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Halopedia has a walkthrough guide for this level; see Cortana (level)/Walkthrough. |
Cortana is the eighth campaign mission of Halo 3.
It takes place in a Flood infested High Charity. Your mission is to find Cortana in order to activate the New Halo ring.
Upon completing it on the Normal, Heroic, or Legendary difficulties, the player will earn the "The Key" achievement and 40 Gamerpoints.
A curious note to add to this level is that if you listen carefully, Cortana will say some quotes by Dr. Halsey from Halo: The Fall of Reach. Also when you recover Cortana, she says the phrase "Just keep your head down. There's two of us in here now," which is reminiscent of the phrase she says on the first level of Halo: Combat Evolved when you lose a bar of health.
Walkthrough
Okay, this is the original walkthrough speed run style, trust me this does work since my average on it in Legendary is 18 to 27 minutes but it takes practice to master it. Drop down onto the ground and get the fire bomb then move forward and pop the Infection Forms with about 2 clips. Go up the ramp and take out the Infection Forms and get the energy sword in place of your assault rifle. Head straight through the porta and then down, take cover behind the pillar as the Flood come down and use your shotgun and energy sword together and pick them off until they're all dead or they jump off. Trade your shotgun for the brute shot and pick up the bubble shield. Kill the Carriers and RUN as fast as you can to the door, it may take two or three tries though (don't use your bubble shield). When you get to the room with the Infection Forms, use a grenade to clear them out and collect as much as you can before heading out. Drop down to the room with the Elite next to you and just run to the center. NOW activate your bubble shield before the Ranged Forms kill you, pick up an active camo and you sword thrusts to get through quicker and improves your "living rate". Stick the Carriers and move forward. When Cortana speaks move into the narrow corridor and kill as many Pure Forms as possible if you have Scoring on. Right after you see the first Combat Form come out, turn on your camo, they won't see you unless you're 2 inches next to them. This is possibly the hardest part now so this WILL take many times to master. Grab a carbine as you enter the room for the brute shot. Get as many headshots as possible and proceed into the camo room on your left. If your swamped activate a camo immediately and kill the Flood. Once your camo starts to fade grab the second one and activate it. After you jump over the ledge your camo will go away so find cover now. Kill the Flood in the next room will the sword and grenades. Take out the Ranged Forms with the carbine and well aimed grenades before proceeding. Pick up the brute shot and move on. There really is no strategy for this part in the reactor room. Take it one step at a time and use your bubble shield when in danger. When ready, go into the next room and save Cortana! Again there is no real strategy for combating the Flood, for fun kill everything then blow up the reactors (pick up the camo in the room before leaving). Kill the Brute and move on. When you drop down move fast for a bit then activate your camo so the Flood look stupid. Move into the next room where you would find the Tilt skull and kill the Flood and this fight will be very tough unless you use cover if your shield goes down to a fourth of its energy. Go on and just rush through the whole thing. If you don't get the time you wanted try it with a friend and it will be much easier with two or more players, then try it alone. this walk tells people every thing they need to know about halo 3 and it levels. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Trivia
- The section of the level after saving Cortana is called 'Nor Hell A Fury...', referencing the poem by William Congreve 'The Mourning Bride'. The entire line is 'Nor Hell a fury like a woman scorned', possibly referencing Cortana, who, after months of torment, now has the ability to light the newly constructed halo ring and destroy the Ark, as well as the Flood.
- This level has a similar theme to a section of the movie 'Aliens,' where the lead Ripley is trying to rescue Newt from the centre of the alien nest and escape before the facility explodes. This goes along with the 'Nor Hell A Fury...' title as the lead Ripley decides to completely destroy the queen alien's nest once rescuing Newt (while Cortana recommends destroying High Charity).
- Thematically, this level also has much in common with the level Keyes. It depicts the Chief venturing alone into a Covenant vessel to rescue a comrade, after whom the level is named, from the Flood, most specifically for a data construct in their possession. In this case the objective is the Index to fire Halo, in Keyes it was the Captain's neural implants to destroy The Pillar of Autumn.
- Somehow even after destroying High Charity the Gravemind survives. The next level when Cortana says, "It's trying to...rebuild itself on this ring" hints that the Gravemind might have escaped before High Charity's detonation. This is also similar to the film Aliens because the Queen alien also escaped the colonized planet onto the Colonial Marine Corps ship that Ripley, Newt, Bishop, and Cpl. Hicks escaped to.
- The room where Cortana is located could be a possible remake of the room from the level High Charity (Level) from Halo 2. This room is located before the final gravity lift, where Cortana says, "Apparently these are the Prophet Hierachs' private quarters, their inner sanctum". However it is unlikely the same room as the doors a diffrent and the door the player enters through would have been the exit to the gravity lift in Halo 2.
- In the area with the dead ODST and where you can get the flamethrower(not the crashed pelican), on the ODST's stomach armor there is a marathon symbol
- Although the Gravity Hammer can be useful in this level, it's most likely one of the worst ones to use, even though it can take out multiple enemies. If you're too close, the explosion can detonate the Flood Infection sacs all over the walls. The Energy Sword can be useful, but it runs out of ammo too quickly, and can't just be pulled out without having to wait a few seconds. The Shotguns and Maulers are useful, but the Mauler-Melee can't always be counted on, and the Shotgun can take too long to reload. However, the Brute Shot is most likely the best weapon in the entire level. Its melees can kill any type of Flood form, even the Pure Tank form. The Brute Shot grenades are excellent for killing 2 or three Combat Forms in one grenade and can kill a Ranged Form with just two or three grenades.
- Many consider this as the most "Floodiest" level ever made by Bungie. It has waves of Flood as much as the The Library (Level), the objective same as Keyes (Level) and the map as spooky as High Charity (Level) and Sacred Icon (Level).
- One Cortana Moment may be another reference to Fall of Reach. "May I speak with you, please? What's your name? It's very nice to meet you. DO you like games? So do I." (I am assuming that the transcription here is correct) This is strikingly similar to a set of phrases spoken by Catherine Elizabeth Halsey to John. "Can I speak with you, please? What's your name? It's very nice to meet you. I wanted to ask you what you were doing? You like games, so do I." Even if the transcription of the Cortana moment were incorrect, and it was exactly as it was in the Fall of Reach, this actually makes sense. Cortana, who was created from an imprint of Dr. Halsey's mind, would retain some of Dr. Halsey's memories. If that memory were to have been the most prominent during the creation of Cortana, it is entirely possible that Cortana would have that memory. This would also be supported by her statement "A collection of lies; that's all I am! Stolen thoughts and memories!" and "I'm just my Mother's shadow..."
- After obtaining Cortana, there is a skull on a roof before you exit the Engine Room of High Charity. To get it, you need to play the game in Co-op and get the Deployable Cover. Deploy it near the edge of the roof, have player two on it and player one on player two. Player One should be able to jump on the edge of the roof and get the skull. Please note that this skull has no affiliation with the 13 required skull list and has no available effects for now.
- Many consider this to be the worst level in the game because of the constant messeges from Cortana and the Gravemind, that flood forms keep endlessley respawning, and the very confusing path the player is forced to take.