September 22nd, that’s the day that all gamers’ calendars have marked with a large “x”. It is the day when Bungie’s last Halo production, Halo 3: ODST, will be released throughout North America. A study done last April found that this latest edition into the Halo series, ODST, is the most anticipated game for the Xbox 360. This is definitely no surprise as it will be the last game by the franchise who originally thought of the Halo universe. You do not need to own Halo 3 to play this game.

As Halo lore is vital in this game, here is a little background information that delves into the history of the Halo universe. Halo is created by a company named Bungie, but is owned and published by the famous Microsoft Game Studies. Halo began its successful career back in 2001; November 15th to be exact. Halo was originally designed for only one platform, but when people demanded they expand it to the PC and to novels, Microsoft and Bungie were happy to oblige. In the three original Halo games, gameplay centers on a super-soldier, commonly known as Master Chief, John, or Spartan 117, and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is known as Cortana.

As this game is based in the future, there would be no story unless it included a full-scale war between humanity and an advanced alien alliance. In the Halo series, the alien alliance is known as the Covenant. It consists of many fictional races. Some examples are, Brutes, who resemble a mix between a rhinoceros and a gorilla, and the Elites, who end up leaving the alliance and instead ally themselves with humanity. This war was triggered by the Covenant political figures known as the – High Prophets – declared humanity as an affront to their gods.

The storyline arc, set for the trilogy begins in 2552 (Same date features in Halo 3: ODST). Master Chief, who is believed to be the last remaining Spartan alive, was on the planet Reach when it was attacked by the Covenant. He manages to escape on a ship called The Pillar of Autumn. To prevent the Covenant from tracking them to Earth, Cortana advises them to drop out of slip space. This is when they discover the ring called Halo. But, the Covenant followed them, and a battles ensues. Suring the battles, the two forces accidentally release, what we have all come to hate, the Flood. When Master Chief discovers that the Halo’s purpose was to starve the Flood by destroying all sentient life, and manages to destroy the Halo before it is activated.

In Halo 2, the Covenant try to attack Earth and fail. Badly beaten by the humans, the High Prophet retreats, followed by Master Chief. Master Chief, kills the High Prophet, and the replacement swaps the Elites as the preferred soldiers of the Covenant with Brutues. Realising the Covenants betrayal, the Elites, led by Arbiter, ally themselves with the Humans, and together, deactivate yet another Halo. This puts all the other remaining Halos on standby, where they can be activated at a location called “The Ark”.

When they activate one of the rings under construction to destroy the flood that threatens to destroy humanity, it explodes and damages the Arc. Arbiter is still able to excape back to Earth, but Master Chief and Cortana are left drifting in space, helpless.

Although Bungie took a break from First Person Shooters (FPS) to create an Real Time Strategy (RTS) game called Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST returns the series to FPS. This game will have no familiar names or characters from recent Halo productions unless you pre-order the game. If you have the game pre-ordered, you will be able to bring Sgt Johnson into the firefight. You will be known as an “Orbital Drop Shock Trooper” or in other words, a special military unit. ODST’s were featured in Halo Wars and were the strongest ground units you could acquire.

The storyline is set in 2552 in the city of New Mombasa; currently controlled by the Covenant. You are an as an ODST Rookie, your orders: stay alive, meet up with your scattered squad, and escape the embattled city. This game will not be like previous Halos. Rather than being a near-indestructible Spartan, which gamers playing Halo have become accustomed to, you are now just a regular human. With no health regeneration, you must rely on health packs placed throughout the game. Adaptation is an element that will allow you to excel at this game. Rather than walk right into battle shooting blindly, you must use a combination of technology and stealth to eliminate the Covenant quickly and quietly. You will be armed with upgraded technology that will aid in your mission. Silenced weapons will be introduced, and will increase your chances of staying hidden after a kill. As well as silenced weaponry, you will equipped with an enhanced vision mode called VISR.

Some of the features that will be brought over from Halo3 to Halo 3: ODST are Forge, Theatre, and great screenshots. The forge is a custom map editor where players may add there own unique touch to a map, and then play that map with friends, or by themselves. Some very creative people have been able to create racetracks for mongooses, and even warthogs! In the Theatre, you may save videos of games you play online, or games you play on Custom Maps. You may also cut videos to the length you want them to be. Screenshots are able to be taken in the Theatre feature and, can be named and described.

The campaign has an unusual mode of relaying information to the player. As he find clues about his missing squad members, he will be informed of their whereabouts, and how he got in this predicament, through a series of flashbacks.

Most likely the most anticipated feature of this game is called “Firefight.” Firefight, being very similar to Unreal Tournaments’ “Invasion” and Gears of War 2’s “Horde”, has never been included in any other Halo game to date. In this feature, you and some friends (or by yourself) can fight against ranks of invading Covenant troops. Once you destroy one wave, the next one will come, and will increase in difficulty. Multiple locations will be available to choose from(DLC will probably become available for more maps too). Their advanced scoring system will keep track of every single aspect of the battle. Once you’re down, you can compare your stats to others using Bungie.net’s online stats. As a bonus, to all the Halo 3 gamers who have rigorously searched high and low – or just checked online for the lazy people – for all the skulls hidden throughout the campaign, you will be able to use them on FireFight.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                        This disc includes three brand new maps: Citadel, Heretic and Longshore and all the maps from Halo 3. That includes the Heroic, Legendary, Cold Storage, and Mythic map packs.

Citadel – Is a map designed after the forerunner facilities that are shown in the Halo 3 single player campaign. It is slightly reminiscent of Halo: Combat Evolved’s map, Hang ‘Em High.

Heretic – Is a remake of the Halo 2 popular map, Midship. Bungie has decided that the request for a remake of this map, had enough support to act on. Questions on whether it will be an exact replica, or more along the lines of how they remodelled Lockout into Blackout, will have to wait for the unveiling of the game to be answered.

Longshore – Set on the outskirts of New Mombasa, Longshore is made specifically for large team slayer or objective matches. Based upon advertising featuring fish throughout the level, we can assume it is the remains of some seafood packing warehouse.

For the first time, Recon Armour will now be available for use to all players who complete the “Road to Recon” challenge. Don’t think it’ll be a walk in the park though, as this challenge spans both Halo 3’s single and multiplayer modes and Halo 3: ODST. Recon Armour has been a dream for Halo gamers ever since it was released; and an object of jealousy for people who do not have it. Every single feature that is in Halo 3 will be included into Halo3: ODST, and more! It will include 4 player co-op, a brand new campaign, and a total of 1750 gamerscore. Enough to please any type of gamer.

Bungie has completely revolutionized stat tracking with its expansive integration. Its capabilities include tracking every last one of your kills and deaths, medals, post-game carnage and has massive leader boards to see how you stack up against the rest of the Halo 3: ODST community.

Some recognizable enemies will be returning for this game consisting of grunts, drones, jackals, hunters and brutes. This game will be a memorable one, we know that much, but I believe Bungie will have something up their sleeves that will add a whole new level of excitement to this game. As the release date nears, I am sure you as well as I, will slowly lose  more and more sleep over our thoughts of this game.