Everything you need to know on all the vehicles in Halo 2

Name: M12 "Warthog" Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (LRV)
Type: Human
Main weapon: 12.7mm 3-barreled machine gun
Crew: 1 driver, 1 gunner, 1 passenger

Description: The standard vehicle of the UNSC Armed Forces is the M12 "Warthog" LRV. It's a speedy little anit-infantry vehicle that packs a punch with a 12.7mm triple barreled machine gun mounted on the rear. With a full crew of 3, the Warthog can do major damage to the opposition. It's fast and manuverable, but is prone to rollovers on sharp turns.

Tips for combat: Warthogs aren't necessarily big trouble compared to some of the other vehicles, but can be a pain nonetheless. A well-placed grenade or rocket can flip one of these over with no problem. If one is coming at you and you happen to be on foot, just jump to the sides when it gets close, and toss a grenade in its path.

Name: M12G1 "Warthog" Light Anti-Armor Vehicle (LAAV)
Type: Human
Main weapon: M68 Gauss Cannon
Crew: 1 driver, 1 gunner, 1 passenger

Description: Replacing the rocket Warthog from Halo PC, is the new gauss Warthog, in which the turret is a powerful gauss cannon. This cannon is single shot, like the rocket 'hog before, except this time there are no clips, and no painfully-long reload times as a result. There is a small gap of time you must wait before you can fire again, but it is really a better trade-off this time around.

Tips for combat: Pretty much the same as the regular Warthog, really. The slightly-less powerful gauss cannon makes this new Warthog less suitable against large groups of infantry, so use that to your advantage.

Name: M808B "Scorpion" Main Battle Tank (MBT)
Type: Human
Main weapon: 90mm High Velocity Missile Launcher
Secondary weapon: 7.62mm AP-T machine gun
Crew: 1 driver/gunner, 4 passengers

Description: The Scorpion is a highly effective anti-vehicle and anti-infantry weapon. It shoots very powerful shells with a slow reloading rate, but will take out a group of fighters or a vehicle with deadly precision and speed. It also has a secondary weapon, a 7.62mm machine gun for smaller jobs. It only needs 1 operator, though 4 more people may ride on and fire from the track pods.

However, it's very slow. It's ceramic-titanium armor makes it nearly invulnerable to small arms fire, but there is a spot directly in front of the tank in which enemy infantry can't be harmed by tank weapons. A well placed rocket can easily take out the driver.

Tips for combat: If you can get close enough to the tank, lob a plasma grenade on the driver's cockpit. If you can't, your only real hope is another tank or some sort of explosive weapon. If you have good aim, a shot or two from the sniper rifle can break through to the driver.

Name: Ghost
Type: Covenant
Main weapon: 2 plasma cannons
Crew: 1 driver/gunner

Description: The Ghost is the Covenant's standard anti-infantry vehicle. They are equipped with 2 rapid-fire plasma cannons, which shoot bolts of heated plasma up to 250 kW. They are very fast and highly manuverable, which make them perfect for quick attacks and escapes. However, there is nothing to protect the driver from enemy fire. New in Halo 2 is the ability to have the Ghost go into 'boost' mode where it will move really fast, but the cannons are disabled when boosting.

Tips for combat: If on foot, just avoid as it moves too fast to take out in close quarters. Any explosive weapon will take a Ghost out without a problem, but sustained machine gun fire works wonders as well since the driver is unshielded. Furthermore, the vehicle's power source, located right underneath the left wing, is vulnerable. A few well-placed gunshots of any kind will blow up this power source, and consequently, the Ghost itself.

Name: Banshee
Type: Covenant
Main weapon: 2 plasma cannons
Secondary weapon: 2 Fuel Rod cannons
Crew: 1 pilot/gunner

Description: The Banshee is a Covenant ground assault aircraft, and a deadly one at that. It contains the same Plasma Cannons as the Ghost, but also has a set of Fuel Rod Cannons, which shoot an explosive ball of plasma that can easily stop most other light vehicles in their tracks. Not only is the Banshee very manuverable, but a tough SOB to take down from the skies. New in Halo 2 is the ability to have the Banshee go into 'boost' mode where it will move really fast, but the cannons are disabled when boosting.

Tips for combat: The Banshee is tough, but not impossible to drop. Sustained machine gun or plasma fire can bring one down pretty fast. Rockets typically move too slow to hit a Banshee, except in close quarters. From most ranges, tank shells are the most effective. If one is coming in at you close, a plasma grenade works wonders.

Name: Spectre
Type: Covenant
Main weapon: 1 plasma turret
Crew: 1 pilot, 1 turret, 2 passengers

Description: The Spectre is the Covenent's version of the Warthog. Like the Warthog, it has a separate driver and gunner, but 2 passengers can ride on it instead of one. It also can boost like the Ghost, but unlike the Ghost it doesn't disable the onboard weapons when doing so. On the downside, its crew is less protected than a Warthog's crew; especially the two passengers which sit on the wings.

Tips for combat: A Spectre can be hard to take down with a good driver behind the wheel, but since its crew isn't too protected, small-arms fire can take out the passengers with no problem, and even the driver and gunner. As always, explosive weapons work well, too.

Name: Wraith
Type: Covenant
Main weapon: 1 plasma mortar cannon
Secondary weapon: 2 auto-firing plasma turrets
Crew: 1 pilot/gunner

Description: The Wraith is the Covenent's version of the tank. It may be slow, but it is heavily armored and delivers a powerful blast of plasma out of its mortar cannon. It, like the other Covenant vehicles, can go into a 'boost' mode, but only for a brief period of time.

Tips for combat: The most effective way to take out a Wraith is on foot. Simply jump onto the Wraith and plant a grenade. If you can't get close to it, explosive weapons are the way to go; aim for the rear where there is less armor for best results.

Name: Pelican
Type: Human
Main Weapon: 70mm 'chin gun'
Crew: 1 pilot, 1 copilot, 1 gunner, 10 passengers
Notes: Cannot pilot this vehicle

Description: The Pelican is the UNSC's standard dropship, cabable of transporting squads of Marines as well as vehicles. You won't have the opportunity to pilot one of these yourself, but occasionally you will find yourself in the passenger bay, and sometimes even the recipient of a vehicle it will deliver for you.

Tips for combat: Since you will only encounter the Pelican in friendly circumstances, you will never have to worry about shooting down one of these birds.

Name: Shadow
Type: Covenant
Main weapon: 1 plasma turret
Crew: 1 pilot, 1 gunner, 8 passengers
Notes: Cannot pilot this vehicle, but you can operate the turret

Description: The Shadow, also referred to as the "Covenant Bus," is sort of like a Pelican for ground combat. It can transport 8 passengers in the back, or a Ghost. On the top is a deadly plasma turret, which gets more powerful after sustained use. You won't be able to drive this, but you can still operate the turret.

Tips for combat: These things only appear in one level, and aren't hard to take down. If you have a Ghost, simply take out all the passengers, the gunner, then pull up alongside it to kill the driver. You can also destroy the Shadow relatively easily with sustained plasma fire. For an extra bit of fun, try to hop aboard the Shadow's turret and use that while it's moving.