- For the medal see Assassin Medal
The assassination is a new gameplay feature in Halo: Reach that allows player to enter a third-person view while beating a player down. Note that assassinations are different from beat downs. A beat down occurs when Player A melees Player B by simply tapping the melee button. An assassination occurs when Player A presses and holds the melee button when directly behind Player B, resulting in an elaborate kill and will earn the player a special medal. Assassinations performed in multiplayer matchmaking also count towards the Rear Admiral commendation.
Types of Assassinations
For both Elite and Spartan III players, there are three basic assassination animations that are played according to the situation.