While Halo: Reach is running rampant over the gaming forums and Xbox Live, I take a break from my never-ending quest to conquer all in the Halo: Reach arena, I look back at one of the greatest video game series, ever.

Halo is known for so many things, among them is its always stimulating campaign. These campaigns are all bolstered by some of the most exciting and enjoyable single-player levels Xbox has ever seen. Some of these were because of their challenge, others because of simply how epic the presentation is.

Without further introduction, I give you all what I believe to be the five best levels in the Halo series. Halo Wars was not included in my list-making process, due to the fact that it is a strategy game and the campaign levels are fundamentally different from the rest of the Halo series.

Special mention: The Maw, Halo: Combat Evolved
The big bang finale to the Halo campaign. The thrill of hauling ass out of a doomed spaceship is good enough for any top five list, based on personal preference. What made this level so much fun was more than just the race against time in a Warthog, it was when you had a buddy next to you to knock off the map.

5. The Silent Cartographer, Halo: Combat Evolved
The level before "The Silent Cartographer," "Truth and Reconciliation," was a slow reconnaissance mission with sniping as the main tactic in level progression. TSC flips that around as the level starts with you and a half dozen Marines storming a Covenant beach head. In this level you get to drive a warthog with Sgt. Johnson, get your first real taste of Forerunner mystery, and a deep variety of weapons. The level is relatively short, but it carries a punch and I fondly remember it as one of the levels I played most often.

4. Long Night of Solace, Halo: Reach
When it was confirmed that there would be a space/flying level in Halo: Reach, Halo fans everywhere collectively giggled like school girls. Ok, perhaps that is an exaggeration, but I am sure you know what you thought when you heard it.

Breath-taking in HD

Long Night of Solace was an exciting space flight level that ended as a standard ship boarding level. The Sabre was easy to control and lots of fun to fly. Add in the fact that you get to take on a Covenant Corvette, and you have one great level.

The ending of the level is one of the most emotional moments in the Halo: Reach campaign. Jorge throws you off the Corvette, and sacrifices himself to destroy the Covenant Super Cruiser. In what appeared to be a moment of planetary martyrdom, the mood is flipped in an instant, as our final scenes of this level is dozens of Super Cruisers dropping out of slipspace and signaling the full on destruction of Reach.

3. Delta Halo, Halo 2
Earth is under attack, you just found a new Halo, and you are literally falling in a pod to secure a landing zone.   The scenery is of ancient, stone, Forerunner structures. A complete breath of fresh air from the cold silver structures we were used to seeing on the first Halo. In "Delta Halo" you first meet the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and their attractive jet black armor. In this level you get to drive a tank, and a gauss warthog. Bottom line, you blow shit up in this level.

Thank you, Bungie.

2. 343 Guilty Spark, Halo: Combat Evolved
This is the level that set up Halo: CE to become the legend that it is now. Up until 343 Guilty Spark, you had fought nasty aliens who are bent on the annihilation of every breathing human being. Exciting, but it was still missing something. that something was the curveball of The Flood.

Adventures of Chief & Pixie

The mission starts with you in a dark, scary, swamp in a downed Pelican with no survivors. You are looking for a lost group of Marines who were driven underground. The level plays out like a horror movie with creepy music and little ambiguous clues dropped every now and then. The video of Private Jenkins and his squad's encounter with the Covenant is one of the Halo series' best moments.

The spectacular level culminates with a frantic run for your life out of the Forerunner compound. Then when you do escape, you are abducted by this little floating eyeball who calls you the Reclaimer.

Consider the sequel a done deal.

1. Halo, Halo 3
It's the end. The final chapter if you played through each game in chronological order. "Halo" begins on the replacement Halo for the one you first destroyed in Halo: CE. You proceed to fight up a Forerunner mountain crawling with Flood in a race to eradicate the parasite once and for all.

One of Halo's toughest moments follows when that little pixie 343 Guilty Spark cowardly kills Sgt. Johnson, bringing an end to one of the most badass characters in the series. There is slight consolation in that you get to blast that pixie into pieces.

"We'll make it..."

So now you've activated Halo, the opposite objective of pretty much the entire series, and you are in a super recreation of "The Maw." Falling platforms, racing warthogs (or ghosts if you play 4 player co-op on Legendary difficulty.), trying to escape total annihilation.

The final cutscene is of the Elites and Humans coming to peace, and Master Chief going MIA. I still remember my goosebumps when I played through this level for the first time. Even now, ocassionaly I will suggest to the rest of my Xbox Live party: "Halo 3, last level?"



Thought I was done? Here is some more debate material as I list what I believe to be the five worst levels in all the Halo campaigns.

5. The Library, Halo: Combat Evolved
The Library simply is too repetitive. You run through what seems to be the same three rooms for half an hour killing hordes of seemingly invincible Flood. Ammo runs low, and so does patience. This would be a great level if the scenery was more varied.

4. Data Hive, Halo 3: ODST
Any level where the most frequent enemy are Drones, is just calling to be ridiculed. The level starts with the same feel as "The Library" in terms of repetitive scenery, except instead of invincible Flood, there is annoying Drones. When you finally make it to the bottom of the installation you are in, guess what? More Drones!

3. Floodgate: Halo 3
At this point in the Halo series, I am tired of the Flood, and I don't want to see any more of them. It's Halo 3, and it is time to wrap up the intergalactic war between the Covenant and the Humans. In the level prior to "Floodgate" the prophet of Truth just activated an ancient Forerunner portal of somekind that was buried under the Earth of an unknown Millenia.

Just as I get excited to go in guns blazing after Truth, who is there to ruin the party? The Flood. Crash landing on Earth and forcing Master Chief to stay and stop the Flood from infecting all of Earth...okay that last part sounded cool, but it doesn't help that the level isn't anything special or exciting.

2. Any and all Arbiter Levels in Halo 2
Am I being too harsh here? Maybe so, but nobody can argue that Arbiter levels are more exciting than Master Chief levels in Halo 2. From the color of the Heads Up Display, to the weapons that are used, the Arbiter levels just are not that exciting and when I played them, I tried to complete them as fast as possible so I could get back to playing as Master Chief.

1. Cortana, Halo 3
This should be a unanimous pick amongst all Halo fans. This level sucked. Fighting in a Flood infested Convenant ship? Sounds kinda cool, but the entire time Gravemind is making me walk slow and I'm getting the shit kicked out of me by stubborn hordes of Flood, and on top of it Cortana is tripping out.

So after fighting for half an hour through the most unattractive Halo scenery, you finally rescue Cortana, yay! Now you have to fight all the way back out...no.


Bungie dropped the ball on this level, and they know it. How funny it is that the worst Halo level is right before the best one.
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So that's my personal list of what I believe to be the best, and worst, of all the Halo campaigns. I hope you all comment on what you think of my list, as well as your own lists of what you think are the best Halo levels. I am very interested to see what other fans think...

Thank you for reading, now to get back to Halo: Reach...