[360] Halo 3: ODST

[Laa-Yosh]

It definatly is going to be shorter game than Halo 3, probably around two hours shorter at minimum from what I saw, granted he was playing on easy mode which is a cake-walk in terms of difficulty.

This guy's gameplay is an epic fail... First he gets completely lost. Then later on he frontally assaults everyone and everything, even multiple Wraith tanks and plasma cannons... then he fails to notice that he could nick a Wraith or two for himself...

Eh, if all those Halo bashers you see on the net play the game like this then I've just had it all explained to me.

Also, you could at least double the gameplay length, and there's about 23-24 9-minute parts including cinematics, so it's more like an 8-10 hour game IMHO.

Overall I thought the production values where superior to Halo, and it just looked like a much more cohesive single-player experiance.

The nighttime city streets with all the smoke and neon lights look simply amazing. I think I'll have to buy this pretty soon, ironicaly these leaks are what convinced me

Although I don't really get the difference between playing as an ODST and as Master Chief, both can jump pretty big, kick Brutes in the face and so on. Although I have to admit that the Hunters are really big and scary from this perspective.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

It's an easy setting though, and Halo plays completely differently between Easy and Heroic. So realistically ODST is a 6-7 hour game.

Yeah, just about every 10-minute segment includes at least one battle you just couldn't survive the way this guy fights them...

 

[Tap In]

that lighting is scrumptious

 

[Asher]

It might just be the lower resolution (less aliasing), but I watched part of the YouTubes in HD and it looks absolutely amazing. The lighting floors me.

Did the update the engine at all for this?

 

[aselto]

Yeah, just about every 10-minute segment includes at least one battle you just couldn't survive the way this guy fights them...

Well, I guess Easy/normal in Halo series are about enjoying the thrill of head-on assaults on defenseless enemies. So no surprise here. Heroic/Legendary are about more careful and tactical approach to the battles. The games are designed around the latter modes and I honestly don't know why would someone not start on Heroic unless he's very inexperienced with video games.

It might just be the lower resolution (less aliasing), but I watched part of the YouTubes in HD and it looks absolutely amazing. The lighting floors me.

Did the update the engine at all for this?

I don't think so, some Halo 3 levels looked astounding already (levels 4-6 looked the best IMO), they probably chose colour schemes etc. that would the best fit the engine, its advantages and weaknesses. Although, the bridge mission they showed at E3 looked quite bad. :/

 

[Malibu]

CVG Preview

Four flashbacks and a lot of night-time wandering takes close to three hours to plough through on Heroic - the 'right' setting by Bungie's reckoning. It puts the game on track for a seven or eight hour campaign, all of which can be modified with Halo 3's skulls right from the start if regular Halo isn't vicious enough for you. It's neither an expansion nor a mission pack; ODST is a huge game. "It's big," says Curtis. "This is a full-size campaign; certainly nothing less than what we've done in the past."

When the game is over, it's really only just beginning; on your second run every door is unlocked and the entire city is wide open. Each flashback can be selected and played in isolation, or tackled as part of the open world in any order you please. The city becomes a true sandbox with secret terminals to find and extra missions to tackle, and even some Mongooses to ride and new characters to unlock for the ten Firefight maps.

Halo 3: ODST really is everything Bungie initially claimed that it wouldn't be. It's part Halo, part Far Cry 2, part Ghost Recon; over twice the size of the game they initially announced at TGS 2009, and stealthy right up to the point you actually pull the trigger. Bungie's Halo expansion has become the most ambitious and creative Halo title since Combat Evolved - always unique and original in the big city, always intense and exciting in the flashbacks, and always the very best of two very different worlds.

 

[RenegadeRocks]

previews are always overly positive !

I do like the way this game has shaped up though. If they would release this stuff on PC, I would buy it just to check out what is actually in the game, and to play it at high resolution with AA ! The colour palette, which was my gripe all along seems to be getting addressed now.

 

[Scott_Arm]

How is a 7 or 8 hour campaign a huge game? Are the extra missions and unlocked doors counted in those hours? How much extra playtime do those unlocks get you?

I really would have expected something in the range of 15 hours, at least.

 

[silhouette]

Looks better than the original Halo 3...

 

[Acert93]

How is a 7 or 8 hour campaign a huge game? Are the extra missions and unlocked doors counted in those hours? How much extra playtime do those unlocks get you?

I really would have expected something in the range of 15 hours, at least.

From a number of sources I know who have played ODST (not pirated) 4 player coop SP is about 3 hours and experiences shooter players can beat SP Campaign in 4-6 hours on Heroic, 4hours for normal. Of the 24 MP maps 21 are from Halo 3/DLC. There are something like 11 or so unique Fire Fight settings with a fair number of modifiers and of course campaign has 4 player coop and Legendary difficulty for the big coop fans. FireFight and 4 player Coop Campaign look unique enough for cooperative MP fans as this is still an underappreciated area in gaming, especially shooters. Tough sell for us competitive MP folks though who own Halo 3 ... 3 maps

Context will be everything. There are, sadly, a lot of "6 hour" games on the market for SP ... many without MP altogether and most with MP not worthy of booting up. For non-Halo 3 owners or those who skipped the DLC but really enjoy MP or Coop but were too cheap to pay for overpriced DLC where only 2 our of 3 maps were ever any good per each DLC anyhow (AlStrong!) it looks like a nice package, ditto non-Halo 3 owners who want a great FPS title (AI and gun balance/design are top notch in Halo 3). For Halo 3 owners with all the DLC this looks like a horrible product ... which is like 10M+ people who own Halo 3.

Still wondering why there wasn't a new "ODST" MP mode where everyone played with ODST skill sets and some new team-based gametypes ... nor brainer. And at $60 still no custom game browser is laaaame. No excuse for this.

 

[BadTB25]

I wouldn't rule out ODST-based MP.
Bungie did say the "hooks" are in place, although nothing is planned.

 

[AlNom]

From a number of sources I know who have played ODST (not pirated) 4 player coop SP is about 3 hours and experiences shooter players can beat SP Campaign in 4-6 hours on Heroic, 4hours for normal.

We really ought to do more legendary runs with 4 ppl and skulls.

For non-Halo 3 owners or those who skipped the DLC but really enjoy MP or Coop but were too cheap to pay for overpriced DLC where only 2 our of 3 maps were ever any good per each DLC anyhow (AlStrong!) it looks like a nice package

We need to do some more epic 10 player sessions again!!! I hear you though on the MP issue... it'd have been nice if they well... just made a ton of remakes from Halo 2 and Halo: CE for this product in particular instead of just 3 new maps.

They can harp all day about the balance differences with dual wielding and equipment, but dur... that's what Forge is if people want those sorts of new things in the maps. There's nothing saying they have to use those per se... :/

I dunno... I have to say I'm getting the game more for the ODST experience. As you know, I do spend a lot of time just looking around the map (even during MP matches *cough*). I am certainly looking forward to what their artists have come up with.

Still wondering why there wasn't a new "ODST" MP mode where everyone played with ODST skill sets and some new team-based gametypes ... nor brainer. And at $60 still no custom game browser is laaaame. No excuse for this.

Oh definitely... an objective based set of maps would have been neat besides the 4player co-op, although they probably see the campaign as serving that exact need. IMHO, they could have done some neat things with ODST vs Covenant MP (4v4+) and objectives ala... UT Assault.

Did the update the engine at all for this?

As far as I know, there were very minimal changes to the underlying engine and settings. The artists just went nuts with creating the game.

Although, the bridge mission they showed at E3 looked quite bad. :/

It's certainly showing its age with limited shadow draw distance and high contrast edge aliasing.

 

[Acert93]

The bridge looks like an Xbox game. The lack of AF washes out texture detail (I have seen more detailed Xbox games!) especially with the large, low poly, flat structures. No-AA sub-HD really shows off the nasty edges on the long straight low poly edges of the bridge. The colors are boring and the lighting/shadowing looks about as flat as it comes.

The last level of Halo 3 had the same problem. Look Bungie, if you want BIG flat structures with looooong straight edges AA and AF are musts. Halo 3 has some of the best texturework I have seen this gen on the ground at times but their engine and art teams appear to be on different planets at times. Maybe Reach will fix this.

 

[AlNom]

lies lies liesl lies liesl lies heretic heretic heretic heretic heretic heretic heretic



Really wish we had some devs from Bungie on the forum here, all considering..

 

[Acert93]

Watch your mouth infidel, lest you taste my plasma sword

Bungie would probably better off stay away from here. #1 reason is people cannot even begin to grasp engine != renderer. Look, I have been pretty critical of elements of Halo 3 but there is no denying the game is well designed, balanced, and very feature rich. And the users really use and engage the features given meaning Bungie invested in features people utilize. There is more than one way to push performance and resources and Bungie doesn't really mesh with the mold people expect at B3D.

Although they still owe me a customer game browser ... I whine because I care Bungie. Just don't make me come down 405 to tell you in person

 

[AzBat]

How And Why Halo 3: ODST Was Made In 14 Months

Is your Peter Jackson Halo project not coming together on schedule? Got a year to make something else Halo-ish? Then construct a creative plan B, spelled ODST.

During my visit to Bungie last week I got a chance to learn more about the origins of Halo 3: ODST a game that has all the makings of an enjoyable Halo experience but whose existence never made a lot of sense to me.

Why would Bungie, after concluding the construction of an epic Halo trilogy and establishing its independence from former owner Microsoft, make a spin-off that overlaps with part of the established saga?

The June announcement of Halo Reach, a new, full-sized 2010 Bungie Halo game left me even more confused about the origins and intent behind ODST.

My confusion was relieved in all of eight minutes as the game's creative director explained to me how the game came about, who the star of it could have been and what movie director Peter Jackson's shelved Halo game/project, Halo Chronicles, had to do with it.

Check out the full article for the full explanation. Interesting to say the least.

http://kotaku.com/5354944/how-and-why-halo-3-odst-was-made-in-14-months

Tommy McClain

 

[Rangers]

How And Why Halo 3: ODST Was Made In 14 Months



Check out the full article for the full explanation. Interesting to say the least.

http://kotaku.com/5354944/how-and-why-halo-3-odst-was-made-in-14-months

Tommy McClain

Very interesting stuff..so ODST was an even less resource intensive project than I thought..IIRC some people tried to argue with me when I said it was basically a 1.5 year game, turns out it was actually even less, closer to a year.

I cant say I'm thrilled with the way MS is watering down the Halo name imo, but OTOH, I now think ODST is going to do quite stellar sales. I even am beginning to suspect it's going to sell more, at least initially, than Halo 3. It does have a larger install base of hardware, and I've realized the 9/22 release date was a stroke of genius..it is literally the first big fall game of the season, after a long summer doldrums, and will be served well by this spot imo, as well as by avoiding the other fall big hitters. It has the spotlight to itself, and the focus of millions of gamers coming off the slow summer, itching to buy something.

 

[egoless]

Delete

 

[Saleen73]

We really ought to do more legendary runs with 4 ppl and skulls.


We need to do some more epic 10 player sessions again!!!

OMG you can so count me in for that I’ve stopped playing Halo for a couple months because I was forgetting I have other games to play and Halo will do that to me.

You can add me to your friends list if you want I have 2 accounts I use.
SALEEN 73 and xGU3SSWHOX.

I mostly have been using the Guesswho account since I was playing Halo on XBL with my wife. :smile: Good times lol

 

[aselto]

For Halo 3 owners with all the DLC this looks like a horrible product ... which is like 10M+ people who own Halo 3.

I'm pretty sure 1-2M bought all the map packs, the rest has access to 15 maps as of now. Nine new maps is still not enough for a new release, but then again the game is not full priced in Europe, it seems that you Americans are ripped off this time.