The Halo franchise is irrevocably associated with Microsoft's Xbox brand, with every major game in the series releasing on one of their consoles. The game went from strength to strength before peaking with Halo 3, one of the most loved online games of all time. It also had an impressive campaign, built on a brilliant FPS set-up and complimented by glorious visuals and an engrossing storyline.
It’s a tough decision to make, but we’ve taken a look at every single level in the game—excluding the opening walkthrough "Arrival"—and ranked them based on a variety of factors.
9 Cortana
Considering the expansive fun of some of the levels we’ll mention later on in this list, it’s rather hard to comprehend how "Cortana" even made it into the game. This slow, boring slog through a maze of corridors that all look the same—you get lost a lot—just doesn’t do anything for anyone.
On top of that, you’re fighting off flood instead of Covenant, and, honestly, who cares about those guys?
8 Crow’s Nest
Unlike "Cortana," "Crow’s Nest" isn’t a bad level, it’s merely one of the weakest moment in a game that doesn’t really have very many weak moments. The fact that you’re stuck inside the whole time without getting to explore the huge, bright maps this game is full of makes you feel a bit like you’re missing out on something much bigger. Of course, some of the battles do still remind you that you’re in a world-class Halo game.
7 Floodgate
"Floodgate" is arguably the best Flood level in Halo. Of course, the Flood levels are never quite as good as the Covenant ones, but we can let that slide. Here, the transformation of a familiar world into a dark, dusty terrain full of mutated creatures who don’t seem to care whether they’re marines or Covenant basically makes Halo a horror game for a while. Taking things slowly and actually watching marine corpses being transformed into horrifying zombie things before your eyes is an intense experience.
6 Sierra 117
The first proper level of Halo 3 is a great one. We wander through a forest infested with a variety of Covenant with the Arbiter at our side, taking in some breath-taking visuals that all culminate with an intense fight at the water’s edge.
Playing through this mission is pretty much all you need to do to get a grasp on how great the experience of playing through Halo 3 is about to be.
5 The Storm
Expansive fights that transition with ease from packed corridors to huge open spaces full of vehicles is one of the things Halo has always done best. "The Storm" does this incredibly well, leading us into a sandy battlefield to fight off a Scarab—and the Scarab isn’t even the boss fight!
You’ve got to work your way past hunters and gravity hammer-wielding Brutes before you can say goodbye to this mission and watch the world crumble at the mercy of the Flood.
4 The Ark
Speaking of grand, expansive worlds on which to have exciting shoot-outs, "The Ark" does it even better than "The Storm." Here, we can spend a lot of time in the overpowered Scorpion tanks, obliterating everything from Grunts to Wraiths.
After the huge-scale warfare of most of the level, we end up back in the tight corridors of the Ark itself, taking on one of the game’s best boss fights.
3 The Covenant
The third to last level in Halo 3 is a true masterpiece of joyous gameplay. You kick things off wielding some of the most powerful weapons in the game before alternating between basically any vehicles you want—including Hornets—and fighting off the Covenants with armies of Elites and marines by your side. The dramatic conclusion makes the wait for those final two levels event more exciting... even if the next one is ‘"Cortana," unfortunately.
2 Halo
When Halo 3 came out, we assumed the eponymously-titled level might be Master Chief’s swan song. It’s a sweeping level that starts you off on a daunting trek through grand snow-based battles, gets into a twist-filled fight against Guilty Spark, and ends up with a Warthog race through a destroyed Halo.
Every single thing about those final moments is perfection: the music is at its most dramatic, reprising themes we’ve become assumed to over years, Cortana’s panic dialogue fills you with adrenaline, and the payoff of that final cut-scene is sheer perfection.
1 Tsavo Highway
‘"Tsavo Highway" might not have the most importance on the storyline of Halo 3, but, in terms of an addictive, re-playable gaming experience, it’s difficult to beat. The bright, sunny visuals make you feel like you’re in an idyllic world, but the need to run over grunts left, right, and center offers a much darker motivation.
The fact that you can drive a warthog all the way to the end in minutes just as easily as you can painstakingly battle every enemy in the huge open space also makes this one of the most unique levels in the game.