Once retrieved, Cortana instructs the SPARTAN to overload High Charity's engines in order to destroy the Gravemind. The Arbiter arrives via Banshee to assist the SPARTAN in fighting the Flood. The two escaped from High Charity before it explodes using a damaged but still flyable Pelican.

The surviving Elites and UNSC personnel return to Earth, leaving only Sergeant Johnson, SPARTAN-117 with Cortana and the Arbiter to make their way to the new Halo. As they make their way to the new Halo's Control Room, Flood forms arrive via Flood Dispersal Pods to prevent the activation of the Halo Array. From here, they quickly discover that Gravemind is attempting to reconstruct itself on the new Halo. As Sergeant Johnson tries to activate the ring, 343 Guilty Spark fires his defensive laser at him after realizing that it will destroy the installation. The Monitor then turns against the SPARTAN and blasts the Arbiter out of the Control Room, leaving the SPARTAN to destroy Guilty Spark by himself. SPARTAN-117 successfully destroys the Monitor with the Spartan Laser and tries to mend Johnson. Mortally wounded, Johnson urged the SPARTAN to send him out "with a bang".

With the Halo activated, SPARTAN-117 and the Arbiter race towards the frigate Forward Unto Dawn using Johnson's Warthog. With no time to reach the cockpit, the Master Chief uploads Cortana into the frigate to start taking off before the Arbiter is able to take the controls. The front half of the Dawn, containing the Arbiter, makes it through the portal. However, as Halo shakes itself to pieces during its firing sequence and damages the Ark, the portal deactivates as the other half of the Dawn containing Chief and Cortana enter it. This causes them to rip off from the other half of the ship and be sent to an unknown area of space far enough from the Halo's blast, however, since they didn't come out of the other side of the portal, they never make it back to Earth.

Back on Earth, Lord Hood holds a memorial service in honor for those who died in the Human-Covenant War, with the Arbiter and many Marines in attendance. With Truth dead, the Covenant destroyed, and the Flood wiped out, the long and devastating war is finally over. Though he says he can never forgive the Arbiter for what the Covenant did to the human race, Lord Hood sincerely thanks him for standing by the Master Chief until the end. After the service, the Covenant Separatists returned to their home planet. Then, the credits roll.

After the credits, it is revealed that SPARTAN-117 and Cortana are still alive aboard the rear section of the Dawn, which had apparently torn off before going through the other side of the portal. The SPARTAN floats to a cryotube and as he climbs in, Cortana comments "I'll miss you." He replies "Wake me, when you need me."

If the last level is completed on Legendary difficulty, the section of Forward Unto Dawn that Cortana and the Chief are aboard is seen drifting towards an unknown planet.

Major Characters
UNSC
 * Master Chief Petty Officer John-117
 * AI Construct Cortana
 * Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson
 * Lieutenant Commander Miranda Keyes
 * Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood

Covenant Separatists
 * The Arbiter Thel 'Vadam
 * Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum

Covenant Loyalists
 * High Prophet of Truth

Flood
 * Gravemind

Forerunner
 * 343 Guilty Spark

Minor Characters
UNSC Covenant Separatists Forerunners
 * Lieutenant "Hocus"
 * Gunnery Sergeant Reynolds
 * Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker
 * Private First Class Chips Dubbo
 * Ntho Sraom
 * Usze 'Taham
 * Librarian
 * Didact
 * Mendicant Bias
 * Offensive Bias

Minor Characters
UNSC
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * Marine Infantryman
 * Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
 * Dropship Pilots
 * UNSC Navy
 * Fighter Pilots
 * Crewman
 * Office of Naval Intelligence
 * Reconnaissance Personnel
 * Voi Factory Workers

Covenant Separatists
 * Sangheili

Covenant Loyalists
 * San 'Shyuum
 * Jiralhanae
 * Mgalekgolo
 * Unggoy
 * Kig-yar
 * Yanme'e

Flood
 * Standard Forms
 * Infection Forms
 * Combat Forms
 * Carrier Forms
 * Pure Forms
 * Tank Forms
 * Stalker Forms
 * Ranged Forms

Forerunner
 * Sentinels
 * Constructors
 * Monitors

Weapons
These are the weapons in the game:

Standard

 * MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System (Assault Rifle)
 * BR55HB SR Battle Rifle (Battle Rifle)
 * M6G Personal Defense Weapon System (Magnum)
 * M7/Caseless Submachine Gun (SMG)
 * M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade (Frag Grenade)
 * M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher (Rocket Launcher)
 * M90 Close Assault Weapon System (Shotgun)
 * SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle (Sniper Rifle)
 * Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle (Spartan Laser)

Support

 * AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun (Machine Gun Turret)
 * LAU-65D/SGM-151 (Missile Pod)
 * M7057/Defoliant Projector (Flamethrower)

Forerunner

 * Sentinel Beam

Equipment

 * Bubble Shield
 * Power Drain
 * Trip Mine
 * Portable Grav Lift
 * Radar Jammer - Removed from Matchmaking (appeared in community maps for Bungie vs World and 7 on the 7th playlists)
 * Flare - Removed from Matchmaking (appeared in community maps for the Bungie vs World, and 7 on the 7th playlists)
 * Regenerator
 * Deployable Cover - Not in Matchmaking by default
 * Invincibility - Campaign only
 * Automated Turret - Campaign only
 * Cloaking - Campaign only
 * Active Camouflage - Multiplayer only (similar to Cloaking)
 * Overshield - Multiplayer only (similar to Invincibility)
 * Custom Power Up - Custom games, and the MLG (playlist) only

Standard

 * Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade (Plasma Grenade)
 * Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword (Energy Sword)
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol (Plasma Pistol)
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle (Plasma Rifle)
 * Type-26 Anti-Personal Stationary Gun (Shade)
 * Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher (Needler)
 * Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon (Fuel Rod Gun)
 * Type-50 Sniper Rifle System (Beam Rifle)
 * Type-51 Carbine (Covenant Carbine)

Support

 * Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapon (Plasma turret)

Jiralhanae (Brute)

 * Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade (Spike Grenade)
 * Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer (Gravity Hammer)
 * Type-3 Antipersonnel/Antimatériel Incendiary Grenade (Incendiary Grenade)
 * Type-25 Carbine (Spiker)
 * Type-25 Grenade Launcher (Brute Shot)
 * Type-52 Pistol (Mauler)

UNSC

 * Behemoth-class Troop Transport (Elephant)
 * AV-14 Hornet (Hornet)
 * M12 Warthog LRV (Chaingun Warthog)
 * M12G1 Warthog LAAV (Gauss Warthog)
 * M274 Mongoose ULATV (Mongoose)
 * M808B Scorpion MBT (Scorpion)
 * M831 Troop Transport (Troop Transport Warthog)

Non-usable

 * (FFG-201)
 * (FFG-307)
 * D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship (Pelican)
 * Albatross Heavy Dropship (Albatross, wreckage appears on Sandtrap)
 * C709 Longsword Fighter-Interceptor (Longsword Interceptor)

Standard

 * Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft (Banshee)
 * Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Ghost)
 * Type-25 Wraith (Wraith)
 * Type-52 Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Anti Air Wraith - Usable via glitch)

Jiralhanae (Brute)

 * Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Brute Chopper)
 * Type-52 Infantry Support Vehicle (Brute Prowler)

Non-Usable

 * Assault Carrier
 * CCS-class Battlecruiser
 * Forerunner Dreadnought
 * Seraph Fighter-Interceptor
 * Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform (Scarab)
 * Type-52 Troop Carrier (Phantom)

Standard Maps
On release, Halo 3 was shipped out with 11 multiplayer maps that could be played over Xbox Live. Halo 3 has the smallest number of multiplayer maps released on launch, as Halo: Combat Evolved had 13, and Halo 2 had 12. To combat this lack of maps, many players customized the maps using the new feature, Forge. The Maps Epilogue, Sand Tarp, Boundless and Pit Stop are official re-edited maps by Bungie, which include small changes like the removal of shield doors, weapon spawns and vehicle spawns.


 * Construct
 * Epitaph/Epilogue
 * Guardian
 * High Ground
 * Isolation
 * Last Resort
 * Narrows
 * Sandtrap/Sand Tarp
 * Snowbound/Boundless
 * The Pit/Pit Stop
 * Valhalla

Heroic Map Pack


The Heroic Map Pack is downloadable through Xbox Live Marketplace. Previously an 800 point purchase, it is now available as a free download. The maps included in this Map Pack are:


 * Foundry
 * Rat's Nest
 * Standoff

Legendary Map Pack
The Legendary Map Pack is downloadable through Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points. Microsoft dropped the price on July 7, Bungie Day to 600 Microsoft Points, but discontinued the previously included Bungie Pro bonus. The maps included in this Map Pack are:
 * Avalanche
 * Blackout
 * Ghost Town

Cold Storage
This map is downloadable through Xbox Live Marketplace for free and is the 7|seventh downloadable map for Halo 3. It was released on 07/07/08, Bungie Day, as a free gift to the entire Halo 3 community around the world.

Mythic Map Pack
The Mythic Map Pack is downloadable through Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points, or by obtaining a code for the map pack through obtaining a copy of Halo Wars Limited Edition. The maps included in this map pack are:
 * Assembly
 * Orbital
 * Sandbox

They also include three new skulls to find within the maps. There are also new achievements. Finding all of the skulls unlocks a Vidmaster achievement.

Mythic Map Pack Part 2
The Mythic Map Pack Part 2 (also known as the "ODST Map Pack") is a map pack that was released with Halo 3: ODST. The maps included in this map pack are:
 * Citadel
 * Heretic
 * Longshore

Service Tags
The Service Tag is how you and your team can be identified quickly on the battlefield, instead of the long names and complex number combinations which are not suitable for battle situations that require quick tactical orders or communication. The service Tag is comprised of a letter followed by two numbers. A few examples of Service Tags are K90, C27, A12, S86, D17, and D21.

When certain specific Service Tag coding is entered for example: I17 (117) an error message will appear stating "This Service Tag is currently in use by the UNSC" and to choose another. Another error message will happen when "N64"'' and "P52" (Nintendo 64 and Playstation 2) are entered but this is due to trademark infringement of the companies, and as a result the service tag will not be allowed. Similar error messages are shown if you put in "A55", "N00", "P00", "F00", "J00", "F49", and "T17" as they are offensive references. "O00 has also been blocked as it is reserved as guest service tags. "A23" is also blocked. Anything ending in 00 is blocked.

According to Bungie, as of March 14th the most used Service Tags by players of Halo 3 are, in descending order, O07, M16, I69, P26, S80, N99, F18, H20, I87, and D13.

Armor Permutations
There are two player models which you can choose from, the standard SPARTAN model or an Elite model. Each model has several armor permutations which can be combined. All Armor permutations do not have any effects on gameplay.

Emblems
An Emblem is a highly customizable image that appears on the right arm of a Spartan and the back an Elite.

Emblems also show your teammates what SPARTAN you are. This was made by the ONI Research Center of the SPARTAN Program and has no use at all since the SPARTANs can check each other through Service Tags, so Emblems are just an addition.

According to Bungie on March 14th 2008, Weekly Update;
 * Most Popular Emblems: Phoenix, Jolly Roger, Valkyrie, Crossed Sword and Champion

Colors
There are ten base and primary colors, each with three shades of one another that are used to customize your multiplayer color and emblem. On the armor detail color, there is a small painted VI (most noticeable on Mark VI shoulder), and there is a stripe on the SPARTANs' leg and arm.
 * Steel, Silver, and White
 * Red, Mauve, and Salmon
 * Orange, Coral, and Peach
 * Gold, Yellow, and Pale
 * Sage, Green, and Olive
 * Teal, Aqua, and Cyan
 * Blue, Cobalt, and Sapphire
 * Violet, Orchid, and Lavender
 * Crimson, Rubine, and Pink
 * Brown, Tan, and Khaki
 * Black can still be used but, only in Forge or Custom gametypes, as a forced player color under general settings.
 * Zombie a slightly more yellowish version of Green to make players look like zombies. Only available in Forge or Custom gametypes as a forced player color under general settings.

According to Bungie on the March 14th 2008, Weekly Update;
 * Most Popular Primary Colors: Steel, White, Blue, Cobalt, Green, Sage
 * Least Popular Primary Colors: Lavender, Pale, Salmon, Peach and Mauve

Matchmaking
Matchmaking is where people can play with and against each other through a specially designed search system and multiple playlists. In Matchmaking EXP and Skill can be earned to raise ranks. You have a highest skill which cannot be taken away, but your current skill level can decrease if you play poorly in that variant. Also, on some maps like "Guardian" and "Narrows", various equipment such as the Flare and Radar Jammer have been removed due to balance changes.

Playlists
Playlists are lists of different game variations from free-for-all to team games. They are split into Ranked, Social, Hardcore, Community, DLC, Tournaments and Double EXP Weekends. The Community Playlist returned on July 7, 2008 with the release of the free map Cold Storage.

Ranked
The Ranked playlists are the more serious playlists. Skill can be raised and EXP can be gained.
 * Lone Wolves - Various gametypes free for all up to six players.
 * Team Slayer - Slayer based gametypes with two teams of three to four players per team.
 * Team Objective - Objective based gametypes with two teams of three to four players. This playlist has been expired.
 * Team Doubles - Various gametypes with two teams of two players.
 * Squad Battle - Various gametypes with two teams of six designed to fill some of the void left by excising Ranked Big Team Battle from the Halo 3 Playlists.
 * MLG - Various MLG gametypes on MLG map variants with two teams of three to four players. The MLG map variants were updated to v6 in the April 2009 playlist update.
 * Team SWAT - Ranked teams of 3/4 players playlist where players have to kill others with headshots (or enough body shots).
 * Team Snipers - Ranked 4v4 playlist. Sniper Rifle spawns (no secondary weapons unless the game is shotty snipers) on maps forged with Beam Rifles.

Social
The Social playlists are the more relaxed playlists. EXP can be gained and guests are allowed. The DLC Playlists have now been deleted. Now it is two new social playlists instead:
 * Rumble Pit - Various gametypes free for all up to eight players. Have now been updated to DLC.
 * Big Team Battle - Various gametypes with two teams of five to eight players. This playlist has been expired.
 * Social Slayer - Slayer based gametypes with two teams of five players.
 * Social Skirmish - Objective based gametypes with two teams of four to five players.
 * Multi-Team Various gametypes with four teams of two players. (This includes the "Rocket Race" gametype since the original playlist has as of September 2008, retired.)
 * Action Sack - The Halo 2 gametype made a return in June 2009. This unique 4v4 playlist rewards you no exp if you win, but there is plenty of fun to be had. It includes some gametypes you may have played before, such as Team Rockets and Team Fiesta, and will have some brand new gametypes exclusive to this gametype such as Ninja Assault. This is a 1 bomb assault gametype with a twist. The Bomb Carrier will have active camo and moves slightly quicker than others but is a lot weaker and easier to kill. There will be plenty of other playlists when it is released into matchmaking.
 * Social Team DLC It's like a mix of Social Slayer and Social Skirmish but it's a DLC playlist so you need to buy Legendary Map pack pack to play it. It's two teams of four to five players like in Slayer and Skirmish. Now updated to include Mythic maps.(This playlist has been removed)
 * Social Big Team - Like in Big Team Battle, two teams of five to eight players but it's DLC like Social Team DLC.

Hardcore
The Hardcore playlists are the more competitive playlists. Skill can be raised and EXP can be gained. (Note: the Hardcore playlist has been retired, and the MLG, Team SWAT, and Team Snipers playlists have been moved into the Ranked Playlist as of August 4th, 2009)
 * Head to Head - Slayer, Oddball and King of the Hill gametypes free for all up to two players. This playlist has been retired.
 * MLG - Various MLG gametypes on MLG map variants with two teams of three to four players. The MLG map variants were updated to v6 in the April 2009 playlist update.
 * Team SWAT - Ranked teams of 3/4 players playlist where players have to kill others with headshots (or enough body shots).
 * Team Snipers - Ranked 4v4 playlist. Sniper Rifle spawns (no secondary weapons unless the game is shotty snipers) on maps forged with Beam Rifles.

Tournaments
The Tournaments are temporary playlists involving prizes. Skill can be raised and EXP can be gained.
 * Living Dead - Infection up to thirteen players.
 * Valentines Day - Various gametypes with two teams of two.

Community
This playlist made a comeback as of July 7, 2008; with the free release of the map Cold Storage, but was taken off by July 11. EXP can be gained and guests are allowed.
 * Icy Treats - Various gametypes of free for all on the newly released map Cold Storage.
 * 7 on 7- Comunity made maps with Slayer and Flag game types on Foundry and Sandbox

Double EXP Weekend

 * The Double EXP Weekend variants are temporary playlists involving new gametypes. The double amount of EXP can be gained and guests are allowed.
 * Grifball - Neutral Assault on a custom Foundry, or Sandbox map variant with two teams of three to four players.


 * Living Dead - Infection up to thirteen players. Now requires the Legendary and the Mythic maps.


 * Legendary Brawl - Various gametypes on Standard, Heroic and Legendary maps, free for all up to twelve players.
 * Mythic Brawl - Various gametypes on Standard, Heroic, Legendary and Mythic maps, free for all up to twelve players.
 * Fiesta - Various gametypes with random weapons on Standard, Heroic and Legendary Maps.
 * Team Snipers - Sniper based Team Slayer on Standard, Heroic and Legendary maps.
 * Rockets - Rocket based gametypes free for all up to eight players.
 * 3 Ball - Oddball with 3 Oddballs and four teams of three players.
 * Team Melee - A variety of gametypes featuring Melee weapons Gravity Hammer and/or the Energy Sword.
 * Rocket Race - A VIP variant in which a team of 2 players must reach certain objective before the opposing team does, While riding in a mongoose and scoping out the others using Rocket Launchers.
 * Team Flag - A skirmish variant, where teams of five compete for the flag in Heroic and Legendary maps.

Veto
The Veto system is new for the Halo franchise. Vetoing a map and game type is a very useful thing these days. In a game, after the map and game type loads for each player, a 10 second countdown starts. If the majority of players in the match decide to veto, by pressing the (X) button, before the countdown ends, a different map and gametype from the playlist will be selected to be played on. (Note that not all playlists have the Veto option).

For Example: If there are a total of eight people in the game (classic four versus four), and five or more people veto, the map and game type will change. If only four or less players veto, however the map and gametype will remain and be played on.

If a map and gametype is vetoed, the option to veto will be lost during the next countdown. Sometimes you will see the map and gametype change, but you still get the veto option. This is just because the host's connection cannot support the map, or if anyone in the party cannot play the map. When this happens, you still have the right to veto the next map and game type. However, you cannot veto on a few gametypes, such as Grifball (however, between the 6th and 9th of August 2009 when this playlist was up, players were allowed to veto, however, neither the map nor the gametype was altered).

Ranks
The ranking system is based on real military ranks. To progress in Rank, players must earn the required amount of EXP. For Officer ranks, players must also reach a certain skill level in a ranked playlist. If a player earns a certain amount of experience, but does not reach the required skill level to reach the next officer rank, they will instead be promoted to a higher grade of their current rank (For example, A Major who earns 200 EXP but does not have a skill level of 35 will be promoted to Major, Grade 2 upon earning 300 EXP).

Each Officer rank has a "final" grade which is represented by a unique name instead of a number. Gunnery Sergeant also has this feature. Many players judge others that have the grade 4 rank or "gold bars" as a sign of lack in skill, though not necessarily always true.

Halo 3 uses the Trueskill system created by Microsoft to determine skill level in ranked playlists.

Enlisted Ratings

 * Recruit
 * Apprentice (grades 1 and 2)
 * Private (grades 1 and 2)
 * Corporal (grades 1 and 2)
 * Sergeant (grades 1, 2, and 3)
 * Gunnery Sergeant (grades 1, 2, 3, and Master Sergeant)

Officer Ratings

 * Lieutenant (grades 1, 2, 3, and First Lieutenant)
 * Captain (grades 1, 2, 3, and Staff Captain)
 * Major (grades 1, 2, 3, and Field Major)
 * Commander (grades 1, 2, 3, and Strike Commander)
 * Colonel (grades 1, 2, 3, and Force Colonel)
 * Brigadier (grades 1, 2, 3, and Brigadier General)
 * General (grades 1, 2, 3, and Five Star General)

Custom Games
In the Custom Games Lobby you can choose the gametypes and maps you have made and want to play with your friends, these include Custom Game types and Map Variants. These games don't give you exp but they are still fun to play around with friends.

Standard Game Types

 * Slayer - Kill your enemies. Kill your friends' enemies. Kill your friends.
 * Oddball - Hold the skull to earn points. It's like Hamlet, with guns.
 * King of the Hill - Control the hill to earn points. Earn points to win. It's good to be king.
 * Capture the Flag - Invade your opponent's stronghold, seize their flag, and return it to your base to score.
 * Assault - Carry your bomb to the enemy base, plant it, and defend it until it detonates.
 * Territories - Defend your territory and control the land. Teams earn points for territories they control.
 * Juggernaut - If you meet the Juggernaut, kill the Juggernaut.
 * Infection - The timeless struggle of human versus zombie. If you die by a zombie's hand, you join their ranks.
 * VIP - One player on each team is Very Important. Take down the enemy's VIP for points, but take care of your own.

Custom Game types
In Halo 3, there are a number of options that can be changed. Press X in the lobby to change the default options, when changing press X again to save as custom game type.

Options that can be changed:
 * Damage resistance
 * Shield multiplier
 * Shield recharge rate
 * Immune to headshots
 * Grenade counts (Grenade Regeneration, on or off)
 * Infinite ammo
 * Weapon pickup (Enabled, Disabled)
 * Player speed
 * (25%, 50%, 75%, 90%, 100%, 110%, 125%, 150%, 200%, 300%)
 * Player gravity
 * (50%, 75%, 100%, 200%)
 * Vehicle use (Full Use, Passenger only, None)
 * Motion tracker (off, friendlies only, normal, enhanced)
 * Range (10m, 25m, 75m, 100m, 150m)
 * Indestructible vehicles (On, off)
 * Player forced Colors (Like Black or Zombie)
 * Meaning all players in game will be forced to the color of your choice.
 * Over shields and active camouflage can be given to a certain team/player or everyone on spawn or re-spawn.

Forge
Forge is an "object editor" that can be used to edit multiplayer maps. It does not allow as much freedom to edit/make maps as a PC map editor, such as the Halo: Custom Edition and Halo 2 Vista editing kits. You can, however, edit objects, spawn points, weapons, teleporters and properties of objects on the map, etc. And, when playing a map on forge, players may take control as a monitor (very similar to 343 Guilty Spark) and will obtain the ability to spawn weapons, vehicles and objects in-game, as well as move and adjust them too. You can also get more forging items if you get any of the new map packs from Bungie.

The Forge may not allow as much "freedom", but makes it easier to adjust levels. Allowing you to make things with "simple" objects much easier.

Theater
The Theater mode allows players to save films from the Campaign, Multiplayer, and Forge, and also get film clips and screen shots. This feature of Halo 3 has been exploited for making Machinima videos and Montages.

Films
Saved Films allow a player to view any game, campaign or multiplayer, from any angle. It uses game data to re-create the games, which makes file sizes very small (5 MB for a 15 minute multiplayer match). In the film, you can either watch your own player play through the entire mission or you can use a different way: bird's eye view. You can go anywhere you want, but they will limit your movement so that you cannot fly as high as possible or go very far from your character. You can also fast forward or rewind the film so that you can relive the parts you missed. On Campaign you can't rewind the film. Only your previous 25 games will be saved under the recent films category on your console. Older films will be deleted. (Note: If you haven't received the February Auto-Update, after your first 25 film slots are filled, about 1 out of the 3-5 films in future will only be saved due to a glitch. The AU fixes this glitch, but not entirely however, as all games played on Local area Network on the 360 still mostly have this problem.)

Clips
When playing a film you record a particular part of the film from any angle you want. Doing this allows you to look back at your greatest moments without having to watch the entire film, however, sometimes the HUD will not show up in a first person view, or the time bar showing the elapsed time appears, which is normally a problem because it normally can't be removed or the HUD can't be brought up for the start of the clip. If you would like to make a clip in FPS mode, but you accidentally get out of it, or switch to another player, you can just click on the right thumbstick to return to FPS mode. You cannot record clips of campaign films, but you can take screenshots. If you are in a party viewing a film, you will not be able to record clips, nor take screenshots.

Screenshots
Screenshots can be taken in any sort of film; all screenshots taken by Xbox Live players are sent to Bungie.net via the Internet. You must be in single-player theater or film to take a screenshot. If your screenshot is favored by many and also Bungie employees they may put it on Bungie Favorites. The favorites link can be found here

Soundtrack


The Halo 3: Original Soundtrack was composed by Martin O'Donnell with the help of Michael Salvatori and was released on November 20, 2007. It is a two-disc set featuring all the music heard in-game, in order of appearance. As the Halo: Original Soundtrack, the music is in more of a medley format. However, similar to the Halo 2: Original Soundtrack Volume 2, tracks are divided into 'suites' corresponding to each level in the game. A number of bonus tracks and a third-party song will be contained on the second disc of the album: 'LvUrFR3NZ' by Princeton.

Previews of the Halo 3: Original Soundtrack can be heard on the official site.

Iris
On June 11th, 2007, at 10:26AM PDT, a viral marketing campaign for Halo 3 started, called "Iris".

Believe
Believe is a Microsoft marketing campaign for Halo 3.

It features the word "Believe" as a tag line, and appears to be honoring the legacy of SPARTAN-117, citing him as a hero of the United Nations Space Command Defense Force whose brave actions inspired other servicemen during the Human-Covenant War. It has also been cited that it has been linked to the popular message board Neogaf. Its been noted that the Believe trailers took place about 50 years after Halo 3's storyline.

Cradle of Life
Cradle of Life is a short flash animation web comic, one of the first parts of the Iris campaign.

Halo 3 Announcement Trailer
At E3 2006, Bungie released their announcement trailer. It required long hours and hard work from many, many Bungie staffers, and utilizes real-game assets, fiction and locations from parts of the "real" game. It shows John-117 walking through some wreckage of the New Mombasa space elevator with Cortana appearing at several intervals to give her lines. He then stops at the edge of a cliff where the Covenant forces are hovering over a Forerunner structure (the portal to the Ark). The trailer ends with the Forerunner structure opening and firing a beam of light.

The Trailer fueled speculation about what was going to happen in the game, particularly Cortana's last line in the trailer: "This is the way the world ends," which references the first of the Cortana Letters. The line itself refers to T. S. Eliot's The Hollow Men, which ends:


 * This is the way the world ends
 * Not with a bang but a whimper.

Cortana's emphasis on "this" implies she is rejecting the poem, and that the world will end with a bang - likely referring to the Halo installations being activated.

Starry Night Trailer
Starry Night Trailer was released on December 4, 2006 with its format designed for TV Ads. It shows two children staring at the stars talking about whether there are aliens before switching to a dazed Master Chief recovering from some form of blast. Once he gets back on his feet, he picks up his helmet and then he uses a Bubble Shield to defend himself from an incoming Wraith's plasma mortar and then charges forward, eventually jumping over a cliff into a swarm of Covenant Loyalists. It has been rumored that the two kids are John and Kelly when they were young.

Halo 3 E3 2007 Trailer
The final trailer for Halo 3 was released during E3 2007. Unlike the others, this trailer focused on showing various gameplay and movie clips. While the trailer did little to further knowledge about the Halo 3, it confirmed many speculations about the game, the least of which was that the Arbiter and the Master Chief will fight alongside one another in the game at some point.

Live-action Shorts
Halo: Landfall is a trilogy of short films designed to promote Halo 3 as well as test the potential for a live-action Halo Movie.

ViDoc: Et Tu, Brute?
ViDoc: Et Tu Brute is a behind-the-scenes look at Halo 3, specifically the Brutes in Halo 3. This 7:03 min clip interviews various Bungie employees about the Brutes and their development, how they were created in Halo 2 and how they will be expanded upon in Halo 3.

ViDoc: Is Quisnam Protero Damno!
ViDoc: Is Quisnam Protero Damno is the second ViDoc released by BUngie for Halo 3. The video focuses on the multiplayer faculty in Halo 3. This 7:12 minute clip interviews various Bungie employees about the development of the various multiplayer aspects of the game.

ViDoc: Cinema Paradiso
ViDoc: Cinema Paradiso is the third ViDoc released by Bungie for Halo 3. The 7 minute 30 second video was released on September 20, 2007.

Versions
Halo 3 was released in three separate versions. The Standard Edition contains the game disc, manual, and a small poster with the game's control-map and artwork.

The Limited Edition, contained in a metal case, contains the game disc, manual, poster, interactive Xbox 360 bonus disc with several featurettes, and a hard cover bound "Bestiarum", which is a collection of information and art covering the species, cultures, and civilizations of Halo 3.

The final version was marketed as the "Legendary Edition", which contains the game disc, manual, poster, interactive bonus disc, Bestiarum (on one of the DVD discs), Legendary DVD containing special content exclusive to the Legendary Edition, and a scale replica of the Master Chief's helmet as a case for the three discs. The slip-cover packaging unfolds into a large heavy-stock poster of Master Chief. Gamestation stores in the UK also offered a limited edition Master Chief figurine only available to the first 1000 pre-orders.

Products and Collectibles



 * Halo 3 Spartan Edition Controller
 * Halo 3 Covenant Edition Controller.
 * Mountain Dew Game Fuel is a new version of Mountain Dew soda which was released on August 13th, 2007 and was available for 12 weeks.
 * Bungie has worked with Jasman Toys and they will be showcasing the new Halo Laser Tag Replica Guns.
 * Todd McFarlane's line of Halo 3 Action Figures.
 * There is a Halo 3 edition of the Xbox 360. It was released on September 16th, and has other items in the box like a wired Halo 3 headset, however it only has 20 gigabytes of hard drive space.
 * The Halo 3 Zune is a Zune in a Halo Trilogy-theme. It features Halo content in many media formats. Included in the Zune, are trailers, music, and artwork, from the critically acclaimed Halo series and a special Red vs Blue episode.
 * Halo 3 scale replica weapons. These are just ornaments and are not toys.
 * Burger King announced a Halo 3 Promotion from a Microsoft press release on August 9th, 2007 including limited edition FRYPODS and 42 oz drink cups.
 * Halo ActionClix including special figures like Jump Pack Brutes, Master Chief with dual Spikers, Brute Stalkers, and a few others.

Halo 3 Beta
The Halo 3 Beta was a phase in the development of Halo 3, produced by Bungie Studios and organized by Microsoft. It was the open beta of the video game Halo 3, which was later released by Bungie on September 25th, 2007.

Halo 3 Epsilon
Halo 3 Epsilon is an internal-only Halo 3 build, released to Microsoft employees as of August 10, 2007, and featured Campaign on the level Tsavo Highway, as well as Forge and multiplayer on six maps: Epitaph, High Ground, Last Resort, Sandtrap, Snowbound, and Valhalla.

Halo 3: ODST
ODST was originally intended to be campaign extension that covered events leading up to Halo 3. However, during its development ODST quickly evolved into what was essentially a full game in its own right. The trailer opens up on a security camera in New Mombassa. It shows several scenes of destruction before turning upward and showing several HEV Pods fall towards the city. It first appeared on Bungie.net. It now has circulated through YouTube and other video hosting websites. You take control of an ODST soldier, and survive through the Covenant-controlled New Mombassa. Campaign will be similar to normal Halo games, but since you are no longer a Spartan nor Elite, you will have to choose your battles carefully. Halo 3: ODST was released on September 22nd, 2009.

Reviews and Reaction
Halo 3 was called the most sought-after video game of 2007. It was claimed to be one of the most hyped video games of all time. Prior to its launch, Halo 3 was expected to be one of the biggest entertainment events of the year, and among the biggest entertainment releases of all time. Additionally, Halo 3 was expected to stir the sales of the Xbox 360 console - being a "killer application". The craziness of the Halo 3 launch was compared to the madness of the iPhone, Harry Potter books and Star Wars movies releases.

Exactly like its predecessors, Halo 3 was a very prosperous, record-breaking game. Accompanied by its record-breaking 1.7 million preorders in the U.S, it was set for release on the sought-after 25th of September, and few expected it not to break any records. 24 hours after release, Halo 3 had generated a record-breaking $170 million in the U.S., transcending the number that Microsoft was expecting, $155 million, which later was beaten by Grand Theft Auto IV's worldwide $310 million. Microsoft never released a 24-hour sales number, but it is estimated to have sold in the region of 2.4 - 2.5 million copies within 24 hours of availability in the U.S. - approximately 1.8 million units after 8 hours - with that number increasing to 3.3 million units, 12 days after release. Within 24 hours, over 1.1 million gamers had played Halo 3 on Xbox Live. One week after release, over 2.7 million players - nearly one-third of the total Xbox LIVE members at that time - had played it on Xbox Live. As of November 17, 2008, Halo 3 had reportedly sold 8.8 million copies worldwide.

Halo 3 has received mainly positive reviews from both the online gaming sites and country specific magazines. Each review has praised it, stating "the winning formula is still apparent" with "multiplayer constantly surprising and engaging", while new features of Forge and Saved Films were singled out as particularly interesting new features.

Halo 3 has won a number of awards from its first release date:


 * Spike TV Awards: Best Multiplayer Game, Most Addictive Video Game Fueled by Dew


 * TIME: Game of the Year.
 * Geezer Gamers: Geezer Game of the Year, Multiplayer Game of the Year.


 * Gametrailers: 2007's Best Xbox 360 Game of the Year, Best Multiplayer of the Year, Best First Person Shooter


 * X-Play Presents "G-Phoria": Game of the Year.


 * EDGE: The Edge Award For Interactive Innovation

Trivia

 * Halo 3 is the only game in the series that does not begin in space.
 * At precisely 6:36pm PST on the 28th of February 2009, in a three minute and nineteen second game of Infection on Foundry, four players participated in Halo 3's one billionth match. In comparison, Halo 2 has to date only had 800 million games played.
 * For Christmas 2006, Microsoft and Bungie gave the U.S. soldiers in Iraq a chance to play the Halo 3 multi-player public pre-alpha.
 * On the Cops & Robbers commercial for the Xbox 360 at the Xbox Live Marketplace, one of the license plates says HA LO307, or Halo 3 07.
 * The game has 39,377 lines of dialogue, most of them randomly triggered during game play.
 * The original Halo 3 (before the Auto-Update 2 patch) contained 49 Achievements, which is a seven reference 7x7=49, and these together are worth 1000 Gamerscore points.
 * To date, the Campaign kill count online has surpassed the current Human population on Earth.
 * Argos, a UK retail store, started accidentally selling copies of the game one week prior to the actual release date. All Halo 3 products were removed from shelves when the store realized its mistake. However, a number of copies still made it into the hands of the public and a video showcasing the ending made it onto YouTube.
 * Halo 3 multi-player was shown at the Penny Arcade Expo as the final round of the Omegathon and showed the level Guardian before its release date.
 * Halo 3 game play footage can be seen in an episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles as well as in the feature film Jumper, Knight Rider, and CSI: Miami, although in Jumper and CSI, an original X-Box controller is used. Also, Halo 3 game play is featured in the music video for the song Beggin' by Madcon. In addition, in the new movie Eagle Eye, the two main characters venture into a Circuit City, where they receive shocking news. In the background before they enter a room, you can see a Halo 3 promotional poster behind them. This poster can also be seen in the background in The Day the Earth Stood Still.
 * Halo 3 was released on the 25th of September, this is most likely a seven reference (2+5=7).
 * Forge is one of the new features not seen in previous games. Along with Theater mode, these two allow things not available in other games. Forge is accurately described as an object editor, allowing the player to customize many aspects of the game from scenery to weapons.
 * Before and during the launch of Halo 3, 7-11 sold 3 different Halo 3 cups to advertise the game.
 * Mountain Dew came out with a new drink called 'Game Fuel' for the Halo 3 launch.
 * As of 1st March 2009, the total amount of online Matchmaking time accounted to 2,023,153,340,764 seconds, equal to 64,109 years of playtime.

Internal

 * Halo 3 Credits
 * Halo 3 Official Strategy Guide

External

 * Halo 3 Website - The Official Halo 3 Website
 * Halo 3 Trail Commercial
 * halowiki.net - Halo 3 Multiplayer Strategy

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