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Last time, we ventured through The Ark, a Halo series masterpiece of level design. But The Ark's reputation was not earned alone. It is immediately followed by another, similarly grande level: The Covenant. Together they form one of the great level sequences, alongside others such as The Silent Cartographer and Assault on the Control Room from Halo: Combat Evolved. And when I say "alongside", I mean it; it is no accident that The Ark contains substantial reference to The Silent Cartographer, while The Covenant features a drive through snow toward the control room of all Halos. Anyway, let's get to it!
Images link to larger images.
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At the opening of The Covenant, I am joined by ShadowOfTheVoid and SEspider.
We're dropped onto a beach, defended by Covenant forces.
After destroying the enemy anti-air, a pelican drops off a warthog with its own light anti-air gun. Now it's the enemy aircraft that have to back off from the beach... in cross-eye stereoscopic 3d.
Our goal is to press inland to shut down a tower. This tower. Surrounded by splashy splashy water.
ShadowOfTheVoid: Alright, someone needs to go down there and trigger those prowlers.
We have to fight through the lobby to get to the tower's elevator.
While riding the elevator in theatre, you can fly the camera to the tower's upper area long before the elevator itself gets there. Neither the enemies nor the exterior skybox will be loaded. It's a little creepy.
The tower's button isn't far, but a chieftain stands in our way. As we approach, he stylishly raises his hammer.
After deactivating the tower, we head back to the beach. It turns out that Johnson failed to deactivate his tower, so we have to do it for him. But there's no land route to this tower, so the marines have dropped off some Hornets on the shore... which we promptly run into while making silly poses.
ShadowOfTheVoid: Man, the controls on this thing are terrible.
Well, ShadowOfTheVoid, the issue is clearly that the cockpit wasn't designed for elites!
Actually, although I find it appropriate that the guy playing Arby is complaining about the controls, I agree that the Hornet controls are quite bad.
But that doesn't mean this section is bad. It is time...
...for Halo 3 aerial combat! We blow the froodlenutzsky out of everything while Leonidas plays in the foreground.
As hornet combat goes, one thing deserves a special mention: those marines who ride on the side. They're not sitting down anywhere. Oh no, those guys are standing up on the wings of a moving aircraft with nothing holding them on. They're not even leaning on anything. Why such bold behaviour? To add the power of one pistol to your arsenal. Seems legit.
After deactivating the final tower, the path to the control room is clear. Except for the remaining Covenant forces. Also, Flood.
But the important thing is that our progress gets cut off by two scarabs falling from the sky... with thrusters engaged to slow their descent. It's a neat sight that you have to be watching for.
Myself and SEspider grab some Hornets to provide air support. ShadowOfTheVoid decides to proceed onward with his scorpion, complete with four marines with fuel rod guns.
ShadowOfTheVoid: And that, boys and girls, is how you kick ass.
With that minor obstacle out of the way, we head into the citadel. With the intention of killing truth, and preventing forest fires stopping what he has set in motion.
The fight to Truth is down a seemingly dark hall, such that it's easy to miss how open and bright the surrounding area really is. For the most part, the hall has its bottom cut away, revealing the infinite depths of the Ark's foundry below.
The end of the hall has windows instead of opaque walls, casting streams of sunlight on the pedestal. This is the spot where, one hundred thousand years earlier, a decision was made. Did the Didact also compose some of his messages to Librarian here?
Viewing the area from below further emphasizes the openness.
The open bottom also makes it perplexing that huge Gravemind tentacles suddenly pop up after Truth's death. What did this look like to the human and elite forces outside?
And after a quick escape, we come to the end cutscene. This cutscene has some really nice lighting.
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And that ends The Ark and The Covenant. Next time, Everyone's Totally Favourite Halo Level Ever! And the conclusion!
So, Halo 3 is a pretty cool game (4) *IMG* *VID* | uberfoop | 7/31/13 2:50 am |
Re: So, Halo 3 is a pretty cool game (4) *IMG* *VI | Urban Reflex | 7/31/13 6:48 am |
The Ark and the Covenant | padraig08 | 7/31/13 9:54 am |
Re: So, Halo 3 is a pretty cool game (4) *IMG* *VI | Rockslider | 7/31/13 1:09 pm |
Never stop making these. *NM* | Leviathan | 7/31/13 11:18 pm |
Hey, Wu... | uberfoop | 8/3/13 3:14 pm |
Re: Hey, Wu... | Louis Wu | 8/3/13 10:11 pm |
Re: So, Halo 3 is a pretty cool game (4) *IMG* *VI | Gravemind | 8/4/13 12:56 am |