Kill 'em all speed runs

Tackle enemies against the clock, in a combat-based speed run.

Posted June 6th 2005, expanded June 20th 2007

Introduction

In an unconditional speed run such as you can see at High Speed Halo, the object is simply to finish the level as fast as you can, which in practice makes it largely a tricks-based exercise in bypassing as much scenery and combat as possible. Nifty stuff for what it is, but personally I want a speed challenge based around plain old trick-free combat that takes full advantage of everything Bungie laid on for us. No tricks, just good honest immersive soldiering in the spirit intended. If you feel the same way I invite you to try what I call a kill 'em all speed run, in which it may help to imagine that as MC you're in a stinkin' bad mood today, and all those filthy covies and Flood are goin' down!

I give three basic rules, plus some carefully considered level-specific details to clarify possible matters of contention and to make sure things play well. You'll also find some times to compete with if you're interested; I'll add more as I get them. You can vary the challenge by imposing restrictions on a run, such as limiting yourself to certain weapons. I do a lot of that; it gives you lots of different and interesting play experiences.

I'm not asking for videos; I can neither produce nor host them at the present time. But I'm hoping that some other site might start a section of combat-based speed runs sometime; I'd love to see some (as long as they don't have music dubbed over - can't stand that). Any site interested in using my rules as a basis for that, be my guest!

Full Path Halo

Stop press: High Speed Halo now also features 'Full Path Halo' runs, in which you're obliged to pass through the whole of the level; you can't skip a chunk by trickery. However, players are still going to be whizzing past enemies wherever possible (fighting holds you up), so it remains quite different from what I'm after. Guess I just have an aversion to letting covies continue breathing; somehow it just doesn't seem right…

You can certainly see some meaty combat in the videos though. For example check out Riptor's run of T&R on Legendary, based around the sniper rifle and AR. An AR on Legendary? Rather him than me, but he seems to make it work. He does keep using a fast-reload cheat (er… trick) with his sniper rifle, but at least I can appreciate his aiming skills. In that particular run the majority of enemies actually get killed - yay! But most of the other runs are skippier than a kangaroo on a hotplate, and the Elites barely have time to utter "Wort wort wort!" before MC is off into the distance. Boo, hiss! And hey, Riptor's run of AOTCR on Normal still cuts out a load of the level towards the end, so I'm not sure why it's in the 'full path' section at all.

Basic rules

Here are my three basic rules elaborated at some length, plus the timing conventions.

Reality rule: No dying or reverting

No dying, nor reverting to a checkpoint. Yep, there's none of that artificial time-rewind nonsense here - you're playing for real this time, and if you get killed it's game over! This adds to the realism and tension. If you're not used to playing like this you'll soon notice the difference, particularly in a long level once you're deep into it with a lot to lose.

Kill rule: Trigger and kill all enemies, with exceptions

Apart from various exceptions to keep the gameplay enjoyable and fair, you must trigger and kill all enemies available in the level. As such, you'll need to take a sufficiently inclusive route to encounter them.

Some exceptions are that you can ignore spores (they're too incidental, plus it would often be hard to be sure they're all dead), Sentinels (too incidental), cloaked enemies (because it's not always easy to be sure you've dealt with them), and any enemy that's not properly accessible (rare unfair targets; e.g. a Grunt that seems to have permanently retreated out of sight on a floor above you). There are also some level-specific exceptions detailed later. There are two special rules for Flood:

(1) Once a combat Flood is down you can count him "killed" as long as he remains out of sight. But if you subsequently see him upright again and he's in comfortable range of one of your weapons other than a rocket launcher or sniper rifle, he's back on the menu again (feels right). Of course, you're often going to have to take these guys down a second time anyway, just for self-protection. But in places where Flood are relatively sparse, this 'once-down' rule potentially lets you blast your way through non-stop without having to keep waiting around to check for reanimation, something that wouldn't play well.

(2) You're free to ignore carrier Flood that spawn anywhere back along the way you came. Such spawning is often quite a way back and quiet too, so it's not easy to be aware of, and it often doesn't feel like a threat worth dealing with. Besides which, we mainly want to focus on trouble ahead.

Note: It's ok to temporarily bypass enemies as long as you deal with them at some point (e.g. on your way back from somewhere). But as you may know, there are cases where the game might 'cleanse' a populated area once you're gone. Obviously you mustn't exploit cleansing; it's you who has to remove enemies, not the game. If you're not sure about whether enemies might disappear, just play safe and tackle them immediately. Another form of cleansing is that in certain areas, such as the survivor areas in level 2, the game potentially removes the last few enemies if it decides that things have been dragging on too long. That's probably a safeguard measure to cope with the possibility that a novice player is wandering around unable to actually find the enemies. Again, this is not allowed.

Exceptions aside, let me emphasize that in a situation where enemies spawn repeatedly, you're obliged to kill them all even if it takes quite a while for the spawning to stop. You mustn't do anything to lessen the number of waves you're due, like running so far past that the game considers the area finished with. Only move on from the skirmish area when it's clear that nothing more is coming. The faster you wipe out a wave, the quicker you'll get the next. In most places where repeated spawning occurs, you have the option of intermittently backing out of the relevant 'trigger area', to prevent further spawning for a while. That's fine, and it's useful if you're in danger of getting overwhelmed, but naturally it'll slow you up. For the fastest times, you'll want to remain in the trigger area so you can get through your quota as quickly as possible.

There are some places where combat Flood or covies spawn behind you, perhaps putting you in a nasty sandwich. They must be dealt with of course; don't pretend you didn't know they were there!

It's up to you to be honest about making sure you've dealt with all enemies in a particular area. Usually you'll be well aware of the situation if you're an experienced player. But if you're ever not quite sure about whether there's maybe one last enemy lurking somewhere (maybe a Grunt ran off to hide), you're honour-bound to check.

Tricks rule: No tricks

No 'tricks' or suchlike, including the exploitation of glitches to sneak an advantage; 'weapon glitches' in particular. The whole spirit of this is to do good honest unenhanced soldiering that respects the combat dynamics Bungie intended, and that maximizes realism. Let me emphasize some of the cases I'm including and make a few comments:

  • No fast reloading tricks ('backpack reload' or whatever). They remove an integral part of proper realistic combat, namely the skill of judging when best to do a time-consuming reload.
  • No overheat prevention tricks to minimize the problem of plasma weapon overheating. As with fast reloading, that weakens the realism and robs the gameplay of an element of skill, in this case the skill of rationing fire to avoid an overheat.
  • No 'double melee' tricks for doing two melee attacks extra fast. When you melee, the full animation should play.
  • No aiming with a sniper rifle then switching to the rocket launcher, for precision rocket aiming. That goes against realism. It cheaply exploits a flaw in the programming, namely the exact retention of aiming when you switch weapons.
  • No repeated swapping of weapons as you move, in order to keep more than two handy. Whether you think of this 'weapon juggling' as a trick or not, it's horribly artificial and subverts Bungie's intended two-weapons-only ethic. We're trying to keep the gameplay looking and feeling realistic; we don't want to be reminded of being in a videogame.
  • No grenade jumps or rocket jumps. Bungie clearly didn't intend you to have this sort of jumping power, plus these jumps go against realism (you just don't go playing with high explosive like that).
  • No jumping down off high bridges. That's too extreme to be believable. But all other jumping down is allowed, being considered realistic 'agility'.

If weapon glitches are simply too much a part of how you fight, you could just ignore that aspect of the rule and fight how you prefer. But clearly it won't then be fair to compare your times with anyone sticking to the standard unaided combat stipulated here. Still, if you post times or videos somewhere, you could always qualify them with a phrase like "using weapon glitches" so folk know you had a little help.

Note: Doing things like jumping up onto things (without explosive assistance) is allowed, even if it enables you to take a novel tactical approach that Bungie probably didn't anticipate. We'll consider that sort of thing 'ingenuity' rather than trickery.

Timing conventions

Times go from when you first have free control to when you lose free control (triggering a final cutscene), except that in level 1 on Normal or Easy, start from when you have free control after the tediously unskippable calibration sequence. You can skip any cutscene designed to be skippable in the Xbox version by hitting the 'A' button, but that's all. You mustn't use trickery to skip a cutscene or avoid it starting at all, or to make it start early. Just play fair so you're on the same playing field as anyone who doesn't know any such tricks (we don't want times to be dependent on knowledge of trickery).

If for some odd reason an unskippable cutscene fails to run (something I've experienced in at least one case), you should add its duration to your time to compensate, so you don't end up with an artificially fast time just because of a quirk that has nothing to do with combat skill. For reference, here are the durations of all the unskippable gameplay-interrupting cutscenes. Level 2: light-bridge activation 25 seconds. Level 4: door unlocking 15 seconds, platform walk 20 seconds. Level 9: Jumping down off the ship 7 seconds, grav-lift beam-up 8 seconds, discovering Keyes 43 seconds.

Level-specific details and reminders

Level by level, here's where I clarify any potential matters of contention or give arbitrary rulings to encourage the meatiest combat and maintain the spirit intended. I've also included some 'reminders', mostly about enemies you might otherwise overlook. For each level, the remarks are listed in order of progression through the level.

Level 1: The Pillar of Autumn

Reminder: When playing on Normal or Easy, you should start your time from when you have free control after the tediously unskippable calibration sequence.

You can ignore the enemies you encounter before getting armed, of course.

After the cutscene on the bridge, don't leave so fast that you end up with no pistol (a bug in the game). You're meant to have a pistol and meet the Grunts. Wait for a checkpoint before leaving the bridge.

Reminder: As you near the final airlock area, make sure you get any Grunts lurking quietly down a side-corridor.

Level 2: Halo

You only need to destroy one of the first two Banshees. Once one is down the other heads off, so it's not always a fair target.

Reminder: If the light-bridge cutscene doesn't run (which can happen if there's fighting going on), you must add its 25 second duration to your time to compensate, so you don't get an unfair advantage from something that had nothing to do with combat skill.

In the second part of the level, you can tackle the three survivor areas in any order, and you can ignore guards at entrances you don't actually use (it wouldn't play well having to make long trips just to seek out a few isolated guards). Banshees get triggered after you deal with your first survivor area. You must go and destroy them before entering the next survivor area (else the game might remove them).

In the cliffside survivor area, you're not allowed to drive up onto the hill that overlooks the structure (presumably to snipe enemies). Consider it a trick; Bungie didn't expect you to be able to get up there.

Level 3: The Truth and Reconciliation

It's possible to get extra Marines in the grav-lift battle (on the ground). I'm not sure whether Bungie intended that, but we won't class it as a trick as it happens quite naturally. It's allowed.

Reminder: In some places in the hangar, enemies appear behind you, perhaps putting you in a nasty covie sandwich. They must be dealt with.

Keyes mustn't die; it's game over if he does (we don't allow time-rewinding remember; you're playing for real and have to get through in one shot).

Level 4: The Silent Cartographer

You must finish the landing battle before heading off anywhere.

You must cause the main facility's door to lock. I know the game lets you visit the two facilities in either order, but this way gives you more enemies.

Reminder: After using the security substation, some Jackals get dropped in the Hunter area you passed through earlier (you hear the dropship humming). They must be killed at some point.

Level 5: Assault on the Control Room

You're not allowed to steal the 'platform Banshee'. That obviously wasn't intended and is classed as a trick.

You can ignore the third Wraith; it's often out of sight on its ledge, hence not always a fair target. Don't forget the Banshee though.

Reminder: In the area with the huge central tower, there are enemies to be triggered on both sides.

The Banshee from the top of the huge tower can be ignored unless it finds you and starts an attacking run, in which case you're obliged to destroy it.

Reminder: In the snowfield beneath the twin bridges, don't forget to trigger and kill the two Elites in the trough passages.

After going up the next lift, you get to a room that includes a central raised housing with an Elite inside. Don't forget him. However, if he can't be seen and you still hear no death cry after a fourth grenade blast or rocket blast, allow yourself to move on (he's not being a very fair target today).

The icy final bridge has two Banshees on it, but you're not allowed to use them. Due to some of the scripting, I don't think Bungie was expecting you to grab one; but in any case, a Banshee would make a lot of the remaining fighting too boringly easy.

Reminder: We allow unassisted jumping-up, and it's therefore ok to hop onto the sloping central 'spine' of the structure leading up to the control room. But don't forget that you have to be sure you kill all enemies. That could be hard from the spine, as some could be out of sight in tunnels.

Level 6: 343 Guilty Spark

On the way to the facility, you can ignore any Flood. They're fleetingly glimpsed but that's not enough to make them fair targets.

Reminder: In the maze-like facility, enemies are often scattered around on a different level to you, so you may need to look around a bit. They all have to be killed of course.

Once you leave the facility, you can ignore Flood, who maybe spawn indefinitely anyway. Just get to the tower.

Level 7: The Library

Reminder: Exceptions aside, you're obliged to accept all the spawning on offer. There's a lot of it in this level. It may be worth having a slow trial run to start with, to make sure you know where it all is and how long it can last for - especially if you're used to just dashing through the level. Otherwise your time might end up artificially fast because you've missed out chunks of the action.

Reminder: Don't forget all the carriers lurking in corners and whatnot; keep your eyes peeled as you go.

Shortly after exiting the first lift, the Monitor says "Flood activity has caused a failure in a drone control subsystem. I must reset the backup unit. Please, continue on. I will rejoin you when I have completed my task." You must continue to the area of the door (medkit nearby) and 'Hold your position until the Monitor returns' like the screen says. No retreating out of this situation, else you won't get your proper dose of hectic Flood spawning. Fight it out fair and square.

After the fourth door there are actually two routes you can take to the fifth. The standard route goes left where a group lurks in a wide open area (including a Flood with a rocket launcher). That group must be eliminated whatever. But you could instead go straight ahead from the fourth door and clamber over two prongs of the 'circle' to approach the next door from a novel angle. If you do that, some Flood intercept you (leaping into your path), which makes it clear that Bungie anticipated you trying this route; it's certainly not a 'cheat'. Also note that as you near the fifth door, there are one or more Flood in a very obscure place over a far prong of the circle. They can be distantly visible when you use the alternate route, but they won't have been visible at all via the standard route (at best you'd only hear them gurgling). Whichever route you take, you can ignore these obscure Flood.

Towards the end of the third floor, there's a very nasty situation where you're trapped between two massive doors and Flood start jumping out of two outlets. It's actually possible to hide and remain unaccosted until the far door opens and the Flood run off, but I'm not sure Bungie intended that, and in any case it's way too boring for us here; we want some proper combat! So here's the rule. You can do your best to hide when your shield is bleeping or charging up, but aside from that, you must allow the Flood to remain generally aware of your location. This should ensure that you have to fight for your life, as Bungie surely intended.

Reminder: As you approach the third lift, carrier Flood start to spawn slowly from high outlets. Naturally you should pop any you see on approach, but after that you can potentially head on to the lift, invoking the rule about ignoring carriers that spawn behind you.

Level 8: Two Betrayals

You must kill all foot soldiers before you nab the first Banshee. This is to encourage the most interesting and serious combat, rather than rewarding the high-risk tactic of rushing straight for the Banshee, something that relies more on luck and multiple attempts rather than actual combat skill.

In the final battle, all foot soldiers must be killed before you nab a Banshee. As at the start, this is to encourage the best combat.

Level 9: Keyes

Shortly after the start, you reach a gaping hole. You can ignore the enemies on the other side (they weren't really intended for you) and just jump. Note: I'm well aware that Flood start spawning behind you if you hang around on the ship; but Bungie didn't intend for you to tackle that severe onslaught (fun though it is) so I've omitted it from the run.

In the second outdoor skirmish area, Flood continue to spawn for a while (jumping into a deep pool with awkwardly high rim), but only at a frustratingly slow trickle that doesn't feel worth hanging around for. So here's the rule for this area. You can leave once you reach a stage at which there's nothing alive on dry ground, other than spores.

Reminder: In the area past the sniper rifle, don't forget to kill any Flood up on the arch. Flood will stop spawning from the pool after you reach the fight area.

As you near the grav-lift area, pause until Cortana says "Power source detected", else the game may fail to populate the area with covies and Flood. The Flood spawning isn't indefinite, but it's slow and weak, so here's the rule. You can ignore all enemies here; just get up to the ship.

Shortly after re-boarding the ship, you find yourself overlooking a room with a Wraith in it. You not allowed to jump down; you must take the passage, where Flood lurk. Part way there, Flood repeatedly drop from the ceiling. You're obliged to see out the attack of course.

Reminder: In the Wraith room, don't forget to trigger the Flood behind the massive door (where the overshield is). They seem to get triggered once the original room occupants have been wiped out (as long as you're in the room).

Reminder: Some while after dropping through the small hole past the Wraith room, there's another place where Flood repeatedly drop from the ceiling, and other Flood spawn back the way you came. Don't forget about the latter guys, who tend to stand around quietly.

When you reach the hangar with the four Elites on the central platform, don't use the door on the left yet; that's for later. You're ultimately heading for the far door. But on the way, you trigger the first of around 32 covies and Flood, who continue to spawn as existing combatants die. Make sure you hang around for the full works; all must die. Tech note: spawning gets temporarily suspended if you stray out of a certain 'trigger area' (see Keyes hangar battle for details). Don't mistake that for being the end of spawning. If you want to be sure you've had all possible spawning, stand anywhere in the trigger area (e.g. on or near the platform). If no new red dots show up on your tracker within a few seconds, the spawning is over.

On the way to the control room some enemies arrive in a dropship below, but you can leave them for later if you want; they'll still be around.

Reminder: After escaping from the control room (with all Flood and covies killed of course), there will be enemies to trigger in the passage going down from the third level, and also in the passage going down from the second level.

Reminder: At the end there are lots of covies on the ground floor of the hangar, and potentially in the passage that goes around at the back (troops from the first dropship). All must be killed before you nab your Banshee.

Level 10: The Maw

Shortly after passing through the cryo chamber, you go through an access way and emerge into a corridor. To the right are some covies near floor arrows indicating Engineering and the Armory. To the left are some Sentinels. It's actually possible to trigger repeated Flood spawning to the left, but it's an unsatisfactory stop-start affair and it's the wrong way too (you might not even know about it), so allow yourself to ignore it.

Reminder: After going through the cryo chamber and then a long hard-fought corridor, there's an access way coming up. But as you near it, Flood start to spawn in the small compartment nearby, where the well-hidden overshield was (you'll hear them). All must be killed. Wipe out a wave, get the next one, and so on. Note: a new wave only gets triggered when you're in the access hatch area.

Once you reach Engineering or the Armory, you can ignore enemies for the rest of the level, as things get messy and kind of urgent!

During your escape drive you must wait at the scripted area for Echo 419 until it's destroyed. This is to keep things feeling decently realistic and to respect the game design - it just doesn't feel right whizzing past poor old 419. Enjoy the show while you're there. You don't have to stick around to destroy the Banshees, but hey, extra style-points if you do!

Optional restrictions

You can limit yourself in various ways to alter the flavour of the combat and to make it harder. This can give you some very different experiences compared to normal, and you'll potentially need to develop new ways of tackling certain areas. It hugely expands the amount of fun on offer with the speed run idea. Here are the main restrictions I've got in mind:

Weapon restrictions

Limit your weapon use to certain weapons, once they become available. By 'weapons' here I mean hand-held guns, not other offensive equipment (grenades, Shades and vehicle weaponry, which you remain free to use). If your initial combo doesn't include any such weapons, the restriction comes into effect once you're able to safely pick up at least one such weapon.

There's so much potential here. Limiting yourself to covie weapons can be interesting for example, especially if you're more used to working your way through with the all-powerful pistol. Note that the plasma pistol has impressive long-range potential if you care to exploit it. I sometimes limit myself to an assault rifle to really bump up the challenge. Some other ideas: forbid yourself the long-distance luxury of a sniper rifle, or the vehicle-destroying power of the rocket launcher (vehicles can be tackled with small-arms fire and grenades).

Vehicle restrictions

Limit your use of vehicles in some way. You could forbid yourself vehicles entirely, or perhaps just forbid the use of certain vehicles. Another possibility is to allow yourself vehicles for personal transport only, forbidding passengers and offensive use (weaponry and squashing). I often forbid myself vehicles as I like to focus on foot-based soldiering.

No medkits

Forbid yourself any medkits. Yep, no magical instant healing for you! Needless to say, you'll have to be far more careful in your battling. You can afford a few slips, but that's about all. Also remember that once damaged, you'll need to be careful not to accidentally step over a medkit, else it's game over (no reverting remember).

No health loss

Even more extreme, forbid yourself from ever losing a health bar. We're into perfection challenge territory now, which is bad enough even when you're allowing yourself all the time you need, let along doing it against the clock! Tactics and clinical technique become of the utmost importance. Definitely not something for the gung-ho merchants.

Level suitability

Here are my opinions about the suitability of the various levels, for these speed runs.

Level 1: The Pillar of Autumn

Excellent for what it is; a short blast of intense close-range aggro. The enemy are generally ahead of you, so you hardly ever need to look around for isolated enemies to polish off; which makes things nice and simple. If only there was a shotgun available…

Level 2: Halo

Pretty good, but your time is liable to depend quite strongly on how good you are at blitzing enemy troops as they dismount from dropships; and in particular, how good you are at killing the Elites (e.g. by tagging) while they're still aboard or still recovering from a dismount. Get it wrong and you can be in a world of trouble, out in the open with a couple of angry eight-footers eying you up as target practice for their plasma rifles.

Level 3: The Truth and Reconciliation

Excellent, with the enemy encountered thick and fast. On Heroic in particular, it's ideal as a non-stop blasting rampage. To get in the correct frame of mind, shout "Charge!" at the beginning, then proceed to spit death in all directions as you blitz your way through. I've had a great time with this. The plasma combo (plasma pistol and plasma rifle) is especially good, if you want things visceral.

Level 4: The Silent Cartographer

Pretty good, but I've always felt that the enemies are a little sparse on this level, which isn't really what you want in a speed run.

Level 5: Assault on the Control Room

Excellent, and potentially a big challenge due to its length and the fact that dying means game over, something which ratchets up the tension as you get deeper into the level. Particularly good for trying different weapon restrictions; there are so many possibilities. It's also my favourite level for trying to get through with no health loss. The cloaked Elites with plasma rifles are nasty though.

Level 6: 343 Guilty Spark

Poor, though admittedly this is one of my least favourite levels at the best of times. Enemies are woefully sparse to begin with, and then you're in a confusingly maze-like facility. You'd better be familiar with the route! Flood tend to be scattered about in the rooms, and often at different levels from yourself, so you have to look around a bit to seek them out, which can make things feel a bit slow. Also, the final section is just a dash to the tower, unless you've made the challenge tough enough to force you to be a lot more wary about running straight through all those gurgling Flood.

Level 7: The Library

Excellent, though if you like to keep on the move you might not fancy it much as you're obliged to hang around in many places to deal with wave after wave of spawning (possibly a lot more spawning than you're used to, especially if you've previously been in the habit of just running like hell). But I like all that and find it quite absorbing. Favoured combo: pistol and shotgun.

Level 8: Two Betrayals

Excellent, but probably one of the toughest levels to tackle at speed. All those Flood with rocket launchers make it very dangerous. Watch out for the mob that rushes the second generator room.

Level 9: Keyes

Pretty good, especially if you're going to be using the shotgun. But the spores can be darned annoying in the outdoor section, making it hard for you to recharge your shield. Pesky little nibblers! Also, the special-ops Elites at the end can be murder. You'll want to really think about your tactics for them, to take them out fast.

Level 10: The Maw

Can't say I'm very interested in doing speed runs on this level. A big part of the reason is the Warthog jump at the end, where it's simply a lottery whether you actually survive the impact. It's not properly in your control, and it's frustrating as hell to be killed like that through no fault of your own, when you've just done a stirling job of battling through the level at high speed. As for the actual combat, it feels quite messy and cramped to me.

General speed tips

Here's some general advice about getting fast times.

Fine judgement

Obviously you'll want to push hard, but not so hard that the risk of coming a cropper becomes too high. It's a matter of fine judgement that should improve as you make successive attempts and get used to enemy behaviour in each area. I strongly recommend sticking with one difficulty level, so your judgement remains good about how gung-ho you can afford to be in tackling the various types of enemy. It would be a bad idea to play on Heroic for a while then attempt a speed run on Legendary, for example. You'd take a while to acclimatize, so to speak.

Honing your tactics

You'll need to think about each separate area and how best to tackle it. Often this will involve advance preparation, namely in the weapons you carry and how you approach the area. Hone your tactics and technique. Some situations are relatively chaotic, but in others you can potentially get used to a pattern of action depending on where specific enemies are (e.g. in the rooms in level 5).

Monitoring progress

Especially with the longer levels, it's nice if you can get 'split-times' along the way, to judge how well you're doing compared to your previous best. That'll help you know whether you need to push harder or whether it's ok to ease off on the risk-factor a little. I suppose the ideal thing would be if you've got a buddy with a stopwatch, noting your time at certain points and letting you know how things are going. Luxury! However, you can potentially take care of this yourself if you do the time-checks in places where you're just waiting around in a lift or something.

Departing shots

Within a given area, such as a room, you can potentially save a few seconds by killing the last of the enemies as you back off to the next area, as long as you're confident you can do it. I'm mainly thinking of minor enemies here, Grunts in particular. The pistol is ideal for this.

All-round sound

Playing with headphones (or a surround-sound system, I imagine) is a distinct combat advantage, as you can pick up exactly where sounds are coming from. That's a big help if you plan on wading into a hectic situation with enemies all around you, hoping to clean up quick. If an enemy shoots at you from somewhere, you can potentially turn and fire at the right spot in practically one movement, without even having seen them. Especially with the shotgun.

Some times to compete with

Want some times to compete with? I've put some on a separate page which I'll update as I get further times.