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 Home | Cairo Station | Outskirts | Metropolis | The Arbiter | Oracle | Delta Halo | Regret MetropolisOverview:Despite being relatively short, this level has something for pretty much everyone: The scorpion, wraiths, warthogs (including the rarely-seen gauss hog), banshees, sniping, close combat, rocket launchers, swords, vehicle boarding...and best of all, no flood. You'll begin with a high (or low) speed chase across a bridge, followed by a dismounted battle through yet another underground tunnel. The tunnel leads to a whole mess of snipers, and another round of vehicle combat (or avoidance), culminating with a dramatic boarding of the scarab. As in the previous level, we'll take advantage of the warthog's nice combination of mobility and durability to skip a few of the more tedious battles. Part 1: Ladies Like Superior FirepowerAt the risk of disappointing the ladies, forget about the tank: we're taking the warthog. Ok, well, if you really want to lumber along the bridge in the scorpion systematically blasting everything to bits, be my guest, but I doubt you need my advice for that. Personally, I think it's much more entertaining to race across at high speed in the warthog while your passenger launches rockets at oncoming ghosts. If you pick the latter option, you'll also avoid many of the encounters, including the banshees and the group of wraiths at the end. In both cases, this is a relatively straightforward battle, with no particular strategy required beyond the initial choice of vehicles. Just choose whichever option suits your preferred style of play, and enjoy a relaxing breather from being sniped and torn apart by elites. After the bridge you'll enter another tunnel and soon find your path obstructed by a conveniently-placed vehicle barrier. If you're in the scorpion, it's the end of the road. In the warthog you can drive around it easily enough, but there's really no point, as it doesn't seem to make the upcoming battle any easier. In fact, your marines will automatically exit the warthog (and won't re-enter) as you pass the barrier unless you go careening past at full speed, which drops you into a rather large force of covenant, not exactly improving your situation. Besides, I love watching my passenger obliterate the jackals hiding behind the crenellations on the barrier with a few well-placed rockets as I pull up in the hog. So, hop out before the barrier and proceed methodically through the tunnel on foot, as shown in the next video. QuickTime (7 mb) | WMP9 (6.1 mb) Right-click (option-click on a Mac) and "Save As" to save to disk. As you can see, while there are quite a few enemies—including snipers—in the area, they are triggered to appear only as you cross certain points, allowing you to take them on one group at a time once you learn the order. Note the cheap attempt to ambush us with invisible elites, on which we can deviously turn the tables. Oh, and watch out for the galaxy's worst sniper awaiting you at the end. I'm sorry, but what the hell kind of sniper sets up position in the middle of a tiny, bare concrete room with no hiding places and a field of fire of about 10 feet? He's usually not even watching the entrance, for God's sake, despite the massive firefight that just took place outside. Anyway, when the battle is over grab a fresh beam rifle from the nearby covenant crate (nice to see that those crates actually have some function), and exchange your other weapon for the energy sword conveniently dropped by the gold elite. Also take the opportunity to fill up on plasma grenades. When you're ready, head up the small round tunnel and into... Part 2: This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us....sniper hell. This is another of those situations that has both a quick, efficient solution and a slow, tedious solution, with little room in between. See, Bungie? This is the problem with those damn snipers: they tend to limit your options. It's entirely possible to run out to the ledge, hide behind the rock, and pick off all 15 or so snipers one by one. Wow, isn't it fun when you're about 13 or 14 snipers in and you think you're done and run out only to be zapped dead in one shot and have to do it all over again. For the record, it's also possible to move around to the middle platform and take them on, and there are undoubtedly other feasible positions as well, though I quickly lost patience with trying them. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking screw this; and while we're at it, screw the next group of snipers, as well:QuickTime (3.3 mb) | WMP9 (3 mb) Right-click (option-click on a Mac) and "Save As" to save to disk. If you're really feeling guilty about skipping that last area with the wraith, you could try hanging around to cause a little extra carnage: QuickTime (4.1 mb) | WMP9 (3.4 mb) Right-click (option-click on a Mac) and "Save As" to save to disk. Note that bashing the driver to death rather than using a grenade ensures that we won't destroy the wraith. Actually, even if you plan on using grenades I'd still suggest bashing the driver until his shields are down in the interest of ammo conservation. Just try not to trigger the checkpoint near the indoor waterfall until you finish the battle. Also, additional waves of two ghosts can appear, which quickly becomes tiresome. The main problem with fighting the battle in this manner is that you risk losing the warthog, which adds the inconvenience of hijacking one of the ghosts in the next area. Yes, you could commandeer the warthog on the street past the tunnel, but keeping the marine-driven hog around as a distraction is useful for what we are about to attempt. As far as I know, you have no choice but to fight the upcoming battles; but, for what it's worth, I've found them to be some of my favorite in the game, in terms of experimenting with different tactics. If your gunner is still alive, he'll help keep the ghosts off your back as you drive out onto the street, though it's not really necessary, as they'll usually not give you much trouble. As you round the street corner, you'll have to find a way to deal with two wraiths, two snipers, and a phantom that shows up carrying two ghosts. I've tried several different approaches to this battle, and the next video shows what I think is the most elegant of the bunch.QuickTime (6.3 mb) | WMP9 (5.5 mb) Right-click (option-click on a Mac) and "Save As" to save to disk. Of course, it's certainly possible to destroy everything simply by driving around in circles with the warthog and letting your gunner do all the work, but that gets old pretty quickly. In either case, I'd advise stopping to take out the snipers first from long range, which is why we brought the beam rifle. Park the warthog behind the trees to help shield yourself from the couple of shots that the wraiths will send your way. Watching those trees absorb blasts from the wraith cannon without a dent to show for it makes me think the UNSC should consider armoring their starship hulls with wood. There are a few things that I should probably note about this battle if you decide to follow the wraith-boarding approach. I start with the far wraith because the second warthog usually engages the nearest one, and your marines, with all of their brilliant new AI, have absolutely no problem with opening fire while you're trying to bash the driver to death. After a few such incidents of being shot to pieces by your own men, you'll want to reload just for the grim satisfaction of executing your marines for treason. In fact, I park the warthog under the stairs before boarding partly to protect myself from my own gunner, though it also gives you time to get well clear of the hog it before it starts drawing fire, which can result in all sorts of nasty outcomes. Also, if you can board the wraith while the other one is still occupied by your incompetent marines (and thus facing away from you), you'll be able to attack the second wraith from behind for a much easier kill once you gain control. Entering the wraith as quickly as possible and boosting immediately will help you avoid fire from the second wraith, who (when free of distraction) will begin firing on you as soon as you kill the driver. Note also that taking out the first wraith triggers the appearance of the phantom, so you'll need to be quick to avoid getting overwhelmed. Well, at least give it a try; it's fun when it works, and if it's a bit riskier, well, that's what checkpoints are for. Vaporizing the ghosts along with the phantom's weapons before it even lands (using their own tank, no less) and sending it fleeing for the hills can be one of the more satisfying moments in the game. When it's all over, exchange your beam rifle for the rocket launcher, courtesy of the marine on the first staircase, and continue upward toward your final confrontation with the scarab. Part 3: Field ExpedientWhen you finally make your way up to the catwalks and bridges, you once again have some choices about how you want to proceed. You have plenty of weapons available, so it's up to you. If you want, you can even bring the warthog up to the catwalk (and onto the scarab, for that matter). As usual, though, it's basically a choice between hanging back either on the catwalks or on the scarab itself and pounding several waves of covenant (some of which include snipers) or charging in and going right for the throat. You can probably guess which method I prefer: QuickTime (3.4 mb) | WMP9 (2.9 mb) Right-click (option-click on a Mac) and "Save As" to save to disk. As you can see, grenades and the sword can take care of most of the up-close fighting, but the rocket launcher gives you a bit of insurance. Entering the scarab's interior right away avoids all of the subsequent waves of enemies. In any case, once you kill the drivers the battle—and the level—ends. Home | Cairo Station | Outskirts | Metropolis | The Arbiter | Oracle | Delta Halo | Regret |
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