Gamers itching for more Halo will dig the newest addition, Halo 3: ODST. This subchapter to the epic franchise casts you as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (otherwise known as The Rookie) who must survive a Covenant onslaught in New Mombasa. Along the way, he finds clues that inform players on the fates of other troops, and they get to experience things from their perspectives. While that sounds like fun, Microsoft made even bigger news with the announcement of Firefight, a four-player online co-op mode that'll have everyone fragging into the wee hours.
In a way, Firefight bears some resemblance to Gears of War 2's Horde mode. In it, four players team up to outlast waves of Covenant troops. Since the game constantly mixes things up, you'll never be able to tell (in theory), what types of aliens come next, making for a unique experience.
With each match, the team shares seven lives (reach zero and it's game over). In addition, you'll be able to see not only your squad's combined score, but also yours, both of which reside on the top right corner of the screen. You'll also be able to toy with Halo 3's skulls to increase the game's difficulty or add special effects.
Health wise, your character has recharging shields similar to Master Chief's, except if you take damage while those shields are down, you won't regain that lost health. Keep that in mind while making a heroic last stand.
While slaughtering enemies, you can make use of a special visor (VISR Mode) by pressing X. This highlights enemies in red and helps avoid shooting your friends by accident (unless they had it coming, of course).
Overall, Firefight's a fun time. We tore up several rounds in Crater, a nighttime map set within what appears to be a courtyard of sorts. Covenant drop ships deposited enemies and we made short work of the ground forces, using both the pistol and the all new suppressed sub machine gun. The pistol, much like the one in the original Halo, is perfect for sniping, and we had no trouble zooming with R3 and then popping a few slimy aliens.
Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to play for long, but from what we experienced, Halo 3: ODST has the makings of a quality first person shooter. We'll see if it can survive without Master Chief September 22nd.
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