No one was surprised when Bungie’s ‘Keep It Clean’ viral campaign ended up introducing a new entry into the Halo universe, but an extension to Halo 3? No one was expecting that, surely? But there we had it; Halo 3: Recon was born, and the world was left scratching its collective, Spartan-armoured head. And before the Halo community had a chance to welcome this new Halo brethren into the family, the name changed.

So what prompted the new acronym? Ryan Crosby, group project manager at Microsoft, is happy to explain: “We’ve changed the name because we feel that it is a more accurate reflection of the game experience,” he tells us. “The ODSTs play a pivotal role in the human-Covenant struggle, and we want to make sure that everyone understands that you play as a member of this elite unit. While Halo 3: ODST is an extension of Halo 3, playing as an ODST makes this experience quite different from others within the Halo universe.”

Indeed it does. The traditional Halo experience is, for all intents and purposes, a superhero game. You play as a giant among men, a cybernetic demigod who can essentially wipe out an entire alien species single-handedly. Halo 3: ODST, though, is about the little guy. Not that the ODST isn’t a force to be reckoned with, of course, as Joseph Staten, creative director and writer for the game at Bungie, tells us. “Around Bungie, we often say they’re the Marine Force Recon of 2552 or the Special Air Service of the 26th Century,” he enthusiastically explains.

“They’re basically humanity’s most capable soldiers, other than Spartans. After 25 years of war, ODSTs are one of the few forces that are still trained to go on offence against the Covenant, specifically by inserting themselves onto Covenant-occupied worlds, from orbit, in one-man drop-pods. Naturally, this takes some serious balls, which is why most ODSTs are interesting personalities, to say the least.”

So, we’re playing as an ODST, a far more vulnerable Halo hero than we’re used to. The days of leaping over Brutes, hurling grenades off walls, and clearing out rooms of Covenant in one whirlwind of death are over. This will be a more considered, tense affair. The story, as Staten explains, sits “right between Halo 2 and Halo 3, on Earth, in the city of New Mombasa”. You may remember visiting the African city as it was overrun by Covenant forces in Halo 2, but this will be very different.

“If you remember from Halo 2, New Mombasa, a futuristic megalopolis on the coast of East Africa, was the only place on Earth the Covenant landed. They were looking for something important, the Forerunner artefact we revealed in Halo 3. But because the Chief blew through the city so quickly, we never really told the story of what happened during the Covenant occupation. Halo 3: ODST does exactly that: lets the player explore the mysteries of a vital, war-torn city, from the POV of a group of brand new, hardboiled characters: our ODST squad.”

… continued