Halo 3: ODST

Halo 3: ODST, formerly known as Halo 3: Recon, is a First Person Shooter video game exclusively developed on the Xbox 360. It is currently being developed by Bungie, LLC., and published by Microsoft Game Studios. ODST is set to be released on September 22nd, 2009.

Taking place in the Kenyan port city of New Mombasa, ODST follows a squad of elite Marine Orbital Drop Shock Troopers during the Covenant invasion of Earth on October 20th, 2552. Knocked off course due to the Mombasa Slipspace Incident, these six Marines fight through the waste-filled and destroyed streets in order to link up and to destroy and evade the Covenant occupation force in the city.

ODST is a campaign expansion and prologue to Halo 3 which will fill in details of what happened in Southeastern Kenya from Halo 2 and Halo 3. An official five-part prequel comic, Helljumper, was released in the months following up to and after the release of ODST starting in July. A multiplayer beta of Halo: Reach, recently announced at E3 2009, will be included with ODST.

Speculation
Although Bungie consistently stated that Halo 3 was the last game in the trilogy, they never ruled out the possibility of releasing new games set in the same story in the future. An interview by MTV with Don Mattrick (Senior Vice President of Microsoft's Xbox division) revealed that Bungie's game is at the very least Halo-related, and that it is not Bungie's collaborative efforts on Halo Wars or Halo: Chronicles, but a "new" game. Although a proper announcement was meant for July 16th, 2008 at E3, it was canceled by Microsoft because they wanted to focus on games by first party developers that were coming out in 2008, criteria which the Bungie project did not fit. It was also stated by Microsoft that they did not want to further lengthen their press conference so as not to stretch the attention span of the attendees, and that they wished to give the new Halo project an event of its own to release details on it.

The most popular rumor that had surrounded this new title was that it was a squad-based shooter in the Halo universe with the player filling the role of a Marine Captain, but this is untrue as the player will be filling the role of an ODST Lance Corporal, who goes by the moniker of The Rookie.

Speculation about a supposed third-person shooter, giving the player control of Marines or ODST's instead of SPARTANs, circulated long before Bungie revealed their next project would be Halo-related. Originally, rumors held that this would be the Peter Jackson game, Halo: Chronicles. The presence of Christian Allen, a former Marine and Red Storm employee who worked on the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series and joined Bungie in early 2007, heightened speculation.

Known Information
Halo 3: ODST has been known to be in the pre-production phase since January 2008. , four months after the release of Halo 3; and was referred to as Halo 3: Atlas

Bungie has confirmed that the game will be a first-person shooter, like the previous three Halo titles, and that Christian Allen is working on a completely different project within Bungie. Bungie also confirmed that the player will take the role of a surviving Marine, that the game is set in the ruins of New Mombasa, Kenya; and that it will be released on September 22nd, 2009, and that it is the last known Halo project related to the Halo trilogy they are working on. In another interview with a number of different gaming sources, they revealed key information about the game: ODST will be on a standalone disk, it will "include some new multiplayer maps, some of which will be a part of the Mythic Map Pack," and it will run on the updated Halo 3 engine. Bungie has also stated that it will be compatible with the Halo 3 multiplayer, provided they have the Mythic Map Pack and ODST. Forge, Saved films, and Screenshots will be making a comeback aswell.

ODST has been described as "returning players to familiar grounds on a vital top-secret mission". ODST's gripping story, co-operative campaign and new multiplayer content will have Halo fans 'Preparing to Drop' in Fall 2009". The game is shipping at the full-retail price of $60, even though it is believed that the game's campaign will only run three to six hours ; however, in one of their weekly updates, Bungie expected that the campaign will last between three and five hours. . Over the course of development of Halo 3: ODST, Bungie has expanded it to more of a full game, rather than the expansion that was planned . This includes a campaign length closer to the size of Halo 3 in terms of average hours from start to completion, to the Firefight mode which was revealed at E3 2009. While previously stating that ODST wasn't going to be priced like a normal game, the increased depth added into the game was the cause for the $60 USD pricetag.

As of E3 2009, Bungie employees (such as Brian Jarrard and Curtis Creamer) have stated that development on the game of Halo 3: ODST is already completed, and that the footage shown at the convention was from the final build/retail copy of the game.

Gameplay


ODST has the main protagonist, The Rookie, searching for beacons across the city of New Mombasa. It is up to the player how they get to the specific location, and in what order, giving a very open-world feeling to the game; something for which the main trilogy has been criticized for, due to its linear gameplay style. It's likely that these "beacons" are drop pods with a locating device on them. Finding one of these objects sends the player back in the game to find out what happened to one of his five squadmates (Buck, Dare, Dutch, Romeo, and Mickey). Once you go back in time for a short period, you will take control of the player for around thirty minutes, and play the situations that the particular character went through. Unlike the overall game, these flashback scenes go along the path of the linear gameplay that has been common throughout the original trilogy of Halo.

Due to the fact that you are playing as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, you will not be using the shielding or the motion tracker featured on the MJOLNIR Battle Armor suits. The Rookie and his squadmates will also lose the ability to dual-wield weapons, such as the M7/Caseless Submachine Gun or the Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle.

On the other hand, you will receive a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), which will likely give waypoints, mission objectives, and information which will help the player. In addition to the PDA, the Rookie will also have a new "visual mode" known as the Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance (or VISR), which identifies allies and enemies through the HUD on his helmet's visor by illuminating and classifying objects; green outline for allies, red outline for enemies, and yellow outline for important objects. Also the squad has two new weapons, the M7S Submachine Gun and the M6C/SOCOM, which the protagonist and most of his comrades land with in Mombasa during the initial drop.

As stated by Bungie in the January 23rd Weekly Update, the Sangheili will not be appearing at all in ODST. By December 2008, the game was "representational", meaning that players could experience the game from start to finish, albeit in an unfinished state. The entire Bungie staff was pulled from other duties to play through the game and offer feedback. Among the unfinished elements was the lack of finished dialogue delivered by voice actors; storywriter Joseph Staten filled in placeholder audio. Bungie's audio director Martin O'Donnell will contribute music for ODST, as he has done for the previous Halo games. Due to ODST's shift to a new protagonist, O'Donnell created new music that was a homage to Halo, though was taken in a new direction.

Firefight
"Built on top of Halo 3: ODST's campaign, Firefight is a cooperative game mode that lets you and up to three of your friends put your skills to the ultimate test. It allows you to jump straight into the heart of Halo and experience traditional Halo sandbox encounters with a new, high octane twist. Though you’ve squared off against most of the enemies you’ll face in Firefight before, you’re not going to be able to rely on your past experiences alone to guide you through all of the action. In Firefight, even the most "harmless" enemy can become a dangerous threat when you’re low on ammo, low on lives, and have your back against the wall. Throw gameplay modifying skulls into the mix and you'll find that the combat can become even more interesting and intense."

- Bungie.net: Drop Into Firefight

Firefight, a brand new feature to the Halo franchise and recently announced at E3 2009, is a cooperative campaign gameplay mode. Four players over Xbox LIVE or System Link play to complete a series of Human vs. Covenant matches. All features from the Campaign Scoring, as well as skulls, achievements, and leaderboards of Halo 3, will be featured in ODST.

Known Firefight maps include Security Zone, an ONI facility located near the Space Tether, Crater (Night), which takes place around an unknown area in the Mbaraki District and an Unnamed Firefight Map, a bigger map which takes place on the savanna at the outer edge of New Mombasa's highway system.



Map Packs
All map packs (Heroic, Legendary, and Mythic) will be available for those who haven't already purchased them over Xbox LIVE Marketplace. In addition to the other map packs, an additional map pack will be featured in the ODST package. These maps are currently known as Citadel, Heretic, and Longshore.

While previously confirmed to only feature a Campaign element as the only gameplay mode, the second disc in the ODST box will contain all of the maps, which you will be able to play directly from there, without having to download the maps to your Hard Drive and starting Halo 3.

Synopsis


The game is set on the 20th of October, during the events of Halo 2, in the First Battle of Earth at Mombasa.

A number of pods carrying ODST's appear in the sky over New Mombasa to clear out the remaining Covenant forces in the city. The Prophet of Regret's ship opens a Slipspace portal in Earth's atmosphere above the city, resulting in an antimatter-matter annihilation accompanied by a physical shockwave and an EMP. The shockwave tears through Mombasa, badly damaging the city. When the EMP reaches the HEV Pods, it destroys their electronics, which prevents them from making a controlled descent, hence they are destroyed on impact with the ground.

One HEV Pod enters the airspace above Mombasa after the primary EMP has subsided. However, the HEV pod passed through a secondary residual EMP that partially damaged its electronics. Despite this, it still managed to make a pseudo-controlled descent, albeit a rough one; the HEV crashes through the side of a building, knocking its occupant unconscious. As night draws, the lone Marine wakes up, armed only with a submachine gun, and moves forward to secure beacons scattered across the city.

Characters

 * United Nations Space Command
 * Lance Corporal "Rookie" - The main protagonist of ODST.
 * Captain Veronica "Dare" - The Rookie's female commanding officer and Naval Intelligence operative . She is voiced by actor Tricia Helfer.
 * Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck - The former-leader of the squad. . Voiced by Nathan Fillion.
 * Corporal Taylor "Dutch" Miles - The Heavy Weapons specialist. . Voiced by Adam Baldwin.
 * Lance Corporal Kojo "Romeo" Agu - The Marksman in the squad, and is quoted as being a "wiseass".
 * Private First Class Michael "Mickey" Crespo - He is the demolitions expert for the squad. . Voiced by Alan Tudyk.
 * Superintendent - New Mombasa's Urban Infrastructure A.I. construct.


 * Covenant
 * Prophet of Regret - One of the three Hierarchs of the Covenant, his only known role in the game is at the beginning where his Assault Carrier enters slipspace over New Mombasa.

Locations

 * New Mombasa, Kenya
 * Lumumba District
 * Mbaraki District - Most of Dare's squad landed in this district after they diverted their course from the Assault Carrier to the area surrounding the ONI facility directly across from the Space Tether.
 * Kikowani Station
 * Kizingo Boulevard
 * NMPD Headquarters
 * ONI Alpha Base - This Section Two facility was the site of a fierce battle that pitted New Mombasa Police and the UNSC Marine Corps, against a Covenant assault from across the bridge. This building was destroyed shortly after the battle for unknown reasons. A Firefight map, known as Security Zone, takes place in front of the entrance to the facility.
 * Tavari Plaza
 * Uplift Reserve
 * Tanaga District
 * New Mombasa Orbital Elevator - Completely obliterated by the Slipspace Jump caused by the Prophet of Regret's Assault Carrier, wreckage from this space tether can be seen all across the city. Only the base of the tether and the bottom few rings survived the jump, though the structure can be seen from most places in the city, blazed in an inferno.

Equipment
Weapons


 * United Nations Space Command
 * AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun
 * M6C/SOCOM
 * MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System
 * M7S Caseless Submachine Gun
 * M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade
 * M165 Demolition Charge
 * M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher
 * M68 Gauss Cannon
 * M90A Close Assault Weapon System
 * SRS99D-S2AM Sniper Rifle
 * W/AV M6 Nonlinear Rifle


 * Covenant
 * Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade
 * Type-2 Antipersonnel Fragmentation Grenade
 * Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer
 * Type-3 Antipersonnel/Antimatériel Incendiary Grenade
 * Type-25 Carbine
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle/Jiralhanae
 * Type-25 Grenade Launcher
 * Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher
 * Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon
 * Type-51 Carbine
 * Type-50 Sniper Rifle System
 * Type-52 Pistol

Vehicles
 * United Nations Space Command
 * D77H-TCI "Pelican" Dropship
 * M12 "Warthog" Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
 * M274 "Mongoose" Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle
 * M808B "Scorpion" Main Battle Tank
 * M831 "Warthog" Troop Transport
 * Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle
 * UNSC Frigate


 * Covenant
 * Assault Carrier (Appearance only)
 * Type-25 "Wraith" Assault Gun Carriage
 * Type-26 "Banshee" Ground Support Aircraft
 * Type-32 "Ghost" Rapid Assault Vehicle
 * Type-52 "Phantom" Troop Carrier

Viral Campaign
On May 29th, 2008, a viral campaign for Halo 3: ODST started focused around the AI of the same name, New Mombasa's janitorial second generation dumb-A.I. construct that aids The Rookie and his squad in surviving the Covenant occupation of New Mombasa.

Announcement
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First, different screens of areas of New and Old Mombasa come on screen, followed by HEV pods entering the atmosphere. Here you can see the Prophet of Regret's carrier on the right, then it moves behind buildings. The pods come into view as a large explosion (Caused by the Prophet of Regret's carrier entering Slipspace) appears, sending the pods off-course. Then, the Superintendent appears, and shows warning signs and then reboots. All the screens from earlier flash onto the screen, but heavily damaged from the blast. Then, a single HEV pod falls through the sky, when the Halo 3 Logo appears. The pod then crashes into the camera and goes black, followed by the words 'Prepare to Drop'.

The second part to the trailer, released on the 8th of October, followed on from this - the Superintendent reinitialized itself, attempting to assess the catastrophic devastation and tries to identify the object that survived. Later, after a Covenant Phantom dropship has passed by, the object opens to reveal a lone surviving Marine Shock Trooper to clamber out, wielding a modified M7S Caseless Submachine Gun. The Marine narrowly avoids a Jiralhanae patrol, before encountering messages from the Superintendent, presumably leading him to safety.

Elements from this trailer have dramatically altered from announcement to the present day.

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E3 2009 Gameplay
Shown to the press at Microsoft's E3'09 Media Briefing, the first gameplay trailer showcased the events surrounding the campaign and the new Firefight mode. It focuses mostly on the Rookie wandering around the streets of the city, looking for his lost squadmates, along with Dutch who fights during the Battle of ONI Alpha Base.

This trailer also shows the very first glimpse of Firefight, the brand new cooperative game mode designed specifically for ODST.

ViDoc: Desperate Measures
The first ViDoc of Halo 3: ODST, Desperate Measures takes a look inside the squad that consists of the main characters in the game. It summarizes the skills that each Marine has, along with what equipment they'll be using in-game.

Also shown are little clips of the flashback missions, namely, featuring GySgt Buck and LCpl Agu on a landing platform at NMPD Headquarters, where a police Pelican dropship was extracting the two Marines, before getting chased off by two Type-26 Banshee fighters.

Pricing


Early after its announcement, Bungie stated that they did not see ODST as a regular $60 game. At E3 2009, Microsoft confirmed that Halo 3: ODST would retail at the standard normal price of $59.99, which they think that the game features warrant the normal price tag.

As a bonus feature for those who pre-order ODST at select retailers (including such stores as GameStop and Amazon.com), a token to play as SgtMaj Avery Johnson in Firefight will be included.



Contents:
 * Halo 3: ODST Campaign
 * Halo 3: ODST "Firefight" mode, a cooperative campaign mode where up to four players can assume the role of an ODST squad and fight together to take on increasingly challenging waves of enemies. Facing increasingly challenging waves of enemies together, striving to earn the highest scores possible, while various Halo 3 Skulls are progressively activated.
 * Three new maps of a second Mythic pack on a standalone disc.
 * All three Multiplayer Map Packs (Heroic, Legendary, and Mythic).
 * A key to the upcoming Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta.

Special Edition
Despite Halo 3: ODST only being an expansion pack, a "Halo 3: ODST Collector's Pack" is available alongside the standard version. This includes the game itself, along with a limited edition UNSC-style Xbox 360 controller, and will retail for $99 USD (£60 GBP). The Collector's Pack is only currently available at GameStop in the USA, and Game.co.uk in the UK.

Strategy Guide
Prima Games will release 272-page strategy guide on the release date of Halo 3: ODST for $25 USD.

Contents include :
 * Move Out Soldier - Complete coverage of the single player missions. With labeled maps for New Mombasa and tactics included for the Legendary level of difficulty.
 * Team Up - Intense Co-Op strategy to ensure you and your squadmates survive. With input from the actual developers and testers to give you the inside track.
 * Clan Wisdom - All Halo 3 multiplayer maps with breakdowns and tips from some of the best clan players out there.
 * Rise Through the Ranks - Detailed info on every Achievement from Halo ODST and Halo 3. More than a list, instructions and tips for every one.

Trivia

 * The tagline for the game is Prepare to Drop referencing the method of Orbital Drop used by the ODST's for quick insertion into operations.


 * A teaser trailer for Halo 3: ODST was Keep It Clean released on September 25th, 2008 at 07:07:07 am PST, which coincided with the one year anniversary of Halo 3. The trailer was viewed through the many security cameras around New Mombasa. The time is an obvious reference to seven.


 * After the lone HEV pod drops and the Superintendent is scanning it the screen goes black and the words *SEARCH TERMINATED! ONI.SEC.PCTL.1A appears. This indicates that the organization ONI who have done a lot of behind the scenes work in the Halo series terminated the Superintendent search.


 * Martin O'Donnell has been confirmed to be composing the score for this game. Bungie also released the track played in the trailer named "Prepare to Drop" its track length is 1:17, a reference to John-117. The track is available here.


 * It has been stated by Bungie that there will be a way to unlock the Recon Armor Permutation in Halo 3: ODST. This method will require you to unlock the current Vidmaster Challenges., and three more Vidmaster Challenges only available through purchasing ODST.


 * On November 25th, 2008, Bungie LLC. renamed the in-development Halo 3: Recon to Halo 3: ODST. The reasons to why the upcoming expansion was renamed is due to the player playing the character of an ODST in the game, and to focus attention off of the fact that players will be able to receive MJOLNIR Mark VI Reconnaissance Armor.


 * Though the game takes place during the events of Halo 2 (First Battle of Earth and Battle of Installation 05); all of the character, weapon, and vehicle models were taken from Halo 3, creating an inconsistency within the canon, unless regarded as a Retroactive Continuity.


 * During an interview at Gencon 2008 in Brisbane, Australia; Alan Tudyk commented on a so called Halo 3 Supplemental, in which himself and fellow Firefly actors Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin would lend their voices to the game. All three of the actors played the role of Marines in Halo 3. Assuming that this supplemental is Halo 3: ODST, Tudyk and Baldwin will likely voice members of the squad in the game. The E3 2009 Gameplay Trailer confirmed Fillion, Baldwin, and Tudyk's roles as Buck, Dutch, and Mickey, respectively.


 * To accompany the launch of the Xbox 360's new Avatar Marketplace, Xbox LIVE members will be able to purchase a special clothing set featuring the ODST's Battle Armor.


 * McFarlane Toys will release a 6-inch figurine replica of The Rookie as a part of their "Medal Edition" line of Series 6, due out in October 2009  . Included in the package is the M7S/Casless Submachine Gun and exclusive Medals.


 * Based on released gameplay footage, it appears that Bungie has taken some action as to fix the 'tunnel vision' issue that many players were bothered with in Halo 3.

Videos
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Internal Links

 * Halo 3
 * Halo: Helljumper
 * Keep It Clean (Trailer)
 * Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
 * Mombasa, Kenya