Cortana (level): Difference between revisions

{{Era|RW}}

|image=[[File:HTMCC H3 Achievement TheKey.jpg|300px]]

|partime=00:15:00 {{C|''Master Chief Collection''-only}}

|parscore=17,000 {{C|''Master Chief Collection''-only}}<br/>15,000 {{C|''Halo 3''-only}}

With the [[Prophet of Truth]] dead and the [[Covenant]] defeated at last, the Master Chief must now infiltrate the Flood-infested [[High Charity]] and rescue [[Cortana]], who possesses the [[Activation Index]] needed to activate [[Installation 08|the new Halo]]. The Chief flies into High Charity in a Banshee and journeys into the depths of the city, searching for his lost AI companion. During this mission, not only does the Chief encounter stiff resistance from the Flood, he is constantly plagued by disturbing visions of Cortana being tortured, as well as taunts and threats from the [[Gravemind]]. Despite this, he finally locates and retrieves Cortana, finally fulfilling the promise he made to her before departing for [[Earth]]. The Chief then overloads High Charity's backup reactor to destroy the city. The Arbiter unexpectedly shows up and aids the Chief in his escape. The pair find a crashed Pelican and use it to escape High Charity just before the city is destroyed.

''In the large room where the [[Halo 3 Skulls|Tilt skull]] is located, a [[Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal]] can be activated, but does not count towards the Marathon Man achievement. If activated, it displays another Cortana Moment.''

*'''Cortana (Cortana Moment)''': ''(panicking, voice slightly distorted)'' "There will be no more sadness, no more anger, no more envy!" ''(a reference to the three main stages of rampancy.)''

''The Chief heads back out the hallway.''

[[File:H3 High Charity Blowing up.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[High Charity]] is destroyed.]]

''The Chief and the Arbiter board the Pelican the Chief discovered earlier. The Chief uploads Cortana into the Pelican's holotank and starts up the engines. One of the [[Gravemind]]'s tentacles reaches for the dropship, but the heat from the thrusters forces it to retreat. The Pelican takes off, smoke pouring lightly from the left engine. The tentacle comes back and tries to ensnare the dropship, but the Pelican pulls free of its grip. The Pelican barely escapes as [[High Charity]]'s reactor goes critical, consuming the planetoid in a massive explosion. The Pelican makes its way to the new Halo ring.''

===Production notes===

The original idea for the level Cortana was entirely scratched.<ref>[https://twitter.com/dmiller360/status/533780831513624576 '''Twitter''': ''Dan Miller @dmiller360'']</ref> Originally, the level had a proper [[High Charity]] geometry completely different from the geometry seen inside the [[Indulgence of Conviction|Flood-infested cruiser]] in ''[[Floodgate]]''. The player had to follow Cortana's footprints to know where to go. As to why Cortana would be able to leave such footprints, Bungie designer [[Dan Miller]] likened the situation to her mysterious appearance in the closing cutscene of ''[[The Covenant]]''. Once Cortana was rescued, the player was to encounter a [[Type-47B Scarab|Scarab]] with damaged hind legs. The Chief would have to insert Cortana so she could take control of it. Then, the [[Gravemind]] would appear and a battle between him and Cortana's Scarab would ensue. The Chief would have to hold his position on the Scarab by fending off invading Flood forms and shooting off the Gravemind's tentacles that would try to latch on the Scarab. Eventually, the entire level —including its specific High Charity geometry— had to be cut from the game's development.

As a replacement for the deleted ''Cortana'' level, ''Floodgate'' was split into two distinct levels, the latter part of the mission becoming the new ''Cortana'' level.<ref>[https://twitter.com/dmiller360/status/533780549807398912 '''Twitter''': ''Dan Miller @dmiller360'']</ref> Thus, the geometry in the released ''Cortana'' level is the same as the one of ''Floodgate'', and there is no unique High Charity geometry in the final game. The second part of ''Floodgate'' —now the new and final ''Cortana'' level— was acknowledged by Bungie as being a bad mission, as it did not have its own level designer.<ref>[http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=47803018&postcount=17956 '''NeoGAF''' - ''Halo |OT14| They call it Halo'']</ref>

===Easter Eggs===

{{Main|Easter Eggs}}

*The [[Halo 3 Skulls#Tilt|Tilt]] Skull can be found on this level.

*After obtaining [[Cortana]], there is a skull on a ledge-like structure (it's purple and is kind of bulbous at the end) overhead after the player exits the hallway that leads to Cortana. To get it, one needs to get the Deployable Cover, deploy it on the floor directly in front of the edge of the roof, jump on the deployed cover and crouch jump onto the roof. One may also partner jump or grenade jump with a plasma grenade. Once on top of the roof, locate the skull towards the apex of the angled roof and get the skull. Please note that this skull has no affiliation with the "[[Halo 3 Skulls|13 required skulls]]" list and, if carried for the rest of the level, will start Master Chief with a Spartan laser on the next level. This may only work with certain skull combination's and/or other factors in gameplay.

*The line "It's the coin's fault," is a reference to a factor that brought [[John-117]] into the Spartan program. He identified the side of a 20th-century quarter owned by [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Halsey]] that was about to the hit the ground before it did in ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''.

*The room where [[Cortana]] is located is a remake of the room from the level ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]'' from ''Halo 2''. This room is located before the final gravity lift where Cortana says "apparently these are the Prophet Hierarch's private quarters, their inner sanctum". In the "inner sanctum" there are three doors, two located opposite one another, with a third, opposite a large view screen. In the level ''High Charity'', the Chief enters through the third door, and exits through the door on his right; in the level ''Cortana'' from ''Halo 3'', he enters through the door that was locked in ''Halo 2'' (opposite the door that leads to the final gravity lift). The graphic design of the room and the rest of High Charity's interior has been remodeled in ''Halo 3''. It resembles the corridors of the {{Class|CCS|battlecruiser}} ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' from ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.

*On single-player campaign at the end of the level, a Banshee (probably the one the Arbiter used to land on High Charity) can be seen near the Pelican. While the player can reach it and destroy it, the player cannot enter it, and oddly, grenades will not stick to it.

*This level has been infamous among the community for being overly difficult, repetitive, frustrating, and generally not very fun, along with ''Halo: Combat Evolved's'' ''[[The Library]]''.<ref>http://www.xbox360forum.com/forum/halo-3/52037-whats-annoying-about-level-cortana.html</ref><ref>http://forum.8bitbrigade.com/showthread.php?t=4009</ref> The entire level is covered with Flood 'sludge', which is thought to be flesh of dead bodies. This means that the layout is sometimes disorienting, when it's not possible to tell directions, or even walls from floors. Enemies easily blend into the scenery, thus making the level very difficult. A few players have commented that the level's layout is simply too confusing for those playing it the first time - this is because of the enormous amount of enemies and maze-like pathways. Some fans have even claimed it is one of the worst ''Halo'' campaign levels ever made and a few have even labeled it as the 'worst video game level ever designed'.<ref>http://forum.8bitbrigade.com/showthread.php?t=4009</ref> In contrast, other players enjoy the level for its challenge, and many praise Bungie for making this as realistic as possible.

*Any weaponry from the [[The Covenant (level)|previous level]] is carried on to this level unless the player makes a fresh start, in which case the loadout will be an [[MA5C assault rifle]] and an [[M90 shotgun]].

*As seen later, primarily in ''[[Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare]]'', [[High Charity]] was not completely destroyed when the player detonates its reactor. This shell is eventually covered by a [[containment shield]] under the command of [[000 Tragic Solitude]].<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''' - ''[[Phoenix Logs]]'' - ''Idle Hands II''</ref> This is later breached by [[Voridus]] and the [[Banished]] in ''Awakening the Nightmare'', releasing Flood that had survived the destruction of High Charity and the firing of [[Installation 08]].

File:H3 Cortana Concept 2.jpg|Concept art of the Master Chief's raid within High Charity.

File:H3_Cortana_Concept_3.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested High Charity.

File:H3_Cortana_Concept_4.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested High Charity.

File:H3_Cortana_Concept_5.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested High Charity.

File:H3_Cortana_Concept_6.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested High Charity.

File:H3_Cortana_Concept_7.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested High Charity.

File:H3_Cortana_Concept_8.jpg|Concept art of the Flood-infested High Charity.

File:H3-Index and Cortana.jpg|Cortana shows the index to John-117.

{{Level|H3}}

[[Category:Halo 3 Campaign]]