Cheers Marty! Out of interest, in the video I mention that I think The Covenant best shows the breadth of your work, with so many amazing tracks being used - is there a level you're particularly proud of from a musical perspective?
Yeah, you just made me watch a playthrough of The Covenant and I had forgotten how much adaptive scoring was in there. You could play that mission a thousand different ways and the seamless sound design and music would adapt to your experience. I’m proud we were able to do that on our version of the Halo games. No loading screens or pauses while loading cinematics . That’s something our team did so well but I rarely see in other games. Does anyone else notice?
@@TheMartyODonnell Awed and pleasantly surprised to see you so present on this channel! I hope you're pleased with what Corelitz, Steitzer and Coker did for Halo Infinite, meantime. All the best to Michael Salvatori, too.
@@TheMartyODonnell I always loved how Halo 3’s music built on itself at the pace of the player’s journey. It’s the reason I always linger a bit on Halo 3’s last level before triggering the Flood spawn, because the Halo Reborn track before that is hauntingly beautiful.
Arbiter impaling Truth at the end of The Covenant carried tremendous weight for me. The end of his great journey, revenge and peace finally his. And that the Covenant was undone by an Arbiter is nothing short of poetry.
It may not be the best mission in terms of gameplay, but the last room of Gravemind from Halo 2 is my favorite moment in the series. Fighting in the middle of the great schism while Blow Me Away is playing is just unbeatable!
Yep, Covenant is iconic. Music, cues, characters, climax of story, peak action, best of the best. Plus, EVERYTHING is here. Every character, every weapon, every vehicle. Simply the GOAT of Halo
I would like to add "The Maw" from Halo CE to this list. Visiting the crashed Pillar of Autum, now so degraded, and finishing the Level and Campaigne with the original Warthog run always feels great. Plus there are some cool and unique action set piece.
I think I would only argue for putting in Assault on the Control Room somewhere near the top 10. It has some really enjoyable firefight sequences throughout the level, a really captivating environment, and the soundtracks used are amazing. It's the essence of Halo's open area combat and the introduction to the tank felt awesome, I personally believe it deserves recognition as one of Halo's best missions
I disagree, only because the level just drags for way too long. How many stealth sections are there in that level? More than three, I think. It's not BAD, but I don't think I've ever played it and not wanted to get to the ending already.
@angryretailbanker5103 You know, I totally respect where you're coming from. The way I've looked at the level was always through a 2001 perspective, at the time it just felt so grand with an amazing variety of combat. I do understand how replayability can be affected by its repetitive level design, and it doesn't hold up to the level design of later titles
@@cryomnia I don't think I can disagree with you. I've beaten this game at least a dozen times since 2002, and it's only been in the last few years since I've felt this way about this level. While I don't think it was my favorite level at any point, I think I had a better perception of it back in my college days, waiting for Halo 2 to come out (or lamenting that there was a cliffhanger ending for Halo 2). Of course, there's no shortage of great levels to replay today in 2024. Bungie alone would give us four more titles. Also, I think at this point my perception of what makes a good Halo sandbox and combat loop has changed, or refined, with time. Halo 1 is fun, but it never feels quite right anymore, like it's missing something. It's still a phenomenal game, don't get me wrong, but it always feels like it's incomplete. Like Bungie really didn't get everything quite down yet.
To clarify, the song Air Traffic Control does appear on the ODST soundtrack, as part of the track Skyline. However, the OST release version is truncated and does not contain every part of the song.
What a damn beauty of a video, the footage was on point as the best track from each level sounded. Really brought tears to my eyes and made me feel goosebumps remembering why I love this franchise. Thanks for the video.
Thanks Roy! I've been really trying to focus on the music recently and ensure I use more tracks from each level/game that match the parts I'm talking about. Still room for improvement, but getting there!
343 Guilty Spark will always hold a special place in my heart: Having first played Halo at 6 years old, I was completely enthralled with everything that happened within the first few parts of the game. I was one of the kids that got their first Halo experience from playing on PC and initially started with the CE demo, so my expectations were that I was just going to run around and kill the shit out of aliens like the badass I was. Cue my surprise when the mood and tone of the game went from "yeah, let's go!" to "...." and then...the reveal. As a kid, you don't really appreciate the context clues laid out in a level, so I wasn't properly prepared when you got to Jenkins' recording. I was horrified watching everyone die very violently to the Flood, and then when the Infection Forms started busting down the doors, I got so scared I had to pause the game and go hide in the living room, begging my parents to come back from my sister's softball game. Nowadays, though it doesn't have the same edge as it did when I was younger, I still appreciate it - perhaps even moreso - considering it's one of the more fun levels to speedrun on Legendary and it has the most edge out of any levels in the Halo series. If we were to ever get a game with the mood and atmosphere 343 Guilty Spark provided, I would be the happiest gamer in the world.
Delta Halo/ Regret are my personal favorites. I remember Halo 2 at midnight launch and playing it all night. These two missions always stand out to me.
Great ranking! For me Outskirts is actually my favourite Halo 2 mission for sure, and probably my favourite mission in all of Halo. Haven't finished all of the campaigns yet though, so we'll see how my opinions turn out afterwards.
@@BenPlaysGames Yeah it's magic for the first time! I've got quite a bit of em from every game, I've got farthest in Halo 2, I played 10/15 on H2. I think every other one is 5/(how many there are) except H4 where I have like 3/10. I played all missions from the games in order. I know I still haven't played most of the ones ranked highest on your ranking, but Outskirts for whatever reason burned itself in a special place in my rankings. Delta Halo comes a close second.
@@yincimaster8530 I love Metropolis aswell! It's a great contrast between old and new Mombasa. It probably ranks 4th for me, after Regret, Delta Halo and Outskirts.
I personally really like the last level of Halo 2 (Uprising) before the boss fight. I love the music and the premise. Arbiter witnesses the betrayal of the Prophets against the elites. I like how some covenant troops joined the elites, the grunts and the hunters. I also like Sgt. Johnson showing up out of nowhere with the scarab. The stakes are high because the universe is about to end (or so the player thinks). It's haunting, and the beginning speech by the dying elites about the Brutes killing the elites is good too. I love that mission. The writing in Halo 2 and the ability to go back and forth between Chief and Arbiter is amazing. The way that they flush out the elites, the way that they flush out the Arbiter and it all leads up to that final mission. The boss fight was kind of a dud, but the rest of it was superb.
Without even looking I immediately jump to the Covenant. Fantastic opening, a mix of every Halo combat loop, and just a beautiful level. It is peak Halo with no downsides.
Odd enough I agree although I love Halo 2 there is no crazy missions that really blow me away, I love the story but I felt at sometimes when playing it again the game is a slog. Keep up the great work! Also every time I think of CE I think of how someone had managed to install the pc demo on a school computer long ago, was fun to sit with friends after school sometimes taking turns trying to speed run the level.
Nice pun at the start, and thanks Patrick mate! I was so excited to get the CE PC version, spent hours and hours hex editing stuff. My favourite was to make the assault rifle fire fuel rods 😂
Halo 2 Uprising will always be my favourite level I’ve replayed it more then any other it just never gets old. Saving all your brothers a long the way for a massive fight at the end with an amazing score playing in the background. Doesn’t get any better. (:
With recent events (Infinite and the TV show), it's so easy to forget just why Halo is so important to so many of us. And then you have videos like these, that make us remember just why.
"The Covenant" is a worthy victor but I'm surprised that "Gravemind" isn't on this list. For me that is definitely the number 1 level in the entire series. Not only do I find it incredibly fun to play, diverse and with a fantastic environment but the covenant civil war errupting around you throughout it is not only incredibly cool and makes for additional choices in how to deal with certain encounters but just does so much to make me feel like I'm not just playing a game, I'm part of a STORY.
Yes I agree. Especially since im not really a huge fan of vehicle combat in the Halo games. Gravemind is all boots on the ground combat with an epic last fight to end the level. The halo 2 brutes are also by far the best iteration of the brutes as well.
Such an excellent level! It’s basically ”Hey, we have an excellent combat and enemy sandbox in CE, so we made a level with a bunch of really carefully crafted combat encounters”. Just so fun to play!
Yeah AotCR and Two Betrayals fight for my top Halo: CE level. If AotCR had made use of banshees and maybe a few different indoor areas to mix things up, it would be a contender for top map in the series. Taken as a pair (and I often do just play them back-to-back) they're a strong combo.
@@Kobe_Bryant_real And they vary small details in the architecture and enemy placement itself just enough that every encounter feels really interesting. Frankly, I think those rooms might be some of my favorite moments in the entire series. Yes it’s not a big bombastic set piece, yes it’s cramped, but the combat is just *so good*.
It really makes me happy to see halo reach appear 3 times in the list. Reach will forever be my favorite halo, as it was the first campaign I played that I could understand efficiently play in difficulty.
Reclaimer reminds me of the first part of Gears of War 2 with the advance on the oil derricks, and that's a very good thing because that sequence is iconic too. I guess I just love riding along in a giant land battleship clearing areas and being sent off to die by a militaristic and antagonistic leader guy. Come to think of it, given my love for Halo's war against the Covenant as a metaphor for confronting existential dread, it's no wonder I liked Gears too. Both franchises tend to get looked at as Dudebro Shooters, and sure they are, but there's also way more there.
Covenant is my favorite! Agree with you it’s the best! One in my top five favorites though actually comes from Halo 4. It’s Reclaimer! Riding on that giant Mammoth vehicle is so cool! Using the turrets on it, it’s got many different weapons stored on board. Also you get to pilot both the Warthog and the always awesome Scorpion! And the sniper section is really fun too! Reclaimer absolutely deserves that spot in your top ten! The Silent Cartographer and 343 Guilty Spark definitely are in my top five! Tip of the Spear from Reach is probably my fifth favorite. That whole campaign is phenomenal!
I can't find a reason to disagree with any of these choices, although definite respect for at least allowing one Halo 4 mission on the list considering that Reclaimer in my eyes is an underrated mission in the series.
Great choices for the top 10 greatest levels of all time! Another level that might be worth including as an honorable mention would be Halo from Halo CE. While not talked about as much as other levels, I recall how awestruck I was as a young kid upon seeing the spectacular visuals of the ring world outdoor environment for the first time.
When I played through the series with a friend, said friend had already experienced the entire series and they advised me to tackle 343GS alone instead of with them. They did very well at hiding what was waiting for me, giving me no hints! I had experienced halo infinite in full before playing CE, and the mentions of the Flood there did not ring a bell. I'm eternally glad I did not look up what the flood was and stayed spoiler free on anything outside of Halo Infinite's story. It actually added to the experience for these levels in a way, not only having a blast but piecing together how it all leads to the current game.
Congrats with 30k, but frankly, you should have way more. Thanks for another fun vid. Fun fact about Silent Cartogropher. It was a map they used to experiment with features in the game and I’d say it’s a good guess to say it’s the map they worked on in CE the longest. Here’s my list! I’m not sure about the rankings. 1. Attack on the Control Room - CE 2. Halo (2nd level) - CE 3. Pelican Down - Infinite 4. 343 Guilty Spark - CE 5. ONI: Sword Base - Reach 6. The Ark - 3 7. Silent Cartogropher - CE 8. Delta Halo - 2 9. Tip of the Spear - Reach 10. Foundation - Infinite This was hard to rank. It’s been a good while since I played Halo campaign (Infinite multiplayer monopolised my FPS gaming the entire year). I’d have a lot more missions from 3 here if that game features a great main equal enemy type (like the elites of CE). The level design is often *excellent*, but the Brutes aren’t as fun to fight compared to Elites and without them even excellent level design can only get you so far. Still, I had to include The Ark. Attack on the Control is on the top for me because it brings me just a lot of great combat encounters in the game with the very best enemy ai with the very best sandbox. Yeah, the architecture is repetitive, but I think the encounters themselves feel quite varied. Halo) and Pelican Down are far up on the list for similar reasons, and Pelican Down really is a modern take on that second level from CE. It‘s also what the outdoors parts of Infinite should have been: big sprawling yet discrete and separate levels. I haven’t really replayed Infinite much, but I did replay it once to get to that level again. And with the replay feature I’ve played it couple of times more. Foundation I also think represents some of the best of Infinite’s indoor action, despite it being early in the game. The rest are included for similar reasons to yours. I didn’t include The Covenant though. If I where to judge it on a list of features I suppose I ought to include it, but for whatever reason I’m not as enamoured with that one as the other seem to be.
Great list - I was really, really close to putting either Warship Gbraakon or Pelican Down in there instead of Reclaimer. Going to revisit Infinite soon and carry on with the videos on it, otherwise I'll forget too much soon enough.
Question: How would you order Infinite’s levels? I personally thought the last two were the best, House of Reckoning for gameplay and The Silent Auditaurium for story
I agree with that , the rest of the game sometimes was a little dull in areas compared. The last two left me wanting more and interested fully. Been playing since CE. 24 now and still my favourite series. Replayed halo 4 not long ago and had a better experience then years ago
I liked Warship Gbraakon and Pelican Down in particular off the top of my head, but need to go back and remind myself of them all! Stopped with the campaign analysis as the lack of mission select was a nightmare.
@@lonewolfriding3815 yeh I recently replayed Halo 4 and it wasn’t as bad as I remember. Actually had a decent time, particularly on Composer… what was your fav level?
Solid list. I'm a huge fan of The Storm even though it didn't make it into the video. The battle against the scarab using mongooses is one of my favourite parts of Halo 3.
Covenant is such a great level. I'll never forget my first time playing through Halo 3 with a friend, and how excited I was when the 2 scarabs dropped out of the sky. It was just magical really. Also, I was surprised Mombasa Streets didn't make the cut. The music, the atmosphere, to me, it's perfect, and is right behind The Covenant.
Wonderful ranking, as always! However, I think the second to last mission, House of Recoking or maybe even the third to last, The Road deserves to be in this top 10. They're all so good!
Assault on the Control Room from Halo CE should have been here. Also I disagree with Reclaimer from Halo 4, that level was just a drag for me, The Library from Halo CE was also a drag. But this is your list and I respect it.
The first part of that Halo 2 mission is an interesting one, seeing the Grunt playing with its doll and the Jacket bullying it both immediately jump into action as soon as they notice the UNSC approaching. A little bit of professionalism you don't often see from Grunts and Jackets, who are usually better known for being spineless cowards and a rabble of thieving pirates respectively.
This might be controversial, but I think Halo CE’s best level is two betrayals, that was easily my favorite level, the music and the banshee runs along with the massive battle you have on foot at the end against the flood and the covenant’s strongest artillery was perfect. I also think cover of night is the best of halo ce’s soundtrack, or very nearly
This video is a great example of why I'm a huge fan of this channel. Consistently high quality content, with well thought out and reasoned points throughout. Another excellent video, Ben. Keep up the good work!
I want movies of these games just so I can see Halo 3 as a movie. What a WONDERFULLY paced and written narrative. Just fantastic. Also my favorite level is Halo (The one in 3). The Ark, The Covenant, and the Storm are all great but there’s never gonna be another level like Halo
I with you. I can see why most people don't like it though. The nuance between encounters is more subtle than any other level. By contrast it feels repetitive, but it really isn't.
commenting at the start of the video. gonna go ahead and say “the covenant” it features every weapon in the game + every vehicle & is basically climax of the bungie series games , had different environments in it & was very nostalgic to the level “Halo” from CE , 11/10 level with The storm, floodgate, and the ark being some of the best back to back missions in gaming
Damn, no love for Metropolis? You get to battle your way across a bridge with a Scorpion, fight through tunnels with a large group of marines, and take down a scarab!
Always a pleasure to hear from someone that shares my absolute adoration for Reach and the atmosphere it builds. A great list. I would actually need to think a bit on my top 10 of the series. Oftentimes, what levels I gravitate to depend on my mood and what I’m wanting from Halo’s gameplay at that moment. Some days, Halo (CE), ONI Alpha Site and The Package are top tier for me when I’m just wanting to shoot a bunch of covies. Other times, I’m appreciating a level’s intricate paths and various ways to complete its objectives, where levels like AotCR, Tsavo Highway, Abd Excavation Site are my bag. Then there’s the days I am really digging certain Easter eggs or gimmicks. On an unrelated note, what are your thoughts on the Halo spin-offs: Halo Wars, Halo Wars 2, Spartan Assault, and Spartan Strike. And perhaps the greatest Halo game of all time: King of the Hill Fueled by Mountain Dew (tm) for Android.
As a little kid 343 Guilty Spark’s confusing level design kept me from completing Halo CE’s campaign until high school when MCC released. For that reason I could never agree with 2nd place lol
These videos are great timing as I'm currently playing through MCC on SteamDeck. Reach ran flawlessly, ce remaster had severe problems with the update vs classic graphics, 2 way more playable but had stutter here and there, 3 was flawless as well, now on odst and so far same as reach and 3 in that it runs great. Haven't got to 4 yet
0:33 surely epilogue, not prologue... I prefer The Ark over The Covenant personally... And my Top 10 would comprise Halo 1 and 3 missions almost exclusively, LOL.
First of all this is such a perfect list, kudos for compiling it and making such a fun video to watch! I personally would pick a level from halo 5 because that was an extremely fun campaign for me but absolutely agree with you not including infinite, that campaign was insulting
No worries Steve! I've been planning to do a video more or two about Halo 5, as I did play it through again relatively recently. I'm not a massive fan honestly, but I don't share quite the animosity towards it some people have.
My personal favorite level from Halo is a three way tie between Control Room, Two Betrayals, and Pillar of Autumn (Reach) Heavy fun, great music, and in the case of Reach heavy teardrops
A great ranking, I agree with everything except New Alexandria, which I would have replaced with Halo from CE. Exodus is a choice that I wouldn’t have considered, but upon thinking about it, I 100% agree with its position on the list.
Honestly, reclaimer from halo 4 is the one mission from a 343 campaign that makes me feel more like I’m playing a newer version the classic halo missions.
I respect the choices but I never understood people's love for The Silent Cartographer. It straight up feels like an unfinished demo level. I loved the beach landing but it was always dumb the Marines don't do anything but keeping your Hog full. The only part I ever liked was locating the map room and even then, straight in and straight out.
I don’t understand how it feels like an unfinished demo level? In terms of freedom, mechanics it’s one of the more involved (if not the most) mission in CE. And the encounters feel amazingly balanced. Each to their own I guess!
I guess nowadays especially it might seem like nothing exciting, but in 2001 I found it pretty amazing. There were no shooters on console close to do anything as good.
@@torb-no I think my biggest grip is just the fact that this level forces you into a man army the later half of the game became. At the very least, the Marines should of followed you until you get to the dock for the map room.
I probably would have another Halo 2 mission on the list somewhere. I also think I'd put the Ark even over Covenant. Otherwise this is a pretty solid ranking and an amazing video!
I'm a little disappointed that Pillar of Autumn (Reach) didn't make the list, the only thing that I would like to have seen added (even if I wanted it removed after seeing it done) would be an option after Emile dies to go with Keys before 6 chooses to go to the gun. Having a "false" ending of the Autumn being shot down by the inbound cruiser and Hallsey saying that Corrana must have chosen wrong if the player didn't choose to stay behind would be interesting.
343 Guilty Spark has been for years misunderstood imo. It scared me so hard as a kid. I usually avoided it and felt pissed off to play it. But years after you just realize how massive of a masterpiece it is.
Wait is he the person who uses iconic? Someone else mentioned a British RU-vidr uses it a lot but didn't say who and I wasn't sure as I don't really watch other Halo channels. A complete coincidence!
@@BenPlaysGames Yeah it's his catchphrase basically. He's well aware of it now and plays into it but a few years back he would call basically everything from halo "iconic" no matter what it was.
I watched the video then checked the comments and they were talking about music playing but i didn’t hear any? Sometimes I could barely make out high notes but it’s really quiet.
My personal favorite Halo missions have to be: AotCR Delta Halo Gravemind Uprising The Ark The Covenant The Storm NMPD HQ Coastal Highway Exodus The Pillar of Autumn (reach) New Alexandria Tip of the Spear
Wonder what you think the best halo infinite mission is? Potential video maybe? Most missions weren’t particularly memorable but i loved house of reckoning especially the bit with the training room
The Ark? I'm a huge fan! I actually did a fairly long video just about that mission, if you fancy checking it out: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oYhW4H9Qi_U.html
I have all ties: Halo 3: The Covenant. You just can't beat that double Scarab fight, then the flood teaming up with you. Insane Halo 2: killing the prophet of Truth. Literally amazing Halo CE: 343 Guilty Spark. it's hard to choose, cuz there isn't a level I don't like. But Spark just has that story telling down to the fucking T. No Cortana, no way points, you are alone, and the twist is so good. Plus if you remember the route in and try to go back to the first elevator, it's destroyed. Levels like these are why Video games were made. As for the other halos.... ODST and Reach are great games, but their levels don't have the same feel as 1-3. Don't even ask me about 343 halos. Those don't exist.
Really unfortunate not seeing any Infinite missions but it speaks to the level of design that we had earlier in the franchise, indeed the good old days.
I would have liked to see at least 1 infinite mission named, that is... Foundation, house of reckoning and silent auditorium are good levels in my opinion, they deserved a place on this list.
I think this more so has to go with Ben not doing videos on Infinite’s missions yet. He’s done a couple but hasn’t gone through it with a fine comb like he has with most of the other games. Hope he gets around to it.
I also like exodus for its ramping scale of power. You start with pistol, fighting with skirmishers and grunts and end up with spartan laser and wraiths!
New alexandria is both a level I like, and dislike. on one hand, the idea is amazing, saving a ruined city from covenant, but I've had some bad experiences with it on legendary, like getting softlocked in club errera because the grunts shot me as i got a checkpoint.
Nice list! I find it interesting you thought Halo 2 didn't have "traditional" halo levels too much, since it's only the second game in the series. Worth noting Halo 1 didn't even have a majority of those "traditional" levels either with six being corrodor shooters and only four having big open spaces. Halo 2 definitely felt different level wise to 1 though for sure.
