The Greatest Gaming Moments – Halo 3

The Halo games changed the face of console FPS titles in much the same way as Half-Life did for their PC cousins. The original was the killer app for the first Xbox console and it introduced a number of tropes that are still used in FPS gaming today, such as regenerating health and limitations on the number of guns you could carry. As time went on, the series also began to define what online FPS games could achieve on consoles, before Call of Duty took up that mantle with Modern Warfare.

Still, by the time the Xbox 360 was gearing up for launch, Microsoft and Bungie were hard at working on getting what was meant to be the final game in the trilogy ready. The game didn’t manage to make the launch, coming about two years after Microsoft’s console was released to gamers, but it acted as a fitting closer to the series…until Microsoft’s desire for money and killer apps led to more games of varying quality being released.

Regardless, Halo 3 had some truly standout moments during its single-player campaign, but only one can stand above all others as the best of the best. Before we can get to that, let’s look at some of the moments that almost made the cut. As always, spoilers abound.

Honourable Mentions

Teaming Up With Arbiter – The fact that you play a good portion of Halo 3 as the Arbiter, who is a member of the Covenant who essentially ends up being cast out and rebelling against his former comrades alongside a group of separatists, was a point of contention for many player who wanted to stick with Master Chief. However, there is something very special about teaming up with your former foes, alongside 343 Guilty Spark, to take on the wider threat of the Flood.

Killing 343 Guilty Spark – 343 Guilty Spark had been an annoyance since it was first met in Halo. Despite the irritating voice, it was something of an ally at first. That is until you discover its purpose is to aid in the activation of Halo and that it will not stop in its goal. It returned in Halo 3 and eventually mortally wounded Sgt. Maj Johnson – one of the most popular characters in the series. All that was left was the shoot the thing into scrap metal and ensure it never had the chance to activate a ring. Plus, you never have to hear that bloody voice again once it’s dead.

The Death of High Prophet Truth – The Age of Reclamation acted as the trigger for practically the entire war between the Covenant and humanity, and it was all started by the Covenant’s prophets. However, it’s not Master Chief who gets to have the final say hear. Instead, the Arbiter cements his betrayal of everything the Covenant had been led to believe by putting the High Prophet Truth out of his misery.

Cortana’s Rescue – How can an A.I. connect so well with players? Look to Cortana as the perfect example of a well-written character who is not actually a living thing but inspires such trust and devotion from Master Chief that he works his ass off to save “her” when it looks like she will be corrupted. The moment when he finally succeeds is surprisingly heart-warming.

Landing A Plasma Grenade On A Grunt – There is just something absurdly comical about landing a perfectly thrown plasma grenade onto a grunt and watching it run around in panic before it blows up. Bonus points if the blast takes a few of the grunt’s comrades with it.

The Moment

While most of the above are story moments in the game, the best moment – at least for this writer – is the entire battle against two Scarabs at the same time.

For those not in the know, the Scarabs are giant tanks that are almost like giant walking spiders, except they only have four legs. They are walking death machines and battling one of them is a hair-raising experience that is sure to challenge even the best of gamers.

So what do you do when there are two on the field?

More importantly, what do you do against two Scarabs while in the midst of an aerial battle with Ghosts and Banshees, which are the flying vehicles favoured by the Covenant?

The battle is as intense as Halo ever got, with players being tasked with dipping, diving and weaving in their own Banshee while simultaneously fending off the Covenant and attacking the Scarabs’ few weak points.

Top-notch flying, a cool head and the ability to land on a Scarab, destroy its core and then take off to take on the second one are all needed and there’s a good chance many reading this died a number of times before pulling it off.

But that feeling when the second Scarab goes down? There are few moments of elation in gaming that are quite like overcoming this seemingly insurmountable obstacle and pushing the Covenant back against all of the odds. The music only adds to the drama even further, creating one of the best moments in gaming history.

The video below shows somebody handling the battle like a boss, but most would not have managed it quite so well the first time around.

The Final Word

Halo 3 should have been the end point of the series. It rounded out the Master Chief story and offered a fitting conclusion that fans could walk away happily with. Though some of the later sequels and spin-offs, particularly Reach, managed to capture some of the original trilogy's glory, it feels like the series has now gone on a touch too long. Still, when Halo is good it is absolutely great and the first time you battle the dual Scarabs is absolutely immense.