Halo 3: ODST is a game that is high up on many people's list of games to play, but to date not too much info has been surfacing about it in a hope to keep the game exciting when it does debut on September 22nd. We do have some definite details about the Halo 3: ODST mode "Firefight", which includes how lives are dispersed, how health is consumed and other lots of other details. All in all the game sounds a lot like Horde mode in Gears of War 2, but with a few more lives for the teams to share. It definitely sounds like a ton of fun and if you are at PAX make sure to check it out.

Here are the specific details on ODST:

Halo 3: ODST Firefight Omegathon FAQ

What's Firefight?

Firefight is a 4-player cooperative game where the goal is to survive,

progress and score as many points as possible.

How does the game work?

Groups of randomly spawned Covenant enemies enter the battlefield via drop

ships or doors in successive waves. In general, each wave entails two

groups of random enemies. Once cleared, the next wave commences, signified

by an announcer and HUD message. For the purposes of Omegathon, this will

continue for 10 minutes or until a team has run out of lives.

Waves 1 through 4 will always be a random assortment of enemies - Grunts,

Buggers, Jackals, Brutes, Hunters and even Wraiths. Wave 5 will include a

random mix of enemies but will always include several Brute Chieftains.

A full "round" is complete after the final enemy is killed in the 5th wave.

Upon doing so, players will be rewarded with fresh health, additional lives

and replenishment of their ammo and health pack cache.

How do the difficulty modifier skulls work in Firefight?

The skulls from Halo 3 are back and integrated into the heart of the

Firefight experience. Skulls will systematically activate as players

progress through Firefight play with a new skull turning on at the start of

each new round (a new round starts upon completing every 5th wave).

At the start of the game, "Tough Luck" is enabled. This skull drastically

increases an enemy's tendency to dive out of the way to avoid incoming

grenades, making them more nimble and agile against these attacks.

If you make it through to the end of the 5th wave and begin round two, a

second skull will activate in addition to "Tough Luck". "Catch" greatly

increases the enemy tendency to throw grenades (including suicide grunts who

rush the player with armed plasma grenades).

At the start of Round 3, a third skull is added to the previous two. "Black

Eye" means that players can only regain health by melee attacking enemies.

Normally, as a player incurs damage, their HUD will turn red and if they

continue taking damage, their base stamina will deteriorate. However, if you

back off and remove yourself from danger, your health will restore and your

base stamina will not be affected. With Black Eye, the initial damage done

will not dissipate until you melee enemies.

These are the only 3 skulls that will possible come into play during a 10

minute game, depending how quickly and far a team progresses.

How does scoring work?

The base scoring system is similar to what is found in Halo 3's "campaign

scoring" and competitive multiplayer mode. You are awarded points for every

enemy you kill. Extra points are earned for things like headshots, killing

sprees, multi-kills, assists, etc.

Killing as many enemies as possible, in skillful ways, without dying, is the

path to earning the highest scores. Larger, more difficult units like

Wraiths and Chieftains are worth a lot more points than something like a

Grunt or Bugger. Completing early waves faster means you can get to the

later waves, and higher scoring enemies, quicker.

Killing a teammate will result in a negative score penalty. Dying from an

enemy does not incur a score penalty but will reset any chain counters you

may have been accruing.

What equipment will the ODST team start with?

Each member of the squad will start out with the silenced pistol and sound

suppressed SMG (both of which can zoom) along with several frag grenades.

You will undoubtedly be forced to pick up dropped Covenant weapons along the

way.

Players begin inside a start room that will also contain additional pistols,

SMGs and grenades. Once depleted, this ammo cache will not replenish until

the end of the round (5 waves complete).

Additionally, each starting area has 4 health packs. There will be two

upstairs and two downstairs on opposite sides of the room. Use these

sparingly but definitely use them to avoid a death (dying will reset your

ongoing score/chain multiplayer you'd otherwise be building). At the end

of a round, the stash of health packs is restored. (Also, the player's

current health is automatically restored)

Weapons on the map, like turrets, are also replaced at the end of each round

(if they are removed from the tripod).

How many lives are available?

Each squad starts off with shared pool of 7 lives to work with. It's

important to note that these are SHARED between all four players and makes

coordination, teamwork and strategic use of health packs a must. If one or

more players is alive at the end of a round, additional lives will be added

back to the pool.

How does the health system work in ODST?

ODSTs have a stamina bar represented at the top of the HUD. After taking

enough damage, indicated by a reddening of the screen, this base stamina

will start to erode. Alternatively, you can remove yourself from danger and

reset your initial damage state. The only way to get base stamina restored

is by use of a health pack. If you've played Halo: Combat Evolved, the

health model in ODST will be very familiar.

How does the game end?

For the Omegathon, teams will have 10 minutes to get the highest score

possible. The game will conclude when the time is up. Additionally, if a

team uses up all of their available lives, the game is over.

Is there any difference between the various playable ODST characters?

There are no gameplay differences between the available models. The only

difference is aesthetic and each character has their own unique first person

combat dialog.

What other helps tips or insights should players be aware of?

. The X button will activate the "VISR" which is a night vision mode

that will make it easier to see enemies in the dark. There is no battery and

it can be activated as long or as short as a player wants.

. A turret that is on a stand has unlimited ammo until it's ripped

off. It pays to try and not remove a turret until later in the round. At the

end of the round, a fresh turret will be granted if you did happen to remove

it during the prior waves.

. One or more Covenant Engineers may float into the gameplay area

during the match. While they can't directly attack the ODSTs, they do offer

a bonus Overshield buff to all nearby Covenant units.

. When a teammate dies and there are no lives left, they can enter

into a free flying camera mode to watch the rest of the match. This can

often be invaluable to helping your remaining teammate(s) stay alive by

providing critical battlefield intel.

. If all but one of your teammates die but he/she manages to complete

the wave, they can bring your team back into the mix again for another shot.

. Wraiths are relentless and will not stop shelling a player until

they are destroyed. They are brutally accurate and have range to cover

almost the entire play area. You can board a Wraith and plant a grenade to

blow it up but you can't commandeer it for use.

. The Covenant drop ships that deliver enemies for each wave cannot be

destroyed.

[Via Penny Arcade]