Arrival

Arrival is the first level of Halo 3. It does not contain actual gameplay, consisting instead of a look inversion test on lower difficulties, and the game's opening cutscenes.

Plot
The Master Chief crashes in the jungle and is eventually recovered by Thel 'Vadam (the Arbiter), Sergeant Avery Johnson, and several Marines. This level consists of no game-play, save on Easy and Normal (in which you review the controls), only a cinematic cut scene.

In Heroic and Legendary, the only point in doing this level is because you cannot get the Campaign Complete for the Heroic and Legendary Achievements without doing so.

Cutscenes
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First Cut Scene
''{It is a night sky: several bright pinpoints of white light, stars, hang in the center. It's a tranquil forest, with lush forestry and a winding river. Then, Cortana's voice begins whispering in voice-overs.}''

Cortana {V.O.}: "They let me pick, did I ever tell you that? ...choose whichever Spartan I wanted."

{Pause}

Cortana {V.O.}: "You know me. I did my research. Watched as you became the soldier we needed you to be."

''{As the camera pans down, something comes into view. The Prophet of Truth's Dreadnought enters the atmosphere, trailing flames splitting the night sky.}''

Cortana {V.O.}: "Like the others, you were strong and swift and brave. A natural leader."

{The fireball comes nearer, at an oblique angle to the camera.}

Cortana {V.O.}: "But you had something they didn't. Something no one saw, but me."

''{A second, lesser fireball breaks off from the main one. It moves at an oblique angle to the first, which is to say, towards the camera. It moves closer while the first vanishes behind a spray of trees.}''

Cortana {V.O.}: "Can you guess?"

{The object moves even nearer, and its trajectory begins to curve until it is heading directly for the camera.}

Cortana {V.O.}: "Luck."

''{The fireball roars past the camera and smashes into the ground with an earth-shattering impact. For a moment, we can see that the area is a jungle, quiet and peaceful, and now, full of light and sound. Cortana's last words are tinged with humor.}''

Cortana {V.O.}: "Was I wrong?"

{Fade to black}

''{Pan down on the same forest, but now, it's early morning, with the sun streaming through the trees onto the smoking ruin where the object hit ground. In the foreground, an armored gauntlet is visible. In the background, several Marines move around; First Squad. The one in the back wears a Sergeant's cap. The Marines of First Squad anxiously observe an object just below the camera position. A dread permeates the jungle.}''

Marine #1: "This ain't good."

Marine #2: "Damn. How far did he fall?"

{The Sergeant in the hat turns around and takes a long drag on his cigar.}

Marine #3: "Two kilometers, easy."

''{The Sergeant blows out smoke. It is none other than Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson.}''

Sergeant Johnson: "Stay sharp."

''{The Marines move closer to the object. For the first time, we can see that it is the Master Chief. He lies at one end of his own personal crater, the result of falling about two kilometers. Despite the motionlessness of the man inside, the armor is neither scratched nor singed, apart from a large scrape across the upper right of the chestplate. The Chief lies in an odd position, like a dropped statue; the figure is still; hands raised awkwardly. The Spartan is still and silent. The Marines move closer to the Chief, taking up combat positions. One sits down beside him and takes out a small computer.}''

Sergeant Johnson: "Corpsman?"

Marine Corpsman: "His armor's locked up. Gel layer could have taken most of the impact."

''{He taps something in on the computer. With a hiss, the Chief's outstretched arms collapse onto his chest. The Marine checks for vital signs. No readings.}''

Marine Corporal: "I don't know, Sergeant Major."

''{Johnson kneels by the side of his fallen friend and places a hand on his chest, feeling for breath, or any sign that the man is alive. After a few seconds, he sighs sadly, reaches behind the Chief's head and pulls Cortana's empty chip out of his helmet.}''

Sergeant Johnson: "Radio for VTOL, heavy lift gear. We're not leaving him here."

''{An armored hand reaches up and grabs his wrist. It is the Master Chief's.}''

Master Chief: "Yeah. You're not."

{He pushes himself slowly to his feet.}

Sergeant Johnson: {Gives off a small sigh of relief} "Crazy fool! Why do you always jump? One of these days, you're gonna land on somethin' as stubborn as you are! And I don't do bits and pieces!"

''{The Chief says nothing. Instead, he reaches down and takes Cortana's chip from the Sergeant's hand and lets go of his arm.}''

Sergeant Johnson: "Where is she, Chief? Where's Cortana?"

{The Chief stares at the data crystal, and for a second, Cortana's face flashes across the screen, along with an echo from the previous game.}


 * Cortana {V.O.}: "Don't make a girl a promise... if you know you can't keep it."

{Johnson gives him a confused look.}

Master Chief: "She stayed behind."

{The Chief inserts the chip into the port at the back of his helmet.}

Sergeant Johnson: "Corporal, make it quick."

Marine Corporal: "Sorry, sir. {to Master Chief} Your armor's still in partial lockdown."

Gameplay
{NOTE: This sequence only appears if playing on Normal or Easy}

{The Corporal gives him a screen with a red light.}

Marine Corporal: "Look up here, sir."

{It goes green when the Master Chief looks at it.}

Marine Corporal: "Okay. Now down here."

{When you repeat the process.}

"Good." {To Johnson} Everything checks out, Sergeant Major."

Sergeant Johnson: "Take off the training wheels, Corporal. He's good to go."

{If the calibration doesn't work}

Marine Corporal: "Tracking looks off Sergeant Major."

Sergeant Johnson: "Make it quick, we've got to move."

Marine Corporal: "Up here sir."

{Player looks up}

Marine Corporal: "Again, down here."

{Player looks down}'

Marine Corporal: "Good." {Turns to Johnson} Everything checks out, Sergeant Major."

Sergeant Johnson: "Kick off the training wheels, Corporal. He's good to go."

Second Cut Scene
''{The Chief looks around, taking in his surroundings. Somewhere near him is a familiar sight ... the heat-wave effect of a Covenant Active Camouflage. Johnson gives it a nod. An Elite de-cloaks, revealing itself to be the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam. The Master Chief moves with fluid grace, brushing aside Johnson and another Marine next to 'Vadam, drawing Johnson's Pistol from its holster.}''

Sergeant Johnson: "Chief, wait!"

{The Master Chief jams the sidearm between 'Vadam's mandibles.}

Sergeant Johnson: "The Arbiter's with us!"

''{'Vadam glares at the Master Chief, showing no sign of discomfort or making any move to point the gun away from himself. The Chief hesitates to lower his gun.}''

Sergeant Johnson: "Come on now."

{Johnson grabs the Chief's shoulder.}

Sergeant Johnson: "We got enough to worry about without you two tryin' to kill each other!"

''{The Spartan lowers his gun. 'Vadam clacks his mandibles together: a shrug.}''

Thel 'Vadam: "Were it so easy."

''{He makes as if to push past the Chief, but the Spartan stands his ground. 'Vadam turns and walks away.}''

Thel 'Vadam: "We must go. The Brutes have our scent."

Sergeant Johnson: {On Easy/Normal} Then they must love the smell of green.

Sergeant Johnson: {On Heroic} Then they must love the smell of hero.

Sergeant Johnson: {On Legendary, variant 1}: Then they must love the smell of bad ass.

Sergeant Johnson: {On Legendary, variant 2} Then they must love the smell of bad ass. And I left a little present for you, Arbiter. And I'm walking away. Ha-ha-ha!

Sergeant Johnson: {On Legendary, variant 3} Then they must love the scent of testosterone.

Sergeant Johnson: {On Legendary, variant 4} They must love the scent of a real man.

Sergeant Johnson: {On Legendary, variant 5} They must love the smell of Bulgari. Yeah, I'm doing a little product placement! I gotta get paid, too.

''{He grabs an Assault Rifle from a nearby Marine and holds it out to the Chief. Swiftly, the Spartan grabs it, as if annoyed by 'Vadam.}''

Glitches

 * As soon as you can move, go forward and press the Y button about one second before the border fades out. Your Pistol will just randomly appear on the screen.
 * Sometimes on Heroic or Legendary, the words, "Your armor is still in partial lockdown," appear during the loading screen of Sierra 117.

External Glitches

 * You can get your gamercard to say that you're playing the campaign on Legendary if you set the difficulty on Legendary, complete the level and quit out. 'Note: this will not work if you have completed the campaign.

Easter Eggs

 * Sometimes, if you look closely, you can see that one of the Marines has the appearance of Jason Jones.

Miscellaneous

 * Arrival is the first tutorial level in the Halo series not to take place on a Human space vessel orbiting a celestial body. Halo: Combat Evolved's very first level was on the UNSC Pillar of Autumn orbiting the Halo mega-structure and Halo 2 ' s first level was set on the UNSC MAC defense platform Cairo in a geosynchronous orbit around Earth.
 * If you look closely at the data pad the Marine carries, you can see an x-ray of Master Chief's helmet revealing his skull. To the left of the Master Chief's skull, there is a photo of what could be the Master Chief's face.
 * Contrary to what players might think, the Master Chief did not land on Earth using just his MJOLNIR armor as protection. At the other end of the crater is a metallic object, suggesting the Chief ripped it out of the Forerunner Dreadnought and rode it down to Earth. A page in The Art of Halo 3 supports this theory. Also, the metallic object appears to be a Forerunner door of some sort due to the support bracing on one side.
 * The Master Chief appears for the first time in Halo 3 at precisely 1 minute and 17 seconds (1:17) into the cutscene, when the camera descends to reveal his outstretched arm.
 * The IWHBYD skull does not affect what Johnson says in the level, only the difficulty.
 * It should be noted that in Arrival, re-entry occurs before sunrise, and in the Landfall miniseries, re-entry occurs after sunrise (though they are in different places). The Landfall miniseries takes place many miles east of the reentry point in Arrival, accounting for the time difference.
 * Arrival is the only level in the Halo series that is just a cutscene where you can look around, but not move.
 * This is also the shortest level in Halo 3 and in the Halo trilogy.
 * The Assault Rifle that is given to Master Chief in the cutscene has no ammo and always points north.
 * Some of the Marines seem to have bent forearms, often when bending their wrists.
 * Interestingly, even though John weighs around 1000 lbs in his armor, and is immensly strong, Sgt. Johnson shows no discomfort, or even a stagger when Chief uses him for leverage.