Halo 3: ODST demo expands on story, structure, 'splosions
by Xav de Matos 
{ Jun 2nd 2009 at 11:30AM } 
During Microsoft's Pre-E3 press briefing Bungie's Joe Staten took to the stage and dropped gamers into the first gameplay footage of Halo 3: ODST. In the game players will take on the role of a rookie Orbital Drop Shock Trooper weeks before the events in Halo 3. As part of the single-player campaign expansion, Halo 3: ODST features a greater mystery, as 'The Rookie' attempts to uncover the truth about his fellow hell jumpers. The game features new silenced weapons, a visor -- enabling a 'low-light vision mode' used to point out crucial information -- and a handgun original (Halo) gangsters are sure to 'love,' said Staten. Prepare to drop ($59.99 or more) later this year.
Gallery: Halo 3: ODST
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
R (XBL: Esoteric Lord) @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:40AM
Yay, the God Pistol is back!
jarhead906 @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:55AM
Is it really?
We all know how that turned out for Halo 3.
yo Naturale @ Jun 2nd 2009 7:33PM
I think Joe Staten meant to say "Any fans of how the ol' Halo 1 pistol had the scope on it out there?"
Consider me skeptical that they'll re-up the power level of the pistol back to the Halo:CE days. I'm willing to bet it's more like the speed/power of the dual wielded pistol of pre-1st title update on Halo 2 (when they took the dual pistols down a notch and upped the frag grenade splash damage).
The Dark Wayne @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:42AM
Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion mean first day purchase
Qube @ Jun 2nd 2009 9:09PM
Don't forget Alan Tudyk! He's in there too:
http://whedonesque.com/comments/20542
It's just about the next best thing to a Firefly reunion :)
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:43AM
Looks like the Best halo game to the date.I might just buy it for the "Horde mode" alone.
Now that If I could only get 3 other players to get VidMaster achievement I would be prepared for this game in time.
Shmil @ Jun 2nd 2009 2:39PM
Myself and 2 other friends love playing through campaign and we'd be more than happy to help you out.
send a friend request to shmil
Dr. Flex @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:43AM
I lost interest in Halo for a while, but this is sure to bring me back. The survival mode (which seems standard as of now) sounds awesome, too.
Wardo @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:46AM
This seems very interesting and I'm glad the classic pistol seems to be back.
Also I haven't bought any of the Halo 3 map packs, so that is a huge plus for me!
Xiphias @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:46AM
Hmm, I think one of the main problems with the late Halo 2 and Halo 3 campaigns was the introduction of brutes. I found them a lot less satisfying to take down, and they didn't seem nearly as interesting to fight as Elites did in Halo 1...I felt the Elites were worthy opponents (especially on Legendary), but the Brutes were too stupid seeming...
The storyline looks potentially interesting, the idea of the flashbacks where you get to play in different combat engagements seems like it could be fun. I just hope Bungie weren't too far up their own asses when designing the actual story content, because they got too pretentious and cliched in at least Halo 2 (and very much so Halo 3).
jarhead906 @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:57AM
Maybe not exactly my line of thinking but I agree completely with you on the dissatisfactory performance of Halo 2 and 3's Campaign structures.
We need moar Halo: Combat Evolved.
mike @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:22PM
I agree with everything you said. Brutes aren't very fun to take down (which is not good when the entire game involves exactly that), and the storylines for Halo 2 and 3 were unbelievably pretentious. I wouldn't mind one bit if Bungie threw the all logic and story out the window by making the Elites enemies again.
Flip @ Jun 2nd 2009 11:59AM
I've slowly lost interest in Halo, and unlike the good Doctor, I'm not sure if this'll bring me back. The only reason I was hoping to play this game was to play it from a normal human's standpoint. Yes, ODST are elite soldiers, but they're nowhere near a Spartan's strength, yet they're tossing around Spartan Lasers and taking out Brutes with ease.
I really hoped that if you saw a Brute, you'd 1) be totally overwhelmed by their size (about 9ft tall), and 2) you'd be in for a fight, not a cakewalk. I was thinking when running into them, you'd feel similar fear from when you first ran into a Berserker from Gears 1, but it just seems like you're a Spartan with new tricks. Nothing special. *sigh* I really wanted this game to bring me back, too.
Dr. Flex @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:07PM
I burnt myself out on Halo 2. I played it a ton. I was still playing Halo 2 when 3 came out, so I went right from 2 into 3. By the time the first map pack came out, I was tired of Halo multiplayer and have not gotten back into it. I have had a fairly long break now and am looking forward to getting back in with all the maps and extras of ODST. I guess we'll see once it releases how I feel then.
ryan @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:22PM
It's been a while since I played Halo, but it feels like it needs a sprint button. Or at least some animation to indicate he's moving quicker.
David @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:45PM
This looks awesome. I've loved Halo 1, 2, and 3 each in different ways. I think Bungie knows what they are doing and they always deliver a quality product that can stand the test of time.
ThatPCgameryouhate @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:52PM
Looks great, I like the idea of playing in a city, and switching between characters- helps develop the story.
Day one buy, even though I hope it's only 40$.
Prox @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:53PM
What happened to Bungie "promising" this wouldn't be full price?
ExMcCloud @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:58PM
They threw in every Halo 3 MP map, Fire fight mode, and the Halo Reach Beta.....Worth Every penny
Dund3r @ Jun 2nd 2009 1:15PM
While I will no doubt pay a full 60 bucks to get this game, I don't think it should be priced that high.
The campaign is supposedly short, some of the map packs included are free on Xbox Live anyways, and I shouldn't be charged for access to a beta. After all, the beta is for Bungie's benefit. They get tons of info and drum up even more interest in Halo: Reach.
Firefight mode must be THAT good.
phinnvr6 @ Jun 2nd 2009 12:59PM
Lol at 5:05 in to the video when the guy runs up the latter and the guy doesn't even drop his gun and grab the latter he just magically floats up it.
NoTomorrow @ Jun 2nd 2009 1:38PM
That's the way Halo has always been. It's less apparent because there are only like 2 ladders in Halo 3, but rest assured there is no real "climbing" animation. It's not nessicary, and makes ladders feel slow and clunky in my opinion when you have to put away your gun to climb up one, however unrealistic that may be.
Prox @ Jun 2nd 2009 2:57PM
Better than running up to the former, I suppose.
Curtis @ Jun 2nd 2009 3:08PM
The "bombs" on the bridge magically turned themselves too.
phinnvr6 @ Jun 2nd 2009 5:09PM
Not having a ladder climb animation and magically charging up them makes no sense in a modern game. It instantly stuck out and was very laughable. I wont bother with this game anyway I'm gonna get MAG or Bad Company 2 as my fall/winter FPS.
ExMcCloud @ Jun 2nd 2009 1:04PM
Buying the special Edition....No questions asked
The Dark Wayne @ Jun 2nd 2009 1:16PM
im holding out for a Helmet Edition
phinnvr6 @ Jun 2nd 2009 1:52PM
Lol wtf it makes them "feel" slow and clunky? It's a ladder! This isn't 15 years ago when they didn't have animations for things... It looked so terrible I started laughing and never noticed that before. That's gotta be fixed or I can't play this game ever. I will probably
only get Bad Company 2 anyway.
Dund3r @ Jun 2nd 2009 2:11PM
I was under the impression that the Spartan laser was used only by...Spartans??
The Halo 3 site on xbox.com says it is a "shoulder-mounted direct energy weapon used by the UNSC". So I guess ODSTs can use them too...
jordan @ Jun 2nd 2009 3:36PM
dont you remeber sarge using the spartan laser in the campaign
J is for me @ Jun 2nd 2009 2:18PM
I LUFF TEH HALOZ. The ODST's look so badass, AWESOMESAUCE.
MetalBLACKFOX @ Jun 2nd 2009 2:22PM
thought it was gonna be a "call of duty tactical like version" of halo..yes i agree they should have never change to the brutes..elites where unique enemies should have just made them fight side by side with the brutes
Mouthsmasher @ Jun 2nd 2009 3:34PM
Bungie's site has the video in a much better quality:
http://www.bungie.net/projects/odst/default.aspx
mike k. @ Jun 2nd 2009 3:52PM
is anyone else scared that the ODST guy you play will feel too badass.. I mean in those screenshots their are multiple brutes and other enemies bearing down on one guy, and he's supposed to get out of that alive?
I mean hell you Spartan in Halo3 had 3 Elite buddies with him and situations like that weren't exactly a cake walk... a group of 4 ODSTs should have that feel like a boss battle and not a normal fight...
If it turns out its that you can kill similar numbers and types of enemes with the ODST guys, then what the hell do they have spartans for anyway?
phinnvr6 @ Jun 2nd 2009 5:08PM
Not having a ladder climb animation and magically charging up them makes no sense in a modern game. It instantly stuck out and was very laughable. I wont bother with this game anyway I'm gonna get MAG or Bad Company 2 as my fall/winter FPS.
SpiderFreak @ Jun 2nd 2009 7:03PM
Phinnvr6, your a deuche. We've all watched the video, you don't need to post 10 times about the ladder.