Preview: Halo 3:ODST ‘Firefight Mode’
This past Friday we had a chance to drop in on the Halo 3: ODST Road Tour at the first of three stops scheduled in the Lone Star State of Texas. The spirits were all high for those that came on out for the start of this event at the Southlake GameStop location, which I must say is one of the biggest GameStops I have ever stepped foot in.
It was really hot outside for those of us waiting in line for things to kick off and perhaps this helped set up a fraction of the mood in what it feels like for an ODST to drop down from above and into battle; they don’t call them “Hell Jumpers” for nothing after all. We’ll have to wait to experience that portion of the game on September 22nd when it releases, but for those of us dying to get a first hand crack at the latest from Bungie, it would be this road tours experience and the Firefight mode of Halo 3: ODST to satisfy us all.
The time to enter that tricked out M820A2 truck had finally arrived and the two four man teams stepped on inside to play for at least 10 minutes. Now I wasn’t allowed to take any photos of the inside action and game play, but I can tell you what I saw and experienced first hand was simply amazing and well worth this little teaser.
The games graphics look really great in the Firefight mode and my team played on one of the darker levels, giving us all a chance to try out the cool VISR mode for ODST. The game pretty much has the same functions and setups for game controls that we’ve been use to using. For this event it was nice that they allowed us a little time to select the perfect control settings that we liked to play with (boxer mode for me). It was now time to play and under the black lights of the transport truck, it was time to defend against that first wave of Convenant forces.
The game launched and one of the things we noticed right off the bat was that we were not all in the same location to begin with. It was also very dark when we stepped into the main area and the perfect time to use the ODST VISR. Clicking on the X button enhances your vision and it gives a really cool green color outline for your team mates and the enemies get a nice red outline around them. Items like the mounted turret gun would appear with a blue outline around them.
With the ability to see what was in store for us, we figured out that we were fairly close to each other in proximity. I think this also adds to the whole experience in trying to regroup and form a plan as to what we will defend and how to approach that first attack wave. Making our way into the main area for our level revealed that we had an upper elevation area with stairways leading down on the right and left sides to a fairly open area below and then it mirrored our side with stairways leading up the same way to upper levels on the far side of the map.
What I noticed off the bat was these forces appeared to be tougher in some ways and seemed a bit closer to their descriptions from the books in the series that I’ve read. The Grunts for one don’t appear to run away from you and tend to charge a bit more, perhaps this is because we are no longer Spartans and they don’t fear us as much as they might fear the Master Chief.
That being said, your not the Master Chief or a Spartan in ODST and so you don’t have the super jumps or sheilds to protect you. So you’ll quickly learn that sprinting right into the middle of a pack of Covenant forces is not the smartest thing to do. This game is not so much about run and gun anymore and you might find a stealth approach will gain you better results.
The new SMG with supressor equipped handles really well and I like that it has a scope equipped for targeting from a distance. The pistol as your sidearm weapon felt pretty good too and you can still pick up other weapons through out the game session. I noticed one of the mounted turrets early in the game and grabbed a hold. Taking out a few of the Convenants and providing some sustained fire power for my team was my goal.
I started taking on some return fire from Covenants and decided it was time to move and take this turret gun with me. Looking back on this now, I wonder if an ODST should have the strength to actually more around an carry this type of gun and perhaps the Spartan should be allowed to move around a bit easier then.
Its such a blast to feel the presure of various Convenant forces all coming at you in what seems to be an endless wave of re-enforcemants. Better yet to experience this with up to 4 of your friends on Xbox Live or local and all set with in the Halo unieverse; I can’t think of a better game mode from Bungie and their Halo series now.
Well like the ole’ saying goes, “All good things must come to an end” and that is what happened as that familar sound byte of “Game Over” was heard and it was time to step on out and make room for the next wave of guests. Halo 3: ODST will launch later this month and for any fan of the Halo series, you need to pick this game up really soon.
2 Responses to “Preview: Halo 3:ODST ‘Firefight Mode’”
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Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
I really enjoyed our trip to this event. I almost felt like I was getting ready to be transformed into an ODST soldier. This game, looks like it’s going to be a big hit with Halo fans. I’m excited for the arrival of the 22nd and the Firefights to come.