 |
|
|
|
 Home | Cairo Station | Outskirts | Metropolis | The Arbiter | Oracle | Delta Halo | Regret Sacred IconOverview:After the deliberate pace of the previous level, this one might seem like a blur. With no Covenant foes to be found at all here, your enemies are limited to sentinels (including the new enforcer, whose bark is far worse than its bite) and the detestable flood. The interior portion of the level is divided into two parts broken up by a short gondola ride, with the flood showing up only in the second part. In both sections, the opposition is relatively thin, save for a couple of tricky spots, and you can simply dash right through while your enemies are busy fighting among themselves. At the end of the level, as you finally emerge outside, you find yourself screeching to a halt in order to defend a position against waves of attacking flood, with the aid of your fellow elites. Part 1: Uncomfortable SilenceWait a minute...navigating through a forerunner facility filled with sentinels and the flood in order to retrieve the index? This is beginning to bring back painful memories that I've tried hard to repress. As you can see, the Arbiter is back, which means your chances of sneaking past your enemies just increased dramatically. Take a few moments to admire the magnificent view, savoring the peace and tranquility, because soon enough sentinels will begin appearing and you'll be running for your life. Turn around, and you'll notice a crate conveniently holding a couple of plasma rifles, which, for a change, we're actually going to use. This area (and the next, as well) consists of a series of rooms interconnected by piston-like seals that can be opened by shooting (or bashing) one of the glowing panels; and the easiest way to open them, in my opinion, is by hosing them down with dual plasma rifles. Wow...not only are we finally dusting off the plasma rifle, but we're actually dual-wielding for the first time since way back on Cairo Station. Next thing you know, we'll be picking up the SMG. Were we actually intending to fight the sentinels, the plasma pistol might be a better choice because the overcharge kills them in one shot (even the shielded ones); but since we'll be following the path of least resistance, we'll equip ourselves more for the environmental obstacles than for the enemies themselves. Note that the sentinels emerge from the glowing white portals on the wall, and will continue to do so until you destroy the portals. In my opinion it's fairly tedious and not really worth the time, considering how easily they can be bypassed. So, without further introduction, we commence Operation: Run Like a Mofo. QuickTime (8.4 mb) | WMP9 (8.7 mb) Right-click (option-click on a Mac) and "Save As" to save to disk. I think the route is fairly self-explanatory, so there's not really much else to say about it. Using your cloak in a timely manner helps to smooth over a few spots, but even that isn't particularly critical. As you can see, you don't actually have to fight the enforcer at the end. Activating the platform will destroy all of the sentinels in the room, the enforcer included; so, just focus on the panels, which are very quickly activated with your dual plasma rifles. When the platform starts moving, I temporarily drop one of the plasma rifles and switch to the carbine in anticipation of the next fight. Other than that, just sit back and enjoy the spectacular view. Part 2: Buyer's RemorseAs you approach the wall on the opposite side, you'll encounter another enforcer; this time, the most expedient path is to fight it. Your goal in this first battle is to open the large door on the front-left side of the upcoming room, which only happens after you either destroy the enforcer or wait several minutes. In my opinion, moving in quickly to shoot down the enforcer is considerably safer than trying to survive for several minutes in the chaotic melee of sentinels and combat flood. Although the enforcers put on an impressive fireworks display, they're really not too severe of a threat as long as you keep moving. Despite their menacing appearance, they actually fall rather quickly once you know where to target them. In this case, you can give yourself a head start by beginning to blast it apart with the carbine before you even join the main battle. Pick off the two arms first, and finish it off by aiming for the front section, just behind the two shields. A few moments after the enforcer is toast, the door opens and, with the aid of your cloak, you can slip out quietly while the sentinels fly in and continue onward, as shown in the next video. QuickTime (19.3 mb) | WMP9 (19.7 mb) Right-click (option-click on a Mac) and "Save As" to save to disk. This section can be more difficult than the last, as the flood can overwhelm you much more easily than the sentinels if you're not careful. However, while there are a few trouble spots (for example, right after you get the shotgun, and the room with the final piston) and the timing of your cloak becomes a bit more important, you can still cruise through this area in much the same manner as the last. Note the sword near the end that you should consider obtaining in anticipation of the upcoming battle. I generally like to head outside equipped with the energy sword and carbine, which gives you the option to sword fly across the chasm. Anyway, once you have the sword the shotgun is more or less redundant. As you step outside into the cold, prepare yourself for a fight at last. Part 3: 100,000 Year's WarYou may or may not encounter a few random combat flood in the area immediately outside the door. After a little while, several elites will drop from the sky (just like in the E3 trailer) to back you up, so it's up to you if you want to wait around for them. You'll face a couple of attacks from a combination of combat, carrier, and infection flood once you cross the chasm, so your safest bet is probably to wait for your team to arrive, proceed across the bridge, and secure the area before moving on to the next (and final) battle. Like the first couple of flood battles back on Oracle, there's really not much you can do here if you decide to stay and fight other than simply waiting for each wave and then hacking away with your sword. Of course, if you're in a hurry there's no need to hang around or even to use the bridge, for that matter, as the next video shows. QuickTime (1.9 mb) | WMP9 (1.8 mb) Right-click (option-click on a Mac) and "Save As" to save to disk. The position of the flood on the far side of the chasm can vary, so there's an element of luck involved in when you'll be able to fly across, if you choose to go that route. Alternatively, you could just run across the bridge and head right for the tunnel. In either case, the tricky part is making it past the narrow tunnel and the flood on the far side, since your cloak will run out long before you reach a safe position. While it does not completely eliminate the risk, I've found that running around the left side when you exit the tunnel helps to increase your chances of survival. After surviving the initial dash (or taking conventional route), you'll find yourself in another situation where you'll have to hold a position against waves of attacking flood. Once again, the chaotic nature of these sorts of flood battles pretty much negates any instructive value that a video might have, as it can play out totally differently every time. As in the past, though, I can provide some general observations that should help see you through the worst of it. If you ran right for the tunnel, you may have to approach it again after you kill the initial group of flood to trigger the arrival of some elite reinforcements and the eventual scene with the spec-ops commander (when he says "Arbiter! ..." you'll know you're on the right track). Thereafter, the flood will attempt to strike fear into your heart by announcing their next assault with a bloodcurdling shriek, like something out of Silent Hill (seriously, that is one creepy sound). You'll once again face a mixture of combat, carrier, and infection forms, with each subsequent wave beginning shortly after the death of the last member of the preceding wave. The first thing to note is that the gray spec-ops commander is the Covenant version of Sarge: he can't be killed by conventional weapons, so you don't have to worry about protecting him. Thus, you'll always have at least one ally around to utilize. Despite the fact that he's equipped with a sword, he is not always smart enough to realize that he should be running around and using it rather than sitting in a turret. I suppose it's reassuring to see that humans aren't the only ones who make dumb tactical decisions. In that case, it falls to you, the chosen of the Prophets, to kick him out any time you find him in a turret in order to exploit his strengths to the fullest. I've found that a good way to take advantage of the commander's invincibility, as well as the general toughness of the rest of your elites, is to position yourself before each wave so that they intercept the brunt of the initial attack. So, each time you hear the shriek, check your motion tracker to determine from which direction the bulk of the flood are approaching, and then just run the opposite way so that your elites are between you and the flood. Once they're engaged in combat, you can then move back in and hack away at the flood while their attention is diverted elsewhere. Pay particular attention to any flood armed with rocket launchers or swords, and try to exchange your carbine for a rocket launcher if possible, even though, regrettably, you can't bring it with you to the next level. There are a couple of decent hiding spots that you can use if you're having trouble remaining out in the open. One possibility is to use the floating platform in the middle of the area (just jump into the column of blue light, and you'll levitate up there); usually, the flood won't notice you up there as long as you crouch and don't fire at them. If you want to play it really safe, you could wait around until the commander—and he's all that will be left before too long, if you take this approach—kills off as many of the flood as he can find before you jump down and finish off the rest. If you really want to keep him out of the turrets, you could try destroying them yourself. Another useful spot is the short, somewhat curved tunnel passing through the rock not too far away from the central platform. You should receive a couple of erratically-triggered checkpoints throughout the course of the battle, which makes things a bit more manageable. After several such waves, a phantom will show up and begin firing on the flood, which is your signal that the level is about to end. Well, there you have it: a short walkthrough for a short level. Home | Cairo Station | Outskirts | Metropolis | The Arbiter | Oracle | Delta Halo | Regret |
|
 |