You may notice a new twist in the latest version of Halo 3. There are 13 skulls concealed somewhere within the battle zones, nine gold and four silver. However, the interesting part is that when you pick up any of the Halo 3 Skulls, no information box appears to tell you how they perform if you activate them. You will have to learn that on your own. The gold skulls will grant you an achievement and add a multiplier to improve your scoring but the silver skulls will not. They are as treacherous as the gold and a danger to both you and your enemies.

It appears that the gold skulls are more of a help to your enemies than to you and your comrades. The Mythic skull, when in force, will double the strength of their health and shields. The Thunderstorm skull is equally as hazardous as your enemy receives a rank promotion and becomes much stronger.

You will find that if you discover the Fog skull and activate it, you lose the function of your motion sensor. Be ready for a quick game of dodge ball if you initialize the Catch skull as the invaders will be throwing more grenades at a faster rate right at you. Then again, they will be doing the dodging and weaving if you use the Tough Luck skull but they have the advantage of avoiding your grenades much more easily. When you bring the Black Eye skull into play and happen to lose your energy shield, the only way to regain it is to melee attack the enemy.

Be aware that if you recover enemy weapons and the Famine skull is functional, you will find there is less ammunition than you were expecting. One of the Halo 3 Skulls, the Tilt skull, gives the enemy additional protection as their armor becomes much more resilient to attack. Set in motion the Iron skull and be ready to start the mission all over again if you die in single mode, and if playing co-op, the whole team would restart at the last checkpoint.

Beware of the powers of the silver Halo 3 Skulls as they can do as much damage as the gold ones. If you activate the Blind skull, you will lose your entire HUD, and even worse, lose your shooting arm at the same time. The Cowbell skull makes explosions on the battlefield bigger and more devastating. A couple of perks with the Grunt Birthday Party skull and the I Would Have Been Your Daddy skull may make you feel better.

If you make a head shot at a grunt, its head will explode in an array of colorful confetti and you will hear the cheering of children’s voices. The Daddy skull, if triggered, will add special hidden dialogue to your campaign against the enemy, and you might even pick up on some of your opponent’s strategies.

Be aware that the Halo 3 Skulls are not always easy to find and some special skills may be needed to retrieve them. Each skull is different and if activated, will change the characteristics of the weaponry and equipment or will affect the actions and powers of you or the enemy. This feature makes game playing more intense and the difficulty levels will vary. Good luck and may the victory on the battlefield be yours!