The Covenant

   Name: Brute

Damned Dirty Apes

These fur covered apes pack a punch. We can see some grenade type devices attatched to his belt. In his hands a lethal looking gun. That blade attatched to it looks serious. That gun in it's hand is a Brute Shot. It's basically a granade launcher with a blade.

Name: Prophet

We also know that their head-dresses are unique. Not one will look the same, so you'll be able to tell them apart.

"The Covenant is named for the pact binding its two primary races, the Elites and the Prophets," reveals Griesemer.

"The Elites form the backbone of the Covenant military and the Prophets are the Covenant�s political and spiritual leadership. Much of the game will focus on the relationship between these two races and on the hidden motives for their attacks against humanity."

They are basically the leaders of the Covenant forces.

Name: Grunt

The grunts are noteworthy for two reasons. The first reason is that they're the only species among the Covenant that speaks English. You'll hear them squeal, "There he is!" when one spots you, or "They're everywhere!" if you approach with a group of marines in tow. We've noticed about six different phrases so far, but there could be more. The second noteworthy fact about them is that they often toss plasma grenades, which you need to avoid at all costs. It is particularly humiliating when one of the grunts attaches one to your visor, because the only method of removal...hurts. If you can shoot these creatures before they throw any plasma grenades, you'll be able to stock up on this extremely valuable weapon by snagging their supply. Grunts tend to carry either the plasma pistol or the needler.

Name: Jackal

Jackals are more of an annoyance than anything else and are gratefully fairly rare. They carry portable energy shields that they hide behind while they shoot at you through the slits. The shields make jackals a pain to dispatch, and they're very good at temporarily knocking out your suit's shields by issuing you a powered up shot from the plasma pistol.

Name: Elite

The Covenant elite possess an energy shield that appears to be very effective against conventional human firearms, but it's more vulnerable to energy weapons such as the plasma pistol and plasma rifle. The Covenant elite are the enemies that you'll save plasma grenades for throughout the first few stages of the game. If you can survive getting close enough to attach one to these guys, it's worth doing. They're pretty adept at dodging your fire, so proximity or luck is necessary. You'll meet the blue- and red-colored Covenant elite early in the game, but the more fearsome yellow sect doesn't appear until you're farther in. The blue and red creatures carry the excellent plasma rifle, while the yellow use a weapon that you'll come to fear.

Name: Hunter

Hunters are the biggest of the older covenant creatures. They're guns can be charged and pack a power-full punch. They take down your shield while they have super-strong ones themselves. It takes several grenades to kill these puppy's, not to mention most weapon attacks bounce off it's shields.

Name: Drone

Early on in the second level of Halo 2, Master Chief and his fellow marines fight waves of Covenant aliens to secure a landing zone for UNSC dropships. That's also when drones make their debut. "Drones" is actually a very descriptive name for them. These Covenant attack in swarms from the air, much like drones in a bee hive. So be prepared for a lot of annoying flying jackal-like covenant during the game.