Redmond, WA - June 19, 2009 - Listen up rookies! “Halo 3: ODST” drops on September 22, but will you and your team have what it takes to survive the Covenant onslaught in the new cooperative multiplayer mode, Firefight? Firefight will put you to the test as you and your friends assume the role of an ODST squad and fight together to take on increasingly challenging waves of enemies. It’s where new “Halo” heroes will be born, and an opportunity to step into the boots of a legend. If you pre-order “Halo 3: ODST” at participating retailers, you will receive a token to unlock grizzled UNSC hero Sgt. Johnson as a playable character in Firefight.
Fan favorite and “Halo” series stalwart Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson is a tough-as-nails career Marine who has been in more life or death battles than you've had hot meals. He’s survived more infectious Flood outbreaks, greased more Covenant bad guys, and earned more medals than any other twenty soldiers. And now you get to walk a mile in his shoes.
New campaign: Developed exclusively for Xbox 360 by acclaimed developer Bungie, “Halo 3: ODST” is a new game in the “Halo” saga that lets people experience events leading up to the epic story told in “Halo 3” through the eyes of an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), as they search for clues leading to the whereabouts of their scattered squad and the motivations behind the Covenant’s invasion of New Mombasa.
New cooperative multiplayer experience: In addition to a brand new campaign, “Halo 3: ODST” introduces a new cooperative multiplayer mode called Firefight which allows “Halo” fans to experience co-operative gaming in a whole new way: they will be fighting as members of an ODST squad against waves of increasingly challenging enemies across a variety of battlefields. This experience is made even more intense with the integration of “Halo 3’s” “skulls,” which progressively activate as time goes on to alter the gameplay and up the challenge. Players will battle through wave after wave in search of high scores, Achievements and bragging rights.
The complete “Halo 3” competitive multiplayer collection: “Halo 3: ODST” also includes a second standalone disc with three new “Halo 3” multiplayer maps, all original “Halo 3” maps, as well as the “Legendary,” “Heroic,” and “Mythic” Map packs for a total of 24 maps.
Ensure your place in the “Halo: Reach” beta: Purchasing “Halo 3: ODST” will ensure “Halo” fans get access to the “Halo: Reach” multiplayer beta when the beta goes live in the future. Announced at E3 2009, “Halo: Reach” is the prequel to the blockbuster “Halo” trilogy and is scheduled for release in fall of 2010.
“Halo 3: ODST” is available for pre-order in both a standard package and a “Halo 3: ODST Collector’s Pack” which includes the game and an exclusive, laser etched Wireless Controller. The “Halo 3: ODST Collector’s Pack” is available for pre-order in the US exclusively at GameStop, and is available worldwide at other participating retailers. “Halo 3: ODST” will have a suggested retail price of $59.99 USD and the Collector’s Pack will have a suggested retail price of $99.99 USD. “Halo 3: ODST” is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB and PEGI 16+.
All information contained in this news post comes directly from a press release sent out by Microsoft Games
