Kill 'em all speed runs

Posted June 6th 2005, expanded June 20th 2007, revised March 4th 2012

Associated movies

  • BCM22 - Level 1, Legendary; Kill 'em all speed run with plasma combo, 8:29 (8:53)
  • KSR1 - Level 5, Legendary in 47:50; No vehicles or sniper rifle
  • KSR2 - Level 4, Legendary in 22:14; No vehicles
  • KSR3 - Level 1, Legendary in 8:46; Pistol & AR
  • KSR4 - Level 1, Legendary in 8:14; Plasma combo

But see also KSR1 out-takes and KSR2 out-takes

Uh-oh, this may slow me up

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 combat - the actual theme of the game. No tricks, just good honest soldiering in the spirit intended, taking full advantage of what Bungie laid on for us. 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!

Firm action required

I give four basic rules plus some carefully considered level-specific details to clarify possible matters of contention and to make sure things play well. It does add up to quite a bit to read, but much of this is simply the price one has to pay for making things unambiguous and enjoyably playable. In practice you soon get used to things and you're rewarded with an exciting combat-based challenge, ideal for competing against other players or your own times.

Be aware that the system you're using makes a difference though. On PAL Xbox - my own system - MC moves slower than on NTSC Xbox and PC, and there are other relevant differences too (e.g. the pistol fires at a lower rate), so we've really got two separate fields of competition. Or three if you consider PC sufficiently different from NTSC. I have no experience with either of those platforms so I'm not sure how they compare exactly, but obviously they at least have different control mechanisms.

I'd really like to see other people putting runs up for view and it might inspire me to do more myself. So if you're at all interested, go for it! Let me know and I can potentially add to my page of run links. Just be sure to follow all the rules though (have a careful read). It would be a shame to end up with an invalid run just because you overlooked something, but rules are rules folks! Mind you, I'm happy also to list runs which fall outside my rules, as long as they still revolve around good speedy combat. Update, 2020: Alas, I never did get any takers. Too late to send me anything now folks - but you can still have fun on your own!