Halo 3: ODST Message Board

A stripped-down version of Bungie's Halo 3: ODST is now available on Games on Demand for $15.

Halo 3: ODST "Campaign Edition" includes both the campaign and the co-op Firefight mode, the latter of which is a survival variant where four players take on waves of attacking Covenant enemies.

When Halo 3: ODST first launched in 2009, it included the Halo 3 multiplayer component with additional maps exclusive to the ODST package. If you find yourself desperate for Halo 3 multiplayer, you can buy it through Xbox Live for $20 now.

#destiny Some people think Halo 3: ODST is a very underrated entry in the Xbox 360's signature franchise. But, based on the image above (which has been lightened to be viewed more easily), one of the last Halo games that Bungie worked on might have been important for other reasons. Could they have been teasing Destiny three years ago? Well, there's the one inhabited planet with the smaller white globe, just like in the Destiny image from the leaked document. Sure seems like it was staring us right in the face, guys. More »

Catch up on the epic story in just about five minutes. Includes Halo 1, 2, and 3 story spoilers.

#halohelljumper "Hey, you ever feel just a little strange? That we're hopping around all these planets and humans are the only intelligent life forms out here?" Halo: Helljumper, the fan-made web series centered on marine culture in the Halo universe, begins before contact with the Covenant. These greenhorns won't be finishing the fight. They've only just started it. More »

Everyone and their mothers might be plugging away at StarCraft 2 all weekend, but we've got another grip of space marines for you to catch up with: the ODSTs. In the run up to Halo: Reach's launch, we thought giving out last year's chapter in the Halo franchise couldn't hurt. Don't forget it's got the entire Halo 3 multiplayer experience packed in -- oooh, and beta access to Reach! Oh, right. Anyway, let us know in the comments below what's got you most excited about the final Halo game from Bungie and you could win yourself a copy!

To enter this giveaway:

• Leave a comment telling us what's got you most excited for Halo: Reach.
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec).
• Limit 1 entry per person.
• This entry period ends at 5:31PM ET on Sunday, August 1.
• At that time, we will randomly select one winner to receive a copy of Halo 3: ODST for the Xbox 360 (ARV $29.99).
• For a list of complete rules, click here.

#xbox360 If you planned on doing any Xbox 360 purchasing this weekend, it might behoove you to cool your jets for at least a few more days. Amazon is listing a new Xbox 360 Elite bundle that's a solid deal. More »

Four editors entered, only one emerged victorious.

If you haven't got any cash to donate to charitable organizations who're currently lending a hand with recovery efforts in Haiti, don't fret -- Bungie's organizing a free method for you to show your support. All you have to do is change your Halo 3 (or ODST) emblem to the heart seen in the image above, and play any of the games' online modes this coming Wednesday and Thursday. Bungie's donating a dime for every person who does so to the Red Cross (up to a maximum donation of $77,000). Check out Bungie's blog for more information about the event. If you're wanting to make a slightly larger contribution, you could also purchase a special version of the Superintendent t-shirt from the Bungie store -- all of the proceeds from which will also go directly to the Red Cross.

Help a developer help disaster victims.

Editorial: Halo ODST doesn't deserve a Game of the Year nomination.

Ironworks Gaming Crew user WillyQ has a great wife, as evidenced by the Halo quilt she made him for the holidays. The winter quilt features 20 of WillyQ's screenshots, along with game emblems and his name at the top (just in case someone tries to take it). This is a good time to mention that the divorce rate in America is between 40-50 percent. If spouses did more thoughtful stuff like this we could easily reduce it by ... 1-2 percent, maybe? [Via Hawtymcbloggy]

This past Saturday brought us the Spike TV Video Game Awards and - before experiencing the litany of world exclusives that awaited us inside - we spent some time outside cruising the red carpet and talking (briefly!) to many of the game developers and talent. We squeezed them for information as fast as we could while simultaneously wishing them holiday cheer and good tidings. Yes, it was as awkward as it sounds. HHere's what we learned from Bungie's Halo-matic composer, Marty O'Donnell. Why was the music such a departure for Halo 3: ODST? It was just a completely different story with different characters, it was a small scale, it took place in a lonely city where it was raining. It was a detective sort of story where one lone ODST was looking for his buddies. From the very beginning Joe Staten, the writer, wanted to create an atmosphere that felt very film noir, very detective story. I'm the main composer, but my partner Mike Salvatore in Chicago and a couple of other guys in Seattle, Stan Laparte and C. Paul Johnson contributed stuff. I tried to keep all of the themes in that noir, jazz, dark area. There's a few times where we're in the rooftops or doing some high-action regular old Halo stuff in vehicles and we went back to that big, bombastic, epic stuff, but I always wanted to bring it back to that noir feel. Were there any musical references to classic Halo during those moments? I didn't do any actual thematic callbacks. I still wanted to do .... well, number one was no monks. But I still thought the big orchestral epic sound had a place. With some other stuff, you know. Piano, guitar, etc. It's like three hours of music, and you can't narrow yourself down to a small palette, you have to really be as expansive as possible. So now you're working on Reach? Yes, we're premiering the first look at the opening section of Reach. It's right out of the game. I'm really excited about it. It has a really different feel.

This past Saturday brought us the Spike TV Video Game Awards and - before experiencing the litany of world exclusives that awaited us inside - we spent some time outside cruising the red carpet and talking (briefly!) to many of the game developers and talent. We squeezed them for information as fast as we could while simultaneously wishing them holiday cheer and good tidings. Yes, it was as awkward as it sounds. HHere's what we learned from Bungie's Curtis Creamer about Halo 3: ODST. Was there a decision made to have no DLC for Halo 3: ODST? Well, that was something that we didn't really think we could do for ODST because traditionally all of our DLC has been about competitive multiplayer. That's something that we had the systems in place for. But, since Firefight is more based on the co-operative campaign mode, that was a technology that we hadn't built up to a point where we could add DLC to the game. It would have been too much of an investment to make that happen.

Microsoft just pulled back the curtain on a brand-new bundle exclusively for our brothers and sisters to the north. Aside from a 250GB Xbox 360 Elite console, the bundle also includes a double dose of Bungie goodness: Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. Starting today, you can get your maple syrup-soaked hands on this for a suggested retail price of $399.99 CAD. If you're a US gamer wondering why we didn't get this piece of gear down here, relax -- let Canada win this one! You have any idea how many driveways a Canadian has to shovel to earn this thing?

With the holiday game release season officially upon us, it's quite possible that you'll find yourself (like us) jammed on a couch next to relatives who - at least passingly - show interest in the video games we know and love. Sometimes, these folks even ask to play alongside us, eschewing their morals for entertainment (for shame!). It's during these times that we reach for our second or third controller. But what if you only have one controller for your PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360? WHAT THEN?! Then you can turn to Swag Saturday for the possibility of winning one! We've got one silver PS3 DualShock 3 and two Halo 3: ODST limited edition controllers to give away to three lucky readers. All you have to do is tell us a story about gaming with family during past holidays in the comments below. We get your crazy stories, you get our fancy controllers - talk about a win-win! Prize winners will be alerted by email early this week, so keep your ear to the internet, folks. Leave a comment telling us a story about gaming with family during past holidays. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, based on the outcome of the War of 1812) Limit 1 entry per person per day This entry period ends at 6:31PM ET on Sunday, November 15 At that time, we'll randomly select three winners to receive one PS3 DualShock 3 (estimated $55 ARV) or one of two Halo 3: ODST limited edition Xbox 360 controllers (estimated $50 ARV each). For a list of complete rules, click here [Image credit: Ewen and Donabel]

Bungie's latest becomes a multi-million seller.

The best of the best.

Now that Halo Waypoint has launched and the Halo Legends anime project will soon begin airing on Xbox consoles everywhere, we got the chance to discuss the current state of Halo with 343 Industries creative director, Frank O'Connor. After the break, you'll find discussion on Waypoint, Legends, Halo 3: ODST sales and whereabouts of Ryan Payton. We also talk about the whether or not there's just too much Halo out there, whether we'll see any Halo games for kids and we even squeeze in a question about Pimps at Sea.

Despite the handicap of not being for sale in most of the world, Dragon Quest IX for the DS sold more copies than any other game in the world between July and September of this year, according to a Top Global Markets report. With 3,925,000 copies sold in Japan, it outsold the number two best-selling game for that period, Wii Sports Resort, by almost 1,000,000 copies -- and that game was available worldwide. Following Wii Sports Resort in the top five: Madden NFL 2010 at 2,612,000, Pokemon HeartGold And SoulSilver at 2,068,000, and Halo 3: ODST, which was only out for a week in Q3, at 1,847,000 copies. All these games have plenty more sales ahead of them as the holidays approach!

Skill? Luck? Either way, you got stuck!

We're not big fans of pro gaming, in fact, we think it's all a little hokey. But maybe you're a fan of getting free money for being good at Halo and really, who are we to stand in the way of that? It's in that spirit we tell you about the WCG USA Halo 3: ODST Locked and Loaded Tournament. The 24 teams participating will have a chance at $5,000 in cash and Samsung-related prizes. If you'd like to join the kinda hokey but possibly lucrative fray, you can register here.

Bungie's rookie hero puts up big launch numbers.

Millions of Spartans died in the making of this video.

Is it luck or is it skill? View the ten best kills of the week and judge for yourself.

Like us, you've probably been wondering what sort of work (apart from directing people in costumes and laying on the special effects) went into Microsoft's now-legendary Halo 3: ODST live-action short, "The Life." Its creators must have anticipated our curiosity because they've put together a short-but-sweet behind the scenes video, which includes a rough cut of a scene that didn't make it into the final production.The micro-documentary also reveals some surprising trivia about the shoot, including the fact that the opening funeral scene was shot inside the cooling tower of an operating nuclear power plant. Oh, and the battle sequence? They filmed it at the bottom of a coal strip-mine. Really? We could have swarn it was New Mombasa.

Get even more behind the scenes of ODST's live-action trailer.