14 DAY TRIAL // One of the big new things that fans of the Halo series will be getting in ODST, which is set to arrive exclusively for the Xbox 360 on September 22, is the new Firefight mode. The company has offered quite a bit of details on it and it seems very similar to the Horde mode that Epic Games introduced with Gears of War 2, with players working together in a location to take out as many waves of ever-tougher enemies as possible, while raking up points that they could use to increase their fighting power.
Now, the people from Bungie are saying that the mode will likely be expanded and improved for the next full Halo title, Reach, which is set to be released at some point in 2010.
Brian Jarrard, who is the community liaison for the company, has said at the Penny Arcade Expo that, “I can't talk too much about Reach specifics, but hopefully the game mode's going to be received as well we think it will be, and people are going to enjoy it. I don't think we've ever been known to really take things away from each successive release, so I think it's safe to say that if Firefight gets a lot of traction and people love it, it probably has a good future home in our next title as well.”
Another prospect that some fans were interested in was shot down, though. The Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, which stars in Halo 3: ODST, will never be pitted against the iconic Master Chief in multiplayer battles, because the company is concerned about the unbalances and the potential of abuse that such a move might bring in.
Of course, this only applies to the release of ODST and, by the time Reach is released, the thinking at Bungie might change radically.