Diorama is an interactive flash movie, a part of the Believe campaign for Halo 3. It is a flythrough of the John-117 Monument.
Summary
Template:Article Quote The flash player loads a video of a camera that flys through the diorama of New Mombasa of the Second Battle of New Mombasa. The scene is very dark, and very dirty. Marines are seen, dead and alive, trying to fight many Brutes that fill the streets. As the camera continues, it goes down a hill, showing more ruined buildings, Jackals, a Warthog, and a Scorpion Tank. It seems to be the only strong point for the marines.. The camera goes up a hill, where a lone group of marines are in a warthog, fighting off the many surrounding brutes. It then pans over a broken bridge, where there is a Spec Op Grunt along with many brutes, over to the top of a high structure. A few marines use it as a vantage point, to snipe off Covenant.
The next view is of the "Hill", a Covenant controlled land-mark, with a large trench next to it, where marines take a stand against them. A Brute Chieftain, a Hunter, and many others battle the few surviving marines. The camera circles around the hill, where it shows the captured Master Chief, holding a plasma grenade. Once the camera reaches a certain point, an animation of the Chief looking up slowly is shown. The bridge, a large chokepoint, is showed again from a higher view, showing how it was destroyed by the UNSC in order to stop the flow of Covenant. The camera flys by a ruined building where a group of marines are gathered, and then it returns to the beginning, where it could be looped again.
Features
- An interactive viewing of a fly-through of the New Mombasa diorama, which can be controlled by a keyboard or mouse, forwards or backwards, and can be auto-played.
- 360 degree views of key locations, showing everything happening around those points.
- First-person accounts and profiles of many people on the battle field, those of veteran marines, KIA marines, Covenant profiles, and vehicle descriptions. Profiles give a 360 degree view of the selected character.
- The ability to take 1280x1024 screenshots of any moment in the diorama, including the 360 degree views, as well as downloading wallpapers of the character profile views.
- All videos of the Believe campaign can be watched while in the viewer.
First Person Accounts and Profiles
Note that the last video named Testimonial: Gravesite that was supposed to come out on October the first is now available.
First Person Accounts
Ian Callahan
SERVICE NUMBER: 10056-00254-IC
"The fighting was real heavy in the corridor. I'd taken a plasma shot straight to the hip to put me down. After laying the street for god knows how long, someone finally grabbed me and started pulling me to safety. I remember yelling "thank you" over and over to whoever was tugging me out of harm's way. But then... something just didn't feel right.
When I looked to my left I didn't see the standard issue boots of a marine. It was some grotesquely shaped foot. That's when I started screaming.
Turns out two Jackals had me. I tried to resist but after a swift kick to my wounded leg, I was in too much pain to fight back. They searched through all my equipment, checking my radio for power. No dice. Without a working radio or weapon I was of little use to them. One of them pulled out his plasma pistol and aimed it right in my face. I closed my eyes and thought of home. That's when I heard two blasts from an M90. I opened my eyes and saw what was left of my captors in crumpled heaps. I never saw the marine that fired those shots. I hope he knows how grateful I am."
Thomas P. Porter
SERVICE NUMBER: 19190-54121-TP
"Riding in a Scorpion Tank is literally like being in the middle of an explosion. All around you are the sounds of small-arms fire being deflected off your armor, and the head-bashing boom of the 90mm gun. All that combined with the constant grind of the tread leaves little room for anything else to penetrate your ears. It's the sound of war. I know, I listened to it for much too long."
Profiles
H-133-185 (Lekgolo)
EC#: H-133-185
SPECIES: HUNTERS (Lekgolo)
Due to the nature and complex biology of Hunters, very little is known about this particular specimen. On the whole, Hunters are considered extremely dangerous, and their ferociousness on the New Mombasa battlefield was no exception.
J-011-422 (Kig-Yar)
EC#: J-011-422
SPECIES: JACKALS (Kig-Yar)
J-011-422 is unique among Sniper Jackals in that he was found carrying an energy shield and needler. Normally, a Jackal of this rank would abandon their shield to better handle their beam rifle, the Covenant long range sniper weapon.
Corporal James Dessen
SERVICE NUMBER: 00578-48433-JD
Corporal James Dessen was killed in action along the northern ridge of the Battle for New Mombasa. Due to the field reports of the 77th Marine Regiment concerning the bravery of the corporal's actions under fire, he was posthumously awarded the Red Legion of Honor.
Sergeant Thomas Chang
SERVICE NUMBER: 01866-10032-TC
A veteran of multiple engagements including the Battle for Installation 04, Sgt. Chang joined the New Mombasa clash fifteen hours after the mission began. As a part of second UNSC infantry wave, the Sergeant was tasked with securing a forward HQ, as well as capturing Covenant prisoners for ONI interrogation.
Immediately following the initial battle, Sergeant Chang was given a field promotion and ordered to the western shore of the Mombasa Quays. It was here, while on routine patrol, that Sgt Chang was killed by Covenant air assault.
B-021-331 (Jiralhanae)
EC#: B-021-331
SPECIES: BRUTES (Jiralhanae)
B-021-331 was found dead along the southern bridge span. Although his armor was relatively new, other evidence proved that the Brute was a veteran of many battles. His massive torso contained bullet scars, the blades on his spiker were dull, and one of the four digits on his left hand was missing.
While Brute Minors only recently began wearing heavy armor, its protection did little to save this alien from the sniper fire that killed him.
Trivia
- When you reach the Master Chief, and go into 180 mode, if you go turn the camera right and look carefully, you'll find a Grunt strangling a marine.
- There were no Elites to be seen throughout the diorama even though the Elites are fighting alongside the humans at this point in the story.
- The music played in the background was measured 25-43 60-64 of Frederic Chopin: Prelude, Op. 28 No. 15 "Raindrop"