Bungie Lead Producer, Halo ODST requires tactics to play

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 05 August 2009 10:13

Opinion and Analysis

So is it more of a stealth approach to game-play then?

“It is definitely – I would say – more tactical, “ Says Creamer wary of describing ODST as a ‘stealth ‘ game.

“So you need to pick your fights more carefully, especially at night when you are by yourself as the Rookie.  The big differences between night time and the flash-back scenes is that those flash-backs are during the day, so there will be other marines with you, and maybe one of your other squad mates, but those are meant to be high action Halo game-play moments and then at night there is more exploration.  You are still going to run into Covenant on patrol, around the city, but it is definitely a lot more about exploration, there are a lot of cool things you can discover in the city as well as figuring out what happened to your squad mates.”



Creamer then demonstrated one of the new play modes, Firefight.

This multiplayer co-op mode is designed to be less intimidating to those not comfortable with online play normally.

Up to four buddies can go up against wave upon wave of Covenant, importantly sharing lives out of a squad life pool.  Team work is key here, as is the ability to adapt, Halo 3’s Skull system makes an appearance with Skull effects dropping into the game randomly.

So one minute things will be normal, the next grenade spamming or melee only combat will be the order of business.  Tactics, team-work and adaptability will be required.

The HUD is somewhat busy in this game mode, a shift from where FPS games have been heading over recent years.  There are indicators, icons, a significant compass and more on display during game play.

Medals can be earned, and by the looks of the demo, much fun can be had in New Mombassa, the single city wide location of Halo ODST.