OXCGN – XBox News Reviews and Views

OXCGN finds a fully functional real-life Warthog !

by GrathiusXR:

©2009 Arthur Kotsopoulos

Halo 3: ODST is releasing in just over a month and for the Halo fans the countdown has already begun. Everyone is gearing up for yet another stunning installment of the great Halo franchise.

Bungie, along with Microsoft Australia, held a special V.I.P Halo 3: ODST event on the evening of Thursday 6th of August at Sydney’s Cockatoo Island for fellow Xbox Community Site members and lucky winners of various competitions held throughout the prior week and as always, OXCGN was there to dig through the rubble and report back.

All in all over 100 gamers and site members got their first official glimpse at not only the game, but the only real life Halo Warthog on earth, built by Weta Studios in New Zealand. Everyone was eager to see it in the flesh, touch it, hear it running, and whack their backsides in it – which we all did of course.

Not only was there the chance to see the one-of-a-kind and fully functional Halo Warthog in all it’s glory, but we had the opportunity to meet & speak to Curtis Creamer (Design Producer) from Bungie and naturally, the chance to get some hands on time with Halo 3: ODST’s FireFight Mode.

It all began with over 100 eager gamers eagerly waiting at Circular Quay’s Commissioner’s Steps near the Museum Of Contemporary Art for the ferry to pick us all up and transport us all to Cockatoo Island.

Young and old invade the crash site.

Gamers from young to old were out in force: mums, dads, brothers, sisters.  All were ready to experience the next installment and see what the island’s ‘crash site’ would bring.

Von Sutton & Kesalin from GamerzInk, Serblander & DVS Dingo from Thumbpad, The IGN AU Crew Patch & Naz, and various other community sites like us (OXCGN) circulated among the crowd and talked with fellow gamers. It was a great sight to see and experience.

With the ferry arriving promptly at 6.30pm at The Commissioner’s Steps, everyone boarded, choosing to either sit or stand for the 10-15 minutes ride it took to get to Cockatoo Island.

Passing the beautifully lit Sydney Opera House on our right, its ’sails’ all awash in amazing blue light in the Sydney night, we headed out west under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Pier One on our way to Cockatoo Island – and ODST’s crash site.

As we approached the island, everyone rushed to the windows of the ferry to get a glimpse of the warthog off in the distance, fueling everyone’s anticipation even further.

Upon arriving at Cockatoo Island we were herded by torchlight past a dark dimly lit sandstone wall into an equally dark and foreboding tunnel.

After what felt like a massive hike through a very dark cramped tunnel filled with dust, the Halo 3: ODST “Desperate Measures Trailer” could be overheard with Nathan Fillion’s character’s disembodied voice ringing off the walls.

As we emerged we could make out the distinctive outline of the real life working Warthog, created by WETA Workshop, against the Sydney skyline and wreckage of the ODST Dropship softly lit up in the distance.  The air was filled with the sound of the Warthog’s engines roaring.

Getting up-close-and-personal with the Warthog was everything everyone had hoped for it to be and more. With the M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun on the back and a strange but very cool looking blue-light dashboard the Warthog was definitely something very special to witness first hand.

Behold – The Warthog!

The Warthog in all its real-life glory was a truly a sight to behold.

Whether it was WETA Workshop’s crafty hands or that fact that it is a real life working Warthog I don’t know but either way a very big shout of appreciation must be awarded to WETA Workshop.

After only “six weeks” of 24/7 non-stop hard work, they crafted a vehicle that is fully functional scratch and extremely identical to the games’ counterparts.

After taking some photos of the Warthog everyone was ushered inside a set-up tent which had 8 what I believe were 40 inch LCD’s showcasing Halo 3: ODST and  a small podium with WETA Workshop’s Tim Launder taking the mic first introducing himself and talking a little about the history of how the Warthog came to be in just 6 weeks from conception to final ‘turn-key’.

Next, Curtis Creamer from Bungie took the mic and showcased what everyone had come to see: the upcoming game Halo 3: ODST. Though showing the same level that I saw at E3 this year, Curtis touched on things that many people may not have seen.

The introductory cut-scene showed the events leading up to your arrival on New Mombasa, which Curtis guided us through, giving background on various aspects of information not known to many, while other scenes displayed how the Superintendent works, the a way-point system which allows you to pin the location you want to go and of course a new style 3d perspective map to help keep track of what you do in the basic sandbox style game.

Now way-points and a map are a whole new thing to the Halo game franchise, as before it was simply a very linear experience, not so any more.

A “non-linear experience…”

Well  Halo 3: ODST, as Curtis put it, “..is a non-linear experience meaning you can go anywhere at anytime..”.

It’s interesting because whilst it is Halo it doesn’t always feel like Halo? If you what I mean…

We have the return of the Pistol from Halo: Combat Evolved but this time with a little more punch this time round. Also a whole bunch of new features like being set at night where smoke/dust fills the sky and a sense of eeriness fills the streets of New Mombasa.

Even the orchestral soundtrack has a different tone which fits perfectly into Bungies new setting.  This is no longer about Master Chief, and the music shows that, very moody. As I said the game to a point doesn’t feel very Halo-ish but at the same time it very much is.

It wasn’t until I finally got some hands-on time with Firefight did the action really start picking up.

Halo 3: ODST’s Firefight Mode

Like Gears of War 2’s Horde Mode or Left 4 Dead’s Survival Mode, Firefight pits you and 3 other player against waves of Covenant, but with a slight difference and begs the questions….

How long can you survive?

What do you do when you run out of ammo?

Where and what weapons will I have or can I get hold of?

However, unlike Horde, Firefight doesn’t pit you up against one wave of Grunts, then another wave of Jackals and so forth.

It starts off one wave of Grunts, then after that single wave it starts to really mix it up. So next wave you may have Grunts and Jackals, or Brutes and Jackals, or even Brutes, Jackels and Grunts, which is fun as each wave will need a different level of strategy and load-out to successfully complete and gain maximum points.

It’s very challenging and a heck of a lot of fun with 4 players gunning down waves of Covenant.

No duel wielding . . . ?

What struck me initially as odd was the fact that ODST soldiers can carry the mini-gun turrets like Master Chief yet cannot duel wield? – WTF!

Apparently the reason behind this is that ODST soldiers do not have regenerative health nor shields like Master Chief and they are in fact a more stealthy sort of character, with a silenced SMG and enhanced visor vision to see objects much better in the dark. Making you be a little more cautious about what you do and how you do it.

It’s a nice change in gameplay mechanics actually and again makes you mix things up, seeing as you can’t really run in and gun everything down because most likely you’ll get gunned down yourself.

The graphical quality of ODST, which runs on a heavily modified version of the Halo 3 engine, looks so much better. Textures are more sharp and crisp, dynamic lighting and particle effects are amazing and add so much to the dark gritty setting.

Many were commenting on how awesome it looks and how the character models that appear now since Halo 3 emerged are much more realistic and engaging to watch. Because we are working with humans in ODST the storyline along with characterisation feels much deeper.

• Slip over to wetaNZ.com now to place your order

It allows us to become more engaged in the story as humans aren’t as invincible as the Spartans and our beloved Master Chief and we have restrictions in certain things we do as troopers. I know many gamers felt as if ODST would appeal more to them in terms of story and gameplay.

Warthog, ODST, gamers & ‘Food’ !

Apart from all the Halo 3: ODST stuff, gamers and industry personnel, which was spectacular by the way, the food was great.

Potato salad, sausages, mint steak, chicken kabab skewers, fresh bread rolls, Caesar salad, garden salad and some non-alcoholic drinks encouraged everyone to eat their hearts out.

Every bin was full to the edge by the designated end time of 9pm and everyone was satisfied with what they got: Warthog pictures, a play of ODST, and a chat and picture with Curtis or other members of various Community Site teams.

When I had a few moments, I took it upon myself to ask a nice easy question to Curtis before heading off to the ferry and back to the Quay.

OXCGN:- So Curtis, a quick question: Will Halo 3: ODST Legendary Difficulty return back to the glory days of Halo: Combat Evolved’s Legendary Difficulty or will it stay as simplified as Halo 3’s catering to a broader audience?

Curtis Creamer:- Ahh you know that is actually a very good question that you’ve asked, and to answer that I would have to say that depending on your skill level that ODST ’s Legendary has gone back to the glory days.

In conclusion

So there you have it folks: straight form Curtis himself, Halo 3: ODST will hopefully see the return of the Legendary Difficulty seen in  the original Halo: Combat Evolved, because as you know the Pistol from Combat Evolved has made its return (albeit with more kick) so why not this?

So I and OXCGN would personally like to thank the team from Microsoft Australia, Pulse (MS’s Promotional Arm), Bungie’s Curtis Creamer & WETA Workshop for holding a short but oh-so-sweet VIP Event allowing fellow Aussie gamers the chance to play ODST nice and early, see the Warthog up-close-and-personal and pig out in a setting befitting such a game.

Great game, perfect setting and atmosphere, excellent city, top evening, what else could you ask for?

It was a great night enjoyed by all and I know that I cannot wait till Halo 3: ODST is out September 22nd. So I guess I’ll see you all in Firefight – and watch out!

OXCGN will have an exclusive & extensive interview with Bungie’s Curtis Creamer as well as footage of OXCGN riding shotgun in the Warthog on Cockatoo Island. So stay tuned for that in the next few days!

©2009 Arthur Kotsopoulos

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