Halo 3, like its predecessors, will also feature a strong vehicular component. Vehicles, and their countermeasures (rockets, mines, etc.), are tightly integrated with Halo gameplay. Many of the series’ vehicles are returning in the third installment. Vehicles cover a wide range of types, including light reconnaissance vehicles, large, heavily armoured tanks, troop and vehicle transport craft, plus various atmospheric and spacecraft, though not all are usable by the player.
The Mongoose ATV that had been originally designed for Halo 2 but was cut out, finally makes an appearance in Halo 3. Within the games’ story, it is a human vehicle in addition to the Scorpion tank and Warthog offroad vehicle. It is a small quad-bike vehicle and, like the Warthog, the driver is unable to fire any on-board weapons, and as such is nearly defenseless. A second player can ride on the back of the vehicle, however, to provide some offensive capability. There will also be a new variant of Warthog, with rear seats for troops instead of a gun, and a light human aircraft called the Hornet which is similar in function to the Banshee. They can both be seen briefly in the E3 2007 video.
There are also two entirely new Brute vehicles, dubbed the “Brute Chopper” and “Brute Prowler” to expand the “Brute sandbox”. Unlike other vehicles attributed to The Covenant in the game, that entirely hover or fly above the ground, the Chopper has a single large and heavy wheel on the front with a hovering driver seat behind. It has been referred to as a “vehicle smasher,” able to destroy other vehicles with a single hit. Insofar it has only been seen in the E3 2007 Trailer. The Brute Prowler however, is closer in function to a Brute version of the Warthog. It has a plasma turret in front, a driver in back, and two side seats, similar to the Covenant Spectre in Halo 2.
The Covenant Banshee aircraft and Wraith tank have been altered in terms of gameplay. The Banshee now has the ability to fire its Fuel Rod Gun in multiplayer matches, an ability which was formerly restricted to Campaign and the multiplayer of Halo for Windows and Mac. But as a trade-off it can no longer point directly down. The Wraith can now carry two people instead of one. One drives the vehicle and fires the main cannon, while the other fires the smaller plasma turret. The plasma turret was formerly exclusive to AI in the Halo 2 campaign.
The largest driveble vehicle in the game is a UNSC transport vehicle named “The Elephant”. The vehicle is armed with an anti-aircraft gun at the front, has a Mongoose in its belly, and can transport an additional 2 Mongooses, a warthog, and a scorpion tank along with 12 infantry. In multiplayer the vehicle serves as a mobile base where players can respawn, and also holds both the flag and capture points for certain multiplayer objective modes. Because of its size, it only features on the largest multiplayer map: Sand Trap, and it is unknown whether it will make an appearance in campaign.
