Shown here in its "Starry Night" television commercial version, the Shield Bubble, also sometimes erroneously called the Bubble Grenade or Shield Grenade, is a piece of equipment that can be "deployed" using the X button to form an energy barrier that protect the player temporarily from weapons fire and explosions, but not from vehicle collisions. Other players may also penetrate the barrier.

Word is that these items will be rare on the map, so don't expect to see many of them being used at once.

With the release of Halo 3, Bungie fans will be looking at new vehicles, new weapons, new maps, and new opponents. To kick off the promotional campaign for the game, the website Halo3.com launched late last month, with some preliminary information on Halo 3's characters, weapons, and vehicles, as well as a summary of the story to date.

The below appears as "The Story So Far" on Halo3.com as of this writing, May 2, 2007. My notes interspersed below in italics.

It is the year 2552.

Humanity has long been at war with the terrifying alien civilization that collectively calls itself the Covenant. This monstrous conglomerate of warlike species sees Humanity as a form of heresy against their religion - a faith based in the single-minded belief that a Great Journey awaits the faithful.

An extremely versatile craft used primarily for transportation of Covenant personnel and equipment. Phantoms are the Covenant's equivalent of a Pelican class human dropship but boast far superior firepower and the capability of reaching greater speeds and manueverability.

Updated archive information pending review by installation systems.

NOTE: As of this writing, Halo3.com does not have any text for this vehicle except for the above. This may indicate the vehicle will undergo significant changes from its Halo 2 counterpart, and perhaps those changes are not yet finalized.

Updated archive information pending review by installation systems.

NOTE: As of this writing, Halo3.com does not have any text for this vehicle except for the above. This may indicate the vehicle will undergo significant changes from its Halo 2 counterpart, and perhaps those changes are not yet finalized.

This fast-moving single-seat craft is used for scouting and assault missions, but its speed, maneuverability and flexibility make it almost ubiquitous in all Covenant activities. Armed with twin plasma cannons, it fires sustained bursts of superheated plasma with deadly force. If it has a weakness, it's an inability to turn during boosted speeds.

The D77H-TCI Pelican is an extremely versatile craft used primarily for transportation of personnel and equipment by the UNSC. Standard armament consists of one class-three externally powered projectile weapon at the fore of the vehicle and one class-one gas operated projectile weapon mounted at the rear in the extended crew area. More heavily armed versions exist.

The Banshee is the Covenant's standard ground support aircraft. It is very fast, extremely maneuvarble, and capable of a limited hover. Power-sharing with its built-in booster makes it incapable of firing while undergoing rapid acceleration.

The Marines' fastest ground vehicle is the M274 ULTRA-LIGHT ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE or 'Mongoose'. Essentially four wheels and an engine, this ATV can travel very fast over nearly all types of terrain.

Because it possesses no defensive or offensive capabilities whatsoever, Human troops have been known to seat weapons specialists on the rear seat to provide firepower during combat.