Halo 3: ODST

[bkfount]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

Not sure how they would determine who to ban. It can't be just because you play it early.. how many people on here have played games before they are released?

From what I've seen, the copy of the game that's been going around was actually authored back in April or May. Which means either it's a really early copy or it went gold back then.

MS can't tell properly pirated games from real disks. The copy people are currently playing is a modified/altered iso, and quite detectable. That's how they know the legit 100 copies from the thousands of others.

[Flawless]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

This is awesome.

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[sportsdude]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

This is awesome.

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FGyh1_7lv-4&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FGyh1_7lv-4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

wow that's a pretty awesome ad for the game.

[spankdatazz22]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

Wow - nicely done. Didn't have much interest in the game, but now... interest rising

[Candyman5]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

Nice trailer, Why in the hell will no one fund a movie.....

[Flawless]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

PAX 2009: Halo 3 ODST's Secret Story

Remember the I love bees alternate reality game that surfaced as a marketing push for Halo 2? The company that made it, 42 Entertainment, spawned a splinter company called Fourth Wall Studios. And Bungie has been working with Fourth Wall on an entire sub-story that's buried within Halo 3: ODST. It's called Sadie's Story, and it follows the life of New Mombasa resident named Sadie during the final hours before everything goes to hell in the city during the events of Halo 2 (and subsequently ODST).

Staten showed a few fleeting images of Sadie's Story, which he co-wrote with Fourth Wall, in collaboration with renowned comic artist Ashley Wood. We saw concept art of Sadie on a commuter train, then an image that looked like a flash of violent red and black with multiple figures in silhouette... and then it was gone. Just a glimpse of what's to come.

Bungie didn't elaborate on how Sadie's Story will be presented in Halo 3: ODST, but we do know that adding it to the game doubled the amount of voice acting work the studio did for the overall project. And the story won't be told in a traditional action-and-cutscene format, but rather will be revealed in snippets as your character, the rookie, makes his way through the world, gathering clues about what went down in the city. Bungie says Sadie's Story ties in with the main ODST storyline and, consequently, the overall Halo meta-storyline.

Gamespot

The process was aided along, however, when Staten made the decision to bring a gritty, film noir aesthetic to the game. The decision allowed Bungie to deviate significantly from the often colorful environs that have defined previous Halo games, giving them the chance to introduce high-contrast colors as well cinematic lighting.

The film noir theme extends well beyond art, with Staten noting that the genre's hardboiled detective was the inspiration for the character players will control. It was important, he said, to make the character dark and mysterious, showing concept art of a lone soldier walking through a dank alley in the rain on a dreary night.

Film noir also heavily influenced the game's sound. Before playing a sample tune, composer Marty O'Donnell noted that Halo 3: ODST will feature sound that markedly contrasts with previous installments in the series. He then cued up a somber tune that featured melancholy string instruments and a wayward piano that stirred up sentiments of the old black-and-white detective films.

O'Donnell also inadvertently revealed that Halo 3: ODST will feature about 8 to 10 hours of gameplay--which Staten quickly asked everyone in attendance not to repeat--for which he composed about three hours of music.

[Miles_Yuhas]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

I couldn't help but sneak a little peak at the leak footage guys. It looks great. I cannot wait until the 22nd.

[Flawless]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

Some Firefight impressions

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...postcount=5885
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...postcount=5898

And that's not based on one quick run at PAX. I wasn't going to say anything about it, but since KP up and posted a story on it, I spent four hours playing last night at Bungie. Here's KP's post about it (he was there, obviously). That's actually me in the middle of the first pic ("Intensity" is right). Needless to say, thanks to the Bungie guys for a hell of a good time.

Firefight is really, really, really ****ing good. The pistol is the perfect headshot weapon, and more satisfying to use than the BR because it requires a higher degree of accuracy. When you mow down a row of Grunts with it, it feels good. But you'll need something to take down shielded enemies, because it takes a full clip + to take one down at the higher difficulties. The SMG is a great go-to mid range weapon, but I found myself using everything. The Needler is gold in Firefight.

I'm not sure how much has been posted about the Hunters - I'm still catching up on stuff, as I've had only 10 minutes of time online since I got to Seattle - but they're a cross between Halo 1 and Halo 3, with the fuel rod gun from Halo 1 instead of the 2/3 variant. They are terrifying.

I think so, but honestly it was hard to get a good look - they never come out solo, so there's a lot to worry about when they come charging in. I'm pretty sure it does the long charge up, but they don't stand still while it's charging - they continue to charge you (and adjust their aim) as it charges. Can't dodge it as easy as the Halo 1 variants.

The Chieftain rounds are utterly brutal (no pun intended). Pretty sure they drop 4-6 Chieftains at a time, in addition to about 15-20 other Covenant, off at the same time. And since ODSTs move slightly slower than Spartans, you can't outrun the Hammer Chieftains. The only thing you can do is try to get objects between you and them or thrown enough at them to slow'em down.

I had a crazy encounter with one on a nighttime map (Crater Night, I think). He's thrown on invincibility and charged me, and I was backpedaling like crazy throwing whatever I had at him. He didn't flinch. As he got close it ran out, and I tossed a plasma grenade at him and he dodged it, giving me a few extra moments. I ran up a set of stairs that doubled back and looked down on the first flight. He charged up them and I fired on him from above. He turned around and did one of those massive leaps straight up, with the hammer held overhead, leaping right up to my level and pancaked me on the spot.

Which reminds me of another thing I haven't seen mentioned enough: just how aggressive the AI is. This does *not* feel like fighting Halo 3 AI, which tended to stay in their dedicated areas. These are much more aggressive, and actively go hunting for you. There's apparently some modified AI at work, so if you're hiding the enemy goes into a search mode, scrubbing every inch of the map until you're found. This includes the "safe" spawning room. I was hiding in a spawn room once, which has several ways in and few nooks and crannies. A Jackal charged through the door and stopped, looking around. He then went to the closest room - I was in the one accross from it - and stopped at the entrance. He actually did a check of the room, looking both ways, then turned around and searched my room (eating some plasma upon entering (I was down to a plasma pistol)).

Another time I tried to use the smaller rooms as a choke point to narrow the stream of enemies down. That didn't end well for me. Not only were there too many, but they don't enter a room like they do in the rest of the series. They poured in and fanned out, much faster than I could take them down. It wasn't the one at a time headshot parade I was expecting - I got crushed.

In general there's just a heightened sense of vulnerability. There's no safe places, the enemy constantly advancing, and they're just more dangerous than in Halo 3. Spotting one or two Brutes does not mean you can just take them down - you have to stop and check to make sure you have the right weapons and enough cover to fall back to. Even one of them is dangerous, and there's often 10 or more (and other guys in the mix) roaming the level. And aside from when they pile out of the Phantoms, they never really cluster up - they fan out to spread the entire map. This is especially dangerous with the Buggers, who spread out to attack from all directions rather than stay in one pack like in Halo 3.

Hope that's enough rambling for now. Gonna head home and maybe formulate some more coherent thoughts along the way.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

Never really been a big fan of Halo, but one definitely has caught my attention from what I've read and see and I might go and give this one a shot.

[Pete1210]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

I'm having trouble finding any info on the co-op campaign (not firefight). I was wondering how many players?

[Flawless]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

I'm having trouble finding any info on the co-op campaign (not firefight). I was wondering how many players?

4 players online and 2 player splitscreen.

[Bornindamecca]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

Hey guys, if I don't have Halo 3, this allows me to play with other people who do have Halo 3? I apologize for my ignorance. There's so much written about this game it's hard to find little facts sometimes.

[jaosming]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

Hey guys, if I don't have Halo 3, this allows me to play with other people who do have Halo 3? I apologize for my ignorance. There's so much written about this game it's hard to find little facts sometimes.

yep, that Multiplayer disk is just Halo 3 without the campaign.

[Infamous92]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

yep, that Multiplayer disk is just Halo 3 without the campaign.

So if I buy ODST and my friend is playing the original Halo 3 online, I can still play with him?

Also, how does achievements work? Does playing ODST online register Halo 3 online achievements or does ODST have its own online achievements?

[Flawless]

Re: Halo 3: ODST

So if I buy ODST and my friend is playing the original Halo 3 online, I can still play with him?

Also, how does achievements work? Does playing ODST online register Halo 3 online achievements or does ODST have its own online achievements?

Yes. Some playlists you won't be able to, because they will require the mythic maps, which for the forseeable future will only come with Halo 3: ODST. And each disc has their own achievements.