Halo 3 ODST: Bungie's Joseph Staten talks Halo 3 expansion
Halo 3: ODST is due out this fall. To celebrate, Bungie's Joseph Statin talks about new villains, new weapons, and new possibilities for this standalone Halo 3 expansion.
![[IMG]](http://cdn1.gamepro.com/article_img/gamepro/208610-1.jpg?rand=F046C381-D34D-3784-784A6BE55246CFFB) Bungie's Halo 3 expansion comes out this fall, and won't require that you own Halo 3.
Formerly called "Halo 3: Recon," Halo 3: ODST will introduce a new character (The Rookie), a new story-driven campaign, and oodles of new high-tech gear. GamePro's Sid Shuman reached out to the writer and creative director of Halo 3: ODST, Joseph Staten, for an inside look into one of 2009's most anticipated games.
Halo 3: ODST is the first Halo game to not feature a playable Master Chief. Will The Rookie ever bump into the Chief? Or see evidence of his handiwork?
No, you won't ever meet the Chief. Basically, Halo 3: ODST happens while the Chief is away from Earth -- after he leaves for the "Delta Halo" in Halo 2 and before he crashes into the jungle at the start of Halo 3. ODST doesn't cover all the Chief's absence. But it does fill a very interesting part of that gap.
Is there a villain in this new storyline?
Yes, but like the Chief, the Rookie never meets him. Put that in your speculation pipe and smoke it, Halo fans!
How does the Rookie's silenced SMG work from a gameplay perspective? Is there a stealth mechanic in Halo 3: ODST?
The silenced SMG is just one of the tweaks to the Halo 3 sandbox that make ODST a stealthier experience -- one that, at least in the open environment of nighttime New Mombasa, rewards a more measured approach to combat. As a non-Spartan, you'll need to be careful about the fights you pick, especially when you're on your own. Luckily the silenced SMG excels at dropping unwary, unshielded enemies.
Are you planning to include any other new weapons, or modifications to existing weapons?
Because ODST leverages the Halo 3 sandbox, there will be a lot of returning weapon favorites. But given the game's position on the Halo timeline, we're also bringing back...Well, on second thought, I'd ruin a lot of the game's fun if I got too specific. So let me just say that we're absolutely expanding the sandbox in critical areas.
Compared to their appearances in Halo 3, the Brutes in Halo 3: ODST look more vicious and evil. Have they received any new behaviors or combat tactics?
Paul Bertone, ODST's design director, has conceived a new "cover first" tactic for the Brutes that makes them even more interesting to fight. And when I say "interesting" I mean downright nasty. Brutes in ODST are much more interested in self-preservation than they were in Halo 3 which makes for terrific, multi-layered encounters. They'll lure you into traps, gang up on you - generally make you wish you'd hit them in the flanks instead of hard-charging, Spartan-style.
How does the Rookie's high-tech visor work? And what are those pretty colors and highlights we saw in the teaser trailer?
We're still tweaking the visuals, but it's basically a low-light vision enhancement and target acquisition mode. It's most basic function is to highlight enemies in red and allies in green, but it's also extremely helpful for navigation. Objects of interest -- the "clues" that advance the story -- also get special vision-mode treatment.
The open-world element in Halo 3: ODST is an interesting addition. Will players be able to choose which of the four beacons they explore first? Can you explore them in any order you like?
Again, I don't want to ruin any surprises, but I can clarify a misstatement in [a recent Game Informer] article. There are actually more than four beacons, and once you find the first one you're pretty much free to roam the dark, Covenant-patrolled streets of New Mombasa however you like - free to find the remaining clue beacons in any order you choose.
When playing Halo 3: ODST, how does the feel of the game differ from playing as a supersoldier such as Master Chief?
A lot more tactical, which is to say you need to think before you engage -- decide how you want to take apart an encounter before diving in or you'll get into trouble pretty quick, especially on higher difficulty levels. Unlike a Spartan, an ODST doesn't have shields. You're a little slower too, so if you get hit you can't just run sprint to safety. The golden rule of ODST combat is "look before you leap."
Will Halo 3: ODST include any new multiplayer maps or online features? And will the multiplayer game feature the traditional Spartans, or playable ODST characters?
Halo 3: ODST will include a variety of new multiplayer maps that apply to Halo 3. Some of these maps are actually part of the Mythic Map Pack that will initially be released on Xbox LIVE Marketplace early next year. This multiplayer content is "Halo 3" in nature, meaning you will not be playing Slayer, CTF or other traditional favorites as anything other than a Spartan or Elite.
In addition, the core ODST campaign can still be experienced cooperatively with up to four players, including saved films, screenshots, campaign scoring and all the great functionality Halo fans have come to enjoy. Beyond that, we're keeping mum on any other multiplayer components of Halo 3: ODST.
There are still plenty of active Halo 3 players on Xbox Live. Will Halo 3: ODST offer any special treats for those players?
The special treat we've announced thus far is the opportunity to complete the "Vidmaster" achievements -- a series of tasks that span Halo 3, the Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack, Mythic Map Pack and the Halo 3: ODST retail package. Upon completing the entire chain, players will finally have the ability to unlock the "Recon" armor for use in Halo 3 multiplayer.
|
