Halo Walkthrough for Xbox Game Name: Halo Format: Xbox Submitted By: jim-hat Halo is a first person sci-fi first person shooter, following the battle for human kind. It’s the immortal human versus alien storyline, you play the role of Master Chief - a man made for one purpose – combat, the ultimate power of an human species facing extinction. In the main story you take on an alien species called the covenant, and later a disgusting mutated breed that are named ‘The Flood’. Not only is the campaign mode in Halo incredibly playable, tense and just generally legendary, the multiplayer mode is just as great. The concept is simple. The first one to rack up the most points (either a quote of kills, or within a time limit) wins. Nothing out of the ordinary here - just traditional shooting mayhem. This guide shall help you with the multiplayer game, and help you to understand the ins and outs of such an incredible game. Playing multiplayer in Halo is very much like eating a cake, a wise-man once said – messy, tasty and just plain brilliant. Firstly, it must be noted, that there are no BOTS (or computer controlled characters, if you will) in Halo’s multiplayer, so you should get a few mates round, or grow more arms so you can play yourself, the latter being the harder choice of the two. Mates? Check, well done. We shall begin. The basics. To become a master of Halo, you must first consider 4 things, - Grenades - Melee - Bang, bang, bang - Driving These three fine arts are essential. Firstly, grenades, you should know, there are two types of grenade plasma, or the less hi-tech M9 HE-DP (which is basically a human grenade). Plasma grenades should be your grenades of choice for head to head fighting – they stick. Simply aim (right thumbstick) and guess the trajectory needed to land the grenade right onto your opponent, with a decent shot the plasma should stick onto your opponent like a moth to a light. Wait a few seconds, and then BANG. One kill, for you, my friend. But remember, this is not easy, practice is required to estimate how high you should lob the grenade (throw grenade using the left trigger). You can also use your plasmas to attack Ghosts and the heads of tanks, by using the same formula to attach your grenade onto unsuspecting drivers, and by the time they can react, they are already six feet underground, with no face and detached limbs. Moving on to the human grenade (toggle grenade selection by pressing black) – these are best for trying to attack enemies you cannot really aim at, i.e. they are behind a wall, or in a room, these grenades are tactile and you can ricochet them off of any surface to land the perfect shot, these grenades are also perfect for laying underneath a Warthog or a Tank, to take your victim from their underneath. Young one, you have managed to obtain the information sufficient to take out an opponent with grenades, but this is not enough, oh no, there is more to learn. Do continue. Melee. The pressing of the ‘B’ button will activate a melee attack, basically the smashing of your gun upon to ones head. Simple, you may think. No – I would reply. To successfully complete a melee attack with devastating results, you should learn the basics of stealth. Click the left thumbstick down to crouch, this is essential when sneaking up to opponents, as they can hear you, oh, they can hear you. Crawl along, trying to gain on your opponent, always behind them, always behind. And then, if you can get behind them, relieve the left thumbstick and hit ‘B’, aiming for your opponents upper back/ neck region. If successfully done, your opponent will drop dead, almost instantly – Note, it doesn’t really matter what gun you holster, it could be a pistol, or a rocket launcher, but they all have the same devastating, paralysing effect. Death. Easy to learn, yes, but as most things, difficult to master. The art of melee is now upon you - use it sensibly, but you cannot rely on merely one method. Continue to peruse the formula you have been searching for. BANG, BANG, BANG – you know what I’m talking about. Lead, hot lead. I’m talking about unloading 15 barrels of bullets into your opponent. There are important facts to consider, and essential combinations to master (as you can only hold 2 weapons at any given time). It is important to get a mixture of precision (to take off your opponents head from range) and full on fire-power (to blow your opponent into the sky). Another way to go about combining weapons is to holster one human weapon and one Covenant weapon, so you can switch between both varieties to change play. Obviously depending on the level you are battling on, the weapons will vary, but here are three combinations that should keep you killing time after time: 1- The M6D Pistol (human) includes 2x zoom for precision, but is average when it comes to rapid reloading. Great for medium range attacks, but is not powerful enough to take enemies from long range, and is not quick enough for short, rapid fire. And: The M19 SSM Rocket Launcher (human). This weapon offers 2x and 5x magnification, so is great for long range shooting (but you have to predict the path of your opponent to have an incredibly accurate shot, unless of course your adversary is stationary) although this weapon loads as fast as snail, one semi-accurate shot is all it takes from short range to mow down your opponent, so is great for close range shooting (as long as you remember to stay out of the way) The combination of the Pistol and the Rocket Launcher means you should never be caught off-guard. 2- The MA5B assault rifle (human) this baby can seamlessly pour out bullets like magic, which is absolutely ideal for head-to-head fiascos, but from range – you’re going to have problems with accuracy. As long as you are close, and have a good sight for your opponent’s head, this weapon is superb for close contact shooting. And: The Plasma pistol (covenant) this beauty enables you to shoot rapidly from range (with slight homing abilities) or to charge (by holding the right trigger down) your shot to release a huge beam of power (which can home in extraordinarily well). However, from a long distance, this weapon will not challenge your opponent, as the Plasma pistol is deigned ideally for close to medium length contact. So the Assault Rifle and the Plasma pistol go hand in hand with each other. 3- The S2 AM Sniper Rifle (human). This sniper rifle allows you to pick off opponents with deadly accuracy from long to medium range, with its 2x and 10x zoom (to zoom, click the right thumbstick down, and then again to zoom further) with fast shooting, you can get a brilliant shot from afar, but if in close combat situations with this gun alone, you will fall short, and be destroyed. So, mix this weapon with a decent close-range rapid firing machine… And: The Needler (human) despite sounding like some cheesy Hollywood film, this gun can reel off streams of homing needles, which will impale themselves into your opponent, and then explode. Perfect for face-to-face situations, and the homing allows you to take enemies from some distance, so is a perfect companion to the Sniper Rifle. These sets of weapons should serve you excellently and help you to walk over your enemies like a Persian rug. Now, you have leant 3 of the 4 arts of combat – now, we progress onto the fourth and final stage of enlightenment… …Driving. In Halo’s multiplayer, there is a restricted amount of vehicles inside of the levels compounds, so, on offer, there is the trusty Warthog, the speedy Ghost and the fire-powered Tank. These vehicles can only be found in outside levels – notably Blood Gulch. If you are only after transport to get you from one place to another, the Warthog is your best choice, fast, sturdy and can hold up to three friends as well. If you fancy using this vehicle for its turret facilities, then you will need a few teammates you fill in the rest of the seats (a driver and two other passengers) or else you’re going to be pretty motionless. The Warthog is a great multiplayer vehicle, but for attacking another vehicle on your own, I would recommend against it. The ghost is a one-man Covenant vehicle. You can operate plasma beams that fire out of the front simultaneously whilst driving (drive using the two thumbsticks, fire using the right trigger) for maximum destruction. This machine can provide great laughs in dogfight situations with other ghosts, but can flip easily with a well placed grenade, a big hit from a Warthog or a Rocket from a tank, so unless battling an opponent without a vehicle, or an opponent in a ghost, it is best to stay out of the Ghost. Finally, the Tank, or the Scorpion as it is more formally known, it is exactly what it says in the tin (presuming the tin says ‘Tank’). The tank lacks speed, but makes up in complete firepower, the ability to drive, fire rockets and machine gun bullets all at the same time is a great prospect, and most vehicles are prone to destruction at the hands of such a beast. When playing with teammates, they can hitch a ride alongside you and use their normal weapons and grenades to take out the other team, so the potential firepower of the Scorpion is truly huge. However, the cabin of the tank is vulnerable to a delicately placed plasma grenade or a shot from a sniper rifle or Rocket. This means you have you keep your eye out for oncoming opponents, before they slip a grenade onto your bonnet, and due to the size of the Tank, it is hard to get out and escape from such attacks. Bigger, fiercer and holier than the other two vehicles in the multiplayer mode, but it is slow and can be a liability –so watch out. That is all, you see, you are now capable of tackling any opponent, God-like or not. But before this is over, you need to learn of the modes you can play in multiplayer. You may be familiar with many of the modes from other shooters: - - Capture the Flag – Basically, you have to evade oncoming attacks to take hold of your opponents flag and return it to your base without your opponent retrieving your flag. - King of the Hill – The idea here, is to be the first man to locate the key location on the map before your opponent, so prepare to gun down enemies in desperation. Once a pre-set amount has been achieved, a winner is crowned. - Slayer – Your archetypal death match styleé affair, gun ‘em down as quickly as possible to rack up the kills, to take the trophy. - Oddball – Similar to a game of ‘tag’ you are to locate the Oddball and keep it on your possession for a set period of time, if you hold it for longer than your opponent(s) then you are the champion. - Race – Ideal for levels like Blood Gulch, where vehicles play a big part. You have to race your opponent to each ‘tag’ point. First one to complete the track wins, basically. But this doesn’t mean you can’t kill your opponents on the way… All good things must come to an end, I am afraid to admit. It has been fun, and now you know everything there is to know about Halo’s multiplayer. There shall be no excuses for defeat, now fight.