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(Texts copied from the Halo 3 Wikipedia article)

Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios exclusively for the X-Box 360. The game is the third title in the Halo series and concludes the story arc that began in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2.The game was released on September 25, 2007 in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States; September 26, 2007 in Europe; and September 27, 2007 in Japan. On the day before its official release, 4.2 million units of Halo 3 were in retail outlets. Halo 3 holds the record for the highest grossing opening day in entertainment history, bringing in US$170 million in its first 24 hours, going on to gross US$300 million in its first week. More than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours.

Halo 3's story centers on the interstellar war between 26th century humanity, led by the United Nations Space Command, and a collection of alien races known as the Covenant. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, as he wages war in defense of humanity, assisted by human Marines as well as allied alien Elites led by the Arbiter. The game features vehicles, weapons, and gameplay not present in previous titles of the series, as well as the additions of saved gameplay films, the Forge map editor (which allows the player to perform limited modifications to levels), and file sharing. Overall, the game was well-received by critics, with the Forge and multiplayer offerings singled out as strong features; on Game Rankings, Halo 3 ranks as the seventh highest rated Xbox 360 game to date.

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Halo 3 Levels 3 Halo 3 Weapons 3.1 Covenant 3.2 Brute Weapons 3.3 Forerunner 3.4 UNSC 4 Halo 3 Vehicles 4.1 Banshee 4.2 Ghost 4.3 Wraith 4.4 Halo 3 Characters 4.4.1 Major Characters 4.4.1.1 UNSC

Gameplay

The gameplay of Halo 3 builds upon the previous iterations of the franchise; it is a first-person shooter which takes place on foot, but also includes segments focused on vehicular combat. The balance of weapons and objects in the game was adjusted to better adhere to what Bungie Studios Multiplayer Designer Lars Bakken describes as the "Golden Triangle of Halo". These are "weapons, grenades, and melee", all three of which are normally available to a player. Halo 3 also contains the ability to dual-wield, where a player forgoes both grenades and melee attacks in favor of the combined firepower of two weapons simultaneously. Most weapons available in previous installments of the series return with minor cosmetic and power alterations. Unlike previous installments, all weapons a player is carrying are visible; weapons not in use are holstered or slung across the player's back. Halo 3 also introduced "support weapons", which are exceptionally large, powerful, and cumbersome two-handed weapons which drastically limit the player's normal combat options and slow them significantly, offering greatly increased firepower in return. In addition to new weapons, the game contains a new class of usable items called Equipment; these items are found like weapons and have various effects and functions, ranging from defensive screens to shield regeneration and enemy confusion. Only one can be carried at a time. Halo 3 also features a strong vehicular component, with new vehicles added to the series. Most of the vehicles can be controlled by the player, but some are A.I.-controlled. Certain vehicles usable in campaign are not available by default in multiplayer due to balance concerns; conversely, some vehicles are only found in multiplayer.

Besides refinements, Halo 3 also brings entirely new features to the series. One such feature, known as 'Forge', is a map-editing tool that enables players to insert game objects, such as weapons and crates, into existing multiplayer maps. Almost all weapons, vehicles, and interactive objects can be placed and moved on maps with Forge. In multiplayer games where Forge is enabled, players can turn into a Forerunner Monitor and edit and manipulate objects in-game. Another new feature is 'Saved films', which allows players to save up to 100 films of themselves playing a level to their Xbox 360's hard drive, viewing the action from any angle and at different speeds. The Saved Films are only game data (not an actual video) and this allows the file sizes to be smaller than a true recording. Saved films are played back at whatever resolution the Xbox 360 is currently set to, regardless of which resolution was used when the film was recorded. All games are recreated in real-time on the Xbox 360 using the Halo 3 engine. Halo 3 also offers a form of file sharing, where items such as saved films, screenshots, custom game modes, and Forge settings can all be uploaded to the 'File Share'. Players can upload and downlaod custom content on Bungie's website for download to their console.

Halo 3 Levels

1. Arrival - Brace for impact.
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.

Halo 3 Weapons

These are the weapons known to be in the game:

Covenant

• Plasma Grenade (Grenade)
• Energy Sword
• Plasma Pistol (Dual Wieldable)
• Plasma Rifle (Dual Wieldable)
• Shade (Stationary)
• Fuel Rod Cannon
• Needler
• Particle Beam Rifle
• Covenant Carbine
• Plasma Cannon (Support)

Brute Weapons

Forerunner

   * Sentinel Beam 

UNSC

   * AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun (Support)
   * BR55HB SR Battle Rifle
   * LAU-65D/SGM-151 Missile Pod (Support)
   * MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System
   * M6G Personal Defense Weapon System (Dual Wieldable)
   * M7/Caseless Sub-Machine Gun (Dual Wieldable)
   * M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade
   * M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher
   * M90A Close Assault Weapon System
   * M7057/Defoliant Projector (Support)
   * SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
   * W/AV M6 G/GNR Spartan Laser

Halo 3 Vehicles

Banshee

The Banshee is a very fast, primary personal aerial assault vehicle of the Covenant, only piloted by Elites and Brutes. The Banshee is a small jet with a hood that opens upward from the rear, and is equipped with two stubby "wings", which are basically frames that terminate in the propulsion jets and anti-gravity pods that leave behind a signature exhaust trail. The Banshee is capable of reaching a speed over 100 kph, extremely maneuverable, and is capable of performing loops and barrel rolls to avoid incoming fire with the help of the boosting engines, which in common with most Covenant vehicles, results in the sacrifice of the weaponry for the duration of the maneuver. In Halo:Combat Evolved it is capable of hovering. It has two weapon pods mounted to either side of the fuselage. Each of these pods contains a light plasma cannon and a Fuel Rod Gun (the Fuel Rod Gun is disabled in Halo 2 Multiplayer). Though small arms fire may disrupt or disable the pilot (the SMG is very effective against it in Halo 2), only heavy weapons are capable of inflicting enough damage to destroy the vehicle.

The Banshee is propelled by small anti-gravity pods attached to its wings. These pods create the field that keeps it flying, and make wailing sounds as the craft maneuvers, thus the name "Banshee". The Banshee is also capable of space flight.

The Banshee is never seen being piloted by one of the "lesser" Covenant races. Instead, they are exclusively used by Elites and Brutes.

Ghost

The design of the Ghost is optimized for speed, agility and maneuverability, sacrificing other attributes to achieve its status as a rapid response and reconnaissance vehicle. The Ghost has seating for a single pilot. It's low weight coupled with it's nature as an anti-gravity vehicle means that it is easily overturned by collisions or shockwaves from nearby explosions.

In order to achieve the great speeds it is famous for, the Ghost has thin armor. This makes it vulnerable to small arms fire. Ghost pilots rely on the armor and shielding they wear for protection; furthermore, the lack of defense urges pilots to stay mobile. Its open-topped design, although reducing weight, leaves the pilot open to the elements and incoming enemy fire.

Seemingly designed with Elite and Brute pilots in mind the front cowling does restrict the view of shorter species as forward visibility is impeded.

Ghosts can be transported to and from the battlefield by a variety of craft, such as Spirits, Phantoms, and Shadows. They allow great tactical flexibility for Covenant ground force commanders as fast, hard-hitting vehicles to harass enemy infantry formations within a short time.

Wraith

The Wraith Self-Propelled Artillery is the Covenant's main assault vehicle for ground engagements. It fires large bolts of super heated plasma contained in a magnetic field into the air. These bolts then rain down on enemy troops from above with tremendous force. Because the Wraith fires in an arc, rather than line-of-sight, this vehicle's attacks are very dangerous. The indirect fire is capable of catching many off guard with tragic consequences. The mortar can bypass most defenses that its enemies can muster. It is equipped with

anti-gravity plates underneath its mainframe similar to those of the Ghost but on a much larger scale, allowing it to hover over any anti-vehicular mines that have been placed in its path as a deterrent. The pilot is completely encased within the armoured hull of the tank and thus protected from all small-arms fire. The vehicle can only be incapacitated by heavy weapons, artillery or internal explosions.

The Wraith's engines can be pushed to provide an excellent boost in speed, but at the cost of maneuverability and weapon power, mimicking the Ghost once again. however as a result of the Wraith's much greater weight the increase in speed is marginal, and only temporary.

The Wraith is the main heavy vehicle of the Covenant army and can be seen as a counterpart to the UNSC M808B Scorpion Main Battle Tanks. However, the two tanks are considerably different. The Wraith weighs approximately 55-75 tons, and can move much faster. It's main gun is slightly weaker than the Scorpions 90mm cannon, and moves slowly as it must arc through the air before contacting the target.

Its main weapon, a short barreled Plasma Mortar, can be tilted vertically but remains in fixed position horizontally, meaning that the whole vehicle has to turn to aim the weapon. The mortar can be withdrawn inside the chassis whilst not in use. Be careful, though - hiding behind things may not always protect you, as it shoots in a arc.

The Wraith moves in the same fashion of the Ghost, hovering above ground. Its armor is unevenly divided similar to modern tanks; the bulky front skirt can take more punishment than the flanks or rear, making frontal assaults both fruitless and a waste of ammunition if you don't possess sufficiant Anti-Armor weaponry.

Halo 3 Characters

Major Characters

UNSC

• Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN John-117
• Cortana
• Sergeant Major A.J. Johnson
• Commander Miranda Keyes
• Fleet Admiral Sir Terrence Hood