PAX 09: HALO 3 ODST Firefight Extended Hands-On

Nothing says “Welcome to PAX 2009!” like a hands-on 20 minute exclusive with the soon to be legendary Halo 3: ODST.  We know you’ve all seen the action, you’ve decoded all the messages, and you know the story.  I thought I did too, until I played it; let me tell you, what you know means nothing.   

My first PAX experience started with grabbing a coffee with "bs angel" of HawtyMcBloggy.com and heading “feet first” onto the floor.  Right at the front of the center was the sexiest set-up of twelve 32” monitors all reading the same text: Halo 3: ODST.  I looked at my friend we both started to grin wildly like two kids at Christmas.  As we were approached by the exhibitor I began to take off my badge and empty my pockets to prepare myself for the “drop”.

Kindly, they told us about the game.  More specifically the “Firefight” multiplayer mode we would be playing.  I listened to most of what he had to say, but my eyes and mind were fixated on grabbing the nearest seat, headphones, and controller.  As he led us to the seats, we were joined by a fellow who oddly resembled Master Chief.   The headphones didn’t fit on his helmet, but he made the best of it.

At first glance, the game looks completely different from all other Halo titles.  The color scheme, the sounds, and the effects all looked dark, brown, and worn when compared to the Halo 3’s User Interface (UI).  It seemed out of place, but after a second of tinkering – setting my look sensitivity to my natural selection and fiddling with control and appearance options – it all became clear.  This was the Halo 3 UI.  Everything we liked from matchmaking was there in ODST, just changed to fit the game.

The timer counted down and we launched ourselves into our very first Firefight.  It was an urban map outside of the ONI Facility – mostly because the game takes place on Earth in New Mombasa – but something felt familiar about it.  As I began running towards the center of the board I found it smoother and quicker than Halo 3.  The HUD was a tan-ish color and all the visor interfaces reflected that color choice.  That’s when we read the text: “First wave!”  In came four Covenant Phantoms raining hell from their cannons and spewing grunts and jackles.  My trained teammate and I, with the help from the other two members of our squad, made short work of them.  What I found was that the weapons of Halo 3: ODST while different, played much the same.  I felt a great familiarity with an SMG in my hand and a pistol.  And boy does that pistol sing.  I headshotted at least twelve or thirteen of the enemies right off the bat.

The flow of the game felt amazing.  I never felt like I was going into a place I didn’t know how to get out of.  Maybe it’s from my years of experience with First Person Shooters, but I felt like after 2 minutes in the level, I knew my way around perfectly.  I’d like to think that it was my “expertise” with shooters, but when we launched the second “10 minute Firefight”, I still felt like I knew my way around.  The level designs were amazing.  The second level we played was an arena type level with two ramps leading down to a center courtyard and two adjoining ramps leading the other direction.  The Covenant came and we mopped them up.  I accumulated more points in the rounds because of my usage of the Sticky Grenades, stringing kills together, and other modifying additions to my play such as assists and melees. Those assists are much more important in this mode, as the focus is truly on teamwork

When it was all said and done, "angel" and I both sighed, looked at each other, and grinned again.  That was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a game of Halo yet.  Truth be told, that will most likely replace my Halo 3 Online Multiplayer career.  It was so much fun to squad battle tactically and intricately across the battle field with friends in a similar manner to the successful titles of Left4Dead and Gears of War 2’s Horde Mode.

So what is the big deal?  Why are all the Bungie guys so quick to say “This isn’t Horde Mode"?  Well, it is and it isn’t.  If you ask a Bungie employee, they’ll say that Halo 3 Campaign is a Horde Mode and that Firefight is something new.  Horde Mode is a centralized fighting arena where a group fights waves of enemies to achieve points, awards, and progress through the level.  Firefight is technically that, but so much more.  Halo 3: ODST’s Firefight takes the best ideas from Gears of War 2’s Horde, Left4Dead’s Survival Mode, and other similar gametypes and meshes them with more intense action scenes, strategy, and design than any game before it.

My final thought as I closed the door on the convention is how much ODST stuck with me.  This game will most likely replace my Halo 3 Matchmaking career and I couldn’t be happier for it!