Wednesday, October 17, 2007

HALO 3



The game begins with the Master Chief entering Earth's atmosphere and falling to the ground. Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and his squad discover him and, along with the Arbiter, make their way to a UNSC outpost, which falls under attack soon after. The Master Chief receives orders from Commander Keyes and Lord Hood to clear a way into the African city of Voi, and destroy all anti-air Covenant defenses in preparation for an all-out assault on the Prophet of Truth and the Forerunner artifact he is uncovering. Using the opening caused by the ground attack, the last earth ships mount their offensive against Truth's ship, but the Prophet activates the buried artifact and creates an enormous, stable slipspace portal which he and his followers enter. As the human ships attempt to recover from the shock wave, a Flood-controlled Covenant ship arrives via slipspace and crash-lands nearby. Covenant Elite forces, now allied with humanity after a civil war, arrive on Earth, and help glass Flood-infected areas of Earth, neutralizing the threat. The Master Chief, Arbiter, Elites, and Keyes decide to follow Truth through the slipspace portal. Joining them is the Forerunner construct 343 Guilty Spark, who decides to help.
After going through the slipspace portal, the UNSC and Elites find an immense artificial structure – the
Ark – which is well outside the Milky Way galaxy. Here, Truth can activate all the Halos and purge the Milky Way of all sentient life; the Chief and company are determined to stop him. Guided by Guilty Spark, the Chief and the Arbiter make their way towards the control room of the station. During their journey, a Flood-controlled High Charity arrives by slipspace, and Flood begin infesting the Ark. Johnson is captured by Truth in an effort to activate the rings, and despite the arrival of Commander Keyes, the Ark is activated. The Flood intelligence Gravemind forges a truce with the Chief and Arbiter in an effort to stop the firing. Keyes is killed by Truth, who in turn is killed by the Arbiter, but the installation's firing is halted. Gravemind quickly turns on the Chief and Arbiter, but Johnson flies away while the Chief and Arbiter fight their way out. They discover that the Ark has constructed a new Halo structure to replace the one the Master Chief destroyed in Halo: Combat Evolved. The Chief decides to activate the new ring to destroy the local Flood and the Gravemind while sparing the galaxy at large. Before he can activate Halo, he needs an Activation Index, which Cortana had aquired in Halo: Combat Evolved. He saves Cortana from High Charity, and overloads its Main Reactor to destroy High Charity and take the Gravemind and his Flood down with it.

Master Chief and Cortana escape Halo.
Arriving on Halo, Cortana warns that the Gravemind is trying to rebuild itself on the ring. The Chief, the Arbiter, and Sergeant Major Johnson make their way to the control room, where they attempt to fire the main weapon. Guilty Spark explains that the ring is not quite completed, and that a premature activation will destroy it and the Ark. When Johnson ignores his warning, Guilty Spark kills him. Master Chief then destroys Guilty Spark, activates the ring, and barely manages to escape with the Arbiter and Cortana to Forward Unto Dawn, a UNSC ship.
Back on Earth, the front half of Forward Unto Dawn crashes into the ocean, and workers cut the Arbiter out of the wreckage. A memorial service is held for the fallen heroes of the war, which includes the Master Chief as he, along with Cortana, apparently did not make it through the slipspace portal with the Arbiter. After the memorial service, the Arbiter boards his ship and departs for his home planet, where the Elites are finally free of the Prophets' hegemony.The game then ends with a close-up of the number "117" (The Master Chief's UNSC given Spartan number) etched into the side of the Covenant War memorial statue, alongside a Master Chief Petty Officer patch. If the player waits through the
closing credits, a scene reveals that the Master Chief and Cortana have in fact survived in the rear section of the ship, and are drifting helplessly through space. Cortana activates a distress beacon, noting it might be years before they are rescued. As the Master Chief climbs into a cryo-tube to await rescue, Cortana tells the Master Chief that she will miss him. The Master Chief responds by saying "Wake me... when you need me.

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