The Storm - Assault

Ghost Town

Cool, your killing in the rain now. Just let the game drive you to the stop point not far away. You'll jump out and then the mission starts. Everyone gathers in front of the big door, but instead look around. To to the edge of the cliff and locate a Battle Rifle to swap with your lowly Pistol. You can also find at least one Plasme Grenade nearby. Then go open the door.

Inside there isn't much in the immediate area. Go up the stairs and follow the path to the next room (you're trying to lead that Warthog through the facility). Some enemies will be in the next room, so be ready. But as soon as you get in, go right and press the green button above the door to let the Hog in. Then handle the remaining vermin.

When everyone is ready, you can open the next door with the green button on your side. Or you could go around the path on the right and get some early frags into the enemies waiting in the next room. Either way, you have to fight that group. It might be best to bring your buddies involved, like open the door and then take the other path to flank your enemies. A couple of well-placed grenades will clear it up fast.

At the end there might be a Brute inside a Ghost, so just hijack it. After the battle you should collect any Plasma Grenades you can find.

When you're ready, open the next door to return outside. Now you can jump on the Warthog as either driver or gunner. But a better option is to use the Ghost. Jump in one and go through to the battle outside. This battle is chaotic. Your goal is the Anti-Air Wraith that is on the ground. But first you must dispatch the other Ghosts, which is not that hard. Just aim for the Grunts driving the Ghosts and they drop off quickly. Then drive over to the Wraith on the ground, jump out, jump onto the front of it, and press LT to drop a grenade (if you have one). That takes care of that. Then use a broken bridge piece in the ground to get up to the other side where the regular Wraith is firing. Again, you can jump out and place a grenade on this one too. Then it's just a matter of clearing the field of bad guys.

After the battle you could move through the open door at the other end and keep moving along, but don't. Walk around the path is covered with walk-through crates to restock up on grenades and ammo. Make your way to the pier-like structure in the middle of the area and go to the top of it. Swap out your weaker rifle for that Sniper Rifle. You can take another Ghost from the ground if you like and make your way back to the door at the other end. A new Warthog should be waiting for you, but just stay in a Ghost and go inside.

Again, the enemies should be up the steps. It might sound crazy, but you CAN get your Wraith up there to destroy the group. When everyone is dead, go back to the path on the ground and go through the door when it opens. In the next room all you have to do is wait, look up, and shoot at the Drones that pour in from above. Some will go away after a while, so hang in there.

In this room you will also notice an ammo box with some Rocket Launchers. You can take one if you wish, but don't drop that Sniper Rifle. Move down the path to find a battalion of Mongooses (or would it be Mongeese?), after another one of those Cortana things. There should be one that has an open spot for a driver and you should take it. You could jump on back, but don't. Follow the gang outside to the next battle.

There will be Choppers to greet you, but leave them to your friends. You swing right and around the AA Wraith (anti-air) until your bro takes it out (and they are pretty good shooters). Then move along to the area over the hill and possibly jump over one of those ramps (if you're so bold, and you should try to land on the ramp in front of it). Again, swing around the AA Wraith here too, but don't fall off the ledge; there's room to drive behind the Wraith, but don't be too wreckless.

After there will be much movement in the skies. Some Banshees and eventually a Phantom that drops more Ghosts onto the field. Just drive around and let your gunner do his job, and please don't crash and flip out too much.

There is nowhere to go after the Phantom goes away, but you're told something is inbound, something big.

Judgment

Oh, that title sounds weak and meager. Yeah right.

A Pelican will drop another friendly into the field and then you wait for the big thing to some up. Yep, a Scarab. For this fight, think the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and how the horse dudes had to ride under those big elephants - that's the idea here too.

It likes to hang out near the cliff, so that is where you must drive to. And oh by the way, if you wish to switch to the gunner, go ahead, but I wouldn't advise it. You need to keep driving like a madman underneath the Scarab and don't stop for a moment. Being near the cliff, one blast near you and you will go flying over. So stay fast and focused, and only risk crashing if you must.

I repeat, the object is to ride UNDER the thing. Don't drive around the field in wide circles, it won't work. Just go back and forth under it. And yes, it does usually target you for its attacks.

Eventually you will see it start to malfunction and it will crash to the ground. Remember from, oh I don't know, Halo 2, when you jumped on a Scarab? Again, same idea. Jump on from the front, or whatever spot is lowest to the ground. You can use your rockets before you get on, but you don't have to.

When you're on you aren't trying to get inside the thing like you did in the last game. This time you want to clear the side walkways and then grab one of the Plasma Turrets. Use it to clear a path to the back and then unload your firepower on the power box in the back. Press B to drop the gun after the voice tells you to run. Drop the gun, hop off, and run a bit away from it. It will blow up in all next-gen glory and then Pelicans arrive to drop off the Arbiter and the gang.

Meet them near the ramp by the big building and they will be off, but you might want to bring that Missile Turret with you. Follow them inside the complex and through the ranks of some wounded marines. There will be another Cortana moment, and you might want to bring a Machine Gun Turret instead, but who could resist the Missile Pod?

Move through the winding path and you will get into a storage-crate area where the Brutes wait for you. Jump around and aim for the feet of enemies as you test out that missiles. Move up the steps on the left and jump atop the crates to get a bird's-eye-view of your enemies. They will rally behind some crates and shields, but that makes them easier to kill. And watch out for the smaller bodies on the field, those are your guys.

Keep moving as you gain workers into your group of merry men. There will be an ammo box with rifles and then more Brutes around the corner. After that, keeping moving into the next area for your first run-in with the Hunters. Don't just start unloading on them, that won't work. They have tough armor in their fronts and they are unaffected by grenades. So, if you still have that Rocket Launcher from so long ago, whip it out and charge straight at the beasts (you heard me). When they lower their shoulders to ram into you, jump over them, turn around, and nail them with a rocket to the back. That works best and it shouldn't be hard to pull off, and of course a sniper bullet or grenade to the back will do well too.

There is a Battle Rifle on the ground as you emerge back outside, but make sure you first use up your rockets on the enemies out here. After you get rid of the first and second group, turn around if you must and swap your depleted guns for fresh ones, like that Battle Rifle. Then join your group and move on. The group actually stops where another Battle Rifle lay. Look into the open storage bin on the right of them for some grenades and the gun. Now move on.

Watch as a ship gets blown out of the air and then run to the turret nearby. Get on it (don't you dare detach it yet) and use it to mow down the enemies. You should see them up the small hill and far away, but you can still hit them. When you get tired with shooting at air, detach the turret and bring it with you.

Clear your path to the top of the hill and eliminate the Grunts at the top. Then move to the left and up the mound so that you are on high ground. Look right and under the big gun to find a group of Covenant shooting green plasma at you. Avoid these blasts because they tear you up quick. You must move around and keep firing until they stop shooting. You may even consider dropping your turret for the moment to snipe the big dudes. There are two of them, and once they are gone you can resume your normal routine with the remainder.

Some enemies may have actually fallen behind the rocks and will be waiting for you en mass. Just flank them from either side and clear out the area. Behind those rocks is a weapon pod with a Fuel Rod Gun, but if you have a Rocket Launcher still, that is fine too. Go under the AA Gun and wait for it to fire. When it does a large blue orb will drop down, so shoot it. Three good shots is all it takes to end the level. Then watch the goodness, or badness, however you look at it.