Bungie hits the right cord with Halo 3: ODST

It's only a matter of days before the much-anticipated launch of Bungie's Halo 3: ODST, and the BBC has just had a sneaky preview.

Judging from the footage, it's looking mighty tasty and seems to have improved, at least graphically, upon it's previous outing, Halo 3, in 2007. It's pretty standard fare - except that the story is now a little more complex, Master Chief is no more and a new Firefight multiplayer mode pits you and a few friends against wave after wave of alien bad boys, the Covenant.

Here's the scene setter from the developers:

"Halo 3: ODST allows players to explore dangerous new ground, search the dark, abandoned streets of New Mombasa for clues, and fight back against the Covenant invasion from multiple perspectives. Dropping in as "the rookie," a new member of an elite squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers sent into New Mombasa on a classified recon mission, you'll be armed with specialized weaponry and upgraded technology, including silenced weapons and a VISR enhanced vision mode.

Separated from your squad, you'll have to scour the city for clues in order to learn what happened to Buck, Dare, Dutch, Mickey, and Romeo. As you collect new clues, you’ll experience the story from their perspectives, fighting through the occupied city hours earlier."