Welcome to Earth

By Alex McLain

Editor's Note: While this covers an early part of the game, it's still SPOILER material, so proceed at your own risk!

After a fierce battle in a space station floating above Earth, Master Chief and company make their way down to their home planet. The Covenant have landed, but they're focusing only on one small location. You, the inimitable Sarge, the newly coifed Cortana, and a whole host of Marines need to figure out why. Your time on Earth is a hectic one. You'll go from battle to battle and utilize every FPS and vehicle-maneuvering skill you have. To help pave the way, we've come up with a few tips and tricks specific to your Earth experience.

… sting like a bee.

The Courtyard
Just a few minutes after landing, you should make it to a large courtyard full of enemies. A nearby building is packed with Marines, and a handy turret gun is perched on the roof. After defeating all the enemies, it may be unclear where to proceed next. The answer is nowhere. You'll have to face several different waves of enemies (some from Covenant Phantoms), so just hang tight and defeat each new group of foes (liberal use of the turret is helpful here).

Eventually, a sealed doorway will crash down, revealing two large Hunters eager for some human prey. Use your battle rifle (it has an accurate scope) and your sniper rifle (there should be one lying around) here to pick at the orange fleshy areas of the Hunters. These are their only weak spots. Once they're dead, you can safely pass through the newly opened doorway and into the next section.

Rocket Launcher: A Master Chief's best friend.

Covenant Phantoms
You'll come across a lot of Covenant drop-ships, called Phantoms, on Earth. After all, the Covenant have to land somehow. Unfortunately, it's not just the enemies that come out of the Phantoms that you'll have to deal with. The Phantoms themselves will fire their potent laser blasts at you. However, you can target and destroy each of their main guns. Furthermore, you don't need a powerful weapon to do it. Any regular gun should do, though the battle rifle is most recommended for the job.

The Tunnel
About halfway through the Earth level, you'll enter a very long tunnel in a Warthog. Your goal is to simply reach the other side. There are a couple of things you can do in this area to make your journey easier. First, while you will run across some Covenant resistance, there's no need to stop and kill every last one of them. You really just need to get by them and move on. Secondly, hop out of the Warthog and steal a Covenant Ghost (the speedy little vehicles they drive). This will allow you to pilot a vehicle and shoot with it as well. Plus, your fellow Marines will pilot the Warthog behind you, offering even more assistance.

Getting ready to board the Scarab.

The Scarab
This enormous spider-like monstrosity appears impervious to attack. The Marines have done all they can, but now it's up to you, the Master Chief, to quell its assault. When you're finally up close and personal with the Scarab, you'll be pacing it from above on a long walkway. First things first, make sure you have a rocket launcher. If you don't, you can grab one from one of your Marines back at the beginning of this area. Along the walkway itself are all manner of ammunition, including plenty of rounds for the rocket launcher, so don't be shy.

You won't be able to destroy the Scarab at this point, so concentrate all your rocket launcher fire on the Covenant that are crawling on top of it. Eventually you'll need to board the Scarab, so the fewer Covenant you'll have to deal with when that goes down, the better. Also, when you do board the Scarab and descend into its bowels, you'll encounter one red-colored Elite that can take an enormous amount of damage. Try to deal with everyone else first (he won't follow you back up into the hallway, but others will), and then pepper him with grenades if you need to.

Earth is a trying level, but if you think you're challenged here, just wait 'til later in the game. Also, once you leave Earth, you'll become privy to what promises to be one of the most talked-about plot twists in recent gaming history. Enjoy!