The Best-Laid Plans
An overview of the fictional events witnessed in the Halo 3 ODST E3 ’09 trailers…
It’s hard to believe that a full year has come and gone since last year’s E3 conference; but it has indeed been an entire year. It’s also hard to believe that during this span of time we’ve seen no in-game footage of the new title – not a single still frame or screenshot, besides concept art and carefully extracted character models. Thankfully, though, dawn has broken and in the blink of an eye we’ve been enveloped by ODST videos, screenshots, 3D renders, “field guides,” and much more.
Facing this sensory overload, we can only do our best to try and fit together the puzzle pieces that Bungie has handed us. For now, let’s put aside some interesting, but ultimately minor, points – such as a larger grenade count and flyable Banshees – and take a look at some important questions: What sort of situation has the Rookie found himself in on the ground? Where are his fellow team members? Where is his commanding officer? And – perhaps most importantly of all – why is he even here in Mombasa?
While most of these questions cannot be answered until we take control of the Trooper ourselves, I think we can all agree that Bungie has given us enough evidence today to allow us to start forming some solid ideas on what ODST has in store for us – and just maybe they’ve answered a mystery or two, as well.
So let’s take everything that’s been revealed so far and put it all together…
excellent and quick diagnosis of the trailer
i personally didn’t even catch the ONI symbol on the building they were protected, however now it all makes sense
if you remember from the gameplay trailer released for Halo 3, the plotline shown barely scratched the surface of the actual game plot. (it only showed footage up to the level “the storm”) if ODST is formated the same way, then this is surely going to be another epic installment
keep up the great work, love reading this stuff
Comment by Ridgy — June 2, 2009 @ 3:42 pm
Nice Article i cant wait for the next.
Comment by Revan — June 2, 2009 @ 3:50 pm
OMG THIS GAME IS GOING TO BE THE BEST ONE YET.
Comment by Futil1ty — June 2, 2009 @ 4:02 pm
Excellent interpretation all around. Thanks a lot for the info!
Comment by Amdahls Law — June 2, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
I say Dare’s mission was to secure the New Mombassa ONI facility until something (info, person, etc.) could be evacuated, and then destroy the evidence.
Damn sneaky ONI folk, always lying, always cunning, always secret…
Comment by RedMonkey999 — June 2, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
i reckon this game will be the most bad assed thing on the market. ive already been sinking my teeth into every juicy little tit-bit i could lay my hands on and as soon as i saw the gameplay i was nothing short of impressed. i cant wait to play the campaign and peice togwether what we ave alreadsy been shown and im sure you guys will agree big time
Comment by andy (murderdude25) — June 2, 2009 @ 4:20 pm
I’d like to make a comment about the “Remember Reach” picture. Perhaps the graffiti has a negative connotation to it. I think that the person who wrote that is referring to how Reach was destroyed, and that Earth’s fate will be the same,
Comment by Alexander Komosa — June 2, 2009 @ 4:40 pm
The burning building seen just before the fist flashback is the ONI building where the Superintendent AI’s data centre’s are. The screenshot on bungie.net is labled “ONI Building”
http://www.bungie.net/projects/odst/asset_popup_viewer.aspx?at=59&cc=29&item=3
The ODST’s job in the fist flashback is to defend the ONI building.
We know the AI is there because in the flashback a ODST said “unlock the terminal or your data centre will be crawling with covenant”.
Comment by Richard — June 2, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
thats sick i cant wait for more details and the release.
and body know where to download the videos to my vista laptop to put on my mp3?
Comment by omenNIGHTMARE92 — June 2, 2009 @ 5:39 pm
Nice. I didn’t notice the ONI symbol either…damn them being the good guys this time around…or are they? Probably are.
I honestly can’t wait until you cover the trailer for Halo: Reach. So many implications. Like, say, Bees. I know you Love Bees. (subtle hints are the best…when someone gets them)
[/ramble]
Comment by the silver fox — June 2, 2009 @ 5:56 pm
Think of all those exploration possibilities, the chance to walk around in a futuristic city filled with wonderfully designed buildings and stuff! And thats just one aspect of the game, the city is after all crawling with Covenant just waiting to get shot at. Im expecting this to be one of the most atmospheric games ever, half of it goes to the skybox.
Great blogg as usual, there were quite a few things I hadn’t noticed.
Comment by Janaka — June 2, 2009 @ 6:08 pm
Very nice read. I had no idea that was the ONI building. My guess is that they have an Admiral or a Spartan or maybe nukes/data?
No idea.
Comment by TheyCallMeGrim — June 2, 2009 @ 7:10 pm
It seems as though the rookie is transported forward in time by the slip space rupture, since he first emerges from his drop-pod with the ONI building destroyed, whereas the rest of the ODST’s have emerged in the present time trying to defend the building. It seems odd that only he would be effected by the blast considering all the drop-pods were in close proximity.
Comment by Danny — June 2, 2009 @ 7:58 pm
Somehow I get the feeling that ONI knew about the Ark portal beneath New Mombasa and are trying to keep the Covenant from getting that information. ONI have always had their own agenda and I wouldn’t be surprised (actually I’d be delighted) if ONI actually betrays the Rookie in some way. (Maybe he finds out something that ONI wants to keep hidden from humanity.)
Comment by louis — June 2, 2009 @ 8:19 pm
@13 – Danny
no, it was explained in the e3 press conference that you just play dutch’s memories to find out what happened, you dont go back in time to play him.
i hope this helped
Comment by Nayrrr — June 2, 2009 @ 8:40 pm
Nice article, I can’t wait to play Firefight. The more info I hear about it the more I want to play it; I think Firefight will be around for a long time.
Comment by Willy — June 2, 2009 @ 9:38 pm
i think that you play through just after the drop as one of the other odsts until the night after the drop when the rookie wakes up and then play as him as he tries to find out what happened.
Comment by darky — June 2, 2009 @ 11:17 pm
Nicely done article. It certainly answers some questions I had about what happened to New Mombasa. However, the game will answer even more, including what ONI was hiding.
I bet the crash the Rookie suffered must have been bad if he blacked out for that long of a period. I guess we’ll just have to find out come Sept…
Comment by XT2673 — June 3, 2009 @ 12:48 am
Great write up! I really liked the framing Cocop with the shifted perspective at the end with the same pic. I still hold on to the theory that DARE will be in charge of helping the team uncover what is going on with the Portal to the Ark.
Comment by Maj Williams — June 3, 2009 @ 3:26 am
As usual, you pointed out many things I did not even see.
@ Danny – Or he could have been knocked out by the blast and only just woke up after the building has been destroyed.
We also do not know that the Covenant destroyed the ONI building, the other ODST’s may have completed whatever they were doing and destroyed it themselves so that the Covenant could not gain any data from it.
@ Richard – I agree, the Superintendent is probably stored at the ONI building, so it could be the Superintendent that the ODST’s are trying to protect.
Great read, can’t wait for the next one.
Comment by Yay295 — June 3, 2009 @ 8:04 am
But how does the ONI building survive the blast created by the slipspace rupture?
assuming that the rupture was created ABOVE the ONI building i thought it was destroyed….
[but it was destroyed by the odst or the covenant sometime later….must be one heck of a building.]
Comment by Revan — June 3, 2009 @ 9:06 am
This is absolutely amazing. after you read the whole article the last sentence and the picture that raps it up left me speechless. this is my first time reading one of your articles but i look forward to reading more if they are anything like this one.
Comment by ShadowFox — June 3, 2009 @ 10:11 am
@ Yay295 – Yeah your’re probaly right about him being knocked out rather then being transported in time.
Comment by Danny — June 3, 2009 @ 10:33 am
Hey, has anyone thought that Dare could be the female Spartan from the first Halo Graphic Novel? She is Referred to in the trailer as “S1”. Could the “S” be a designation for “Spartan” I wonder, as Master Chief is “S117”? Also I just watched LandFall again and it makes me wonder if “the Rookie” is involved with tracking the Chief as he plumets back to Earth. You get to see some of the ODST names and file info in that vid but you don”t see all of them. We also haven’t been told the Rookies name yet. That could be him in LandFall! That would make a fitting end for the game to bring that piece of sanctioned fiction back to light.
Comment by Karmic Corpse — June 3, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
Great read. Although, I think I might have a probable theory as to why and how the ONI building was destroyed. Please bear with me.
As evidenced multiple times throughout Halo lore, the Covenant always fight to the last man and never hesitate to glass a human world (or area) unless they believe items of interest are there. I believe this is why Dare and the ODSTs need to reach the building. They need to destroy it and keep the Covenant from it and its secrets. This is why the detonator looks human in design. The object may possibly be the shaw-fujikawa bending crystal which has attracted the Covenant before…. but, who knows, right? Only Bungie.
Comment by Darkstar-187 — June 3, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
Karmic, S1 most likely stands for “Section 1,” the intelligence gathering division of the Office of Naval Intelligence.
Comment by Cocopjojo — June 3, 2009 @ 3:28 pm
no cocopjojo S1 stands for spartan 1. try reading the books.
Comment by zI JuMp Iz — June 3, 2009 @ 3:41 pm
Can’t tell if you’re joking or not. So you really think that DARE is a Spartan-I? What evidence have you seen to support this?
In the second B.net transmission where DARE was requesting her team, the Admiral of Say My Name said to DARE, “Didn’t think you S1 types ever left your cave,” which is right in line with how folks in the UNSC refer to ONI “spooks,” as they call them.
Comment by Cocopjojo — June 3, 2009 @ 4:18 pm
its obvious on the last image that it is the oni building. u can see the blown up bridge and one of the remote detonators. In the demo video u have to place explosives on some of the pillars that blow up the bridge.
Comment by nathan — June 3, 2009 @ 4:51 pm
Great article. Maybe the ONI building is holding a piece or pieces of Forerunner technology?
Comment by Barsey — June 4, 2009 @ 7:04 am
Another brilliant article from Ascendant Justice. You always manage to pick up on little things I always seem to miss. Also, IMO, DARE isn´t a Spartan. The S1 is referenced several times as her being from ONI Section 1. Or it could be a double meaning, being both at the same time. But yeah, I think that the ODSTs were guarding not only the super inside the building, but also something much, MUCH bigger. They would have known 2 ODSTs couldn´t hold off that many Covenant, so they were covering the evacuation or destruction. When the covenant searched the building and realised what they were looking for wasn´t there, they blew it to hell. Seriously, these articles always open up so many story possibilities. Thanks again, guys.
Comment by Sin of Rage — June 6, 2009 @ 9:02 am
Well written artcle, look forward to the next and maybe even one about Halo Reach?
Comment by Valiant — June 8, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
Amazing, simply amazing. I kind of get the feeling that this game will be similar to Half-Life 2, in the sense that the entire game is viewed only through the eyes of the Rookie in an unbroken narrative (with the exception of the parts depicting his teammates). I can’t wait to read the impending articles about the newly announced Halo: Reach.
Comment by MC Warhammer — June 9, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
I don’t know that it can be compared to Half-Life, because I’m sure there will be cutscenes that break up some of the action and tell part of the story, but I agree that the Rookie appears to be strong, silent type, similar to Gordon Freeman. It definitely looks to be a change in storytelling, as well as gameplay, that I am looking forward to experiencing this fall. Great article, as always, guys!!
Comment by JMart3 — June 10, 2009 @ 11:38 am
Isnt it obvious enough? Dare’s seperate mission was to secure New Mombasa’s ONI Alpha Base, along with the Superintendent. But why? My guess is maybe the AI and the Base holds information on secret locations of UNSC Ships? Hidden Colonies? Super gigantic space station capable of blowing up an entire covenant fleet? Haha jk on that one.
Comment by kk? — June 11, 2009 @ 10:35 pm
I wonder if the Covenant even know what they are looking for. They found earth by accident, right? Once they realize what they found, they decide to make the best of it. They surely know about ONI, so they pick their HQ as a primary target, trying to gather any info they can about humans, or maybe even the Forerunners. What they find (or almost find, if the UNSC destroyed the ONI building as a last resort) will surely be part of the ODST plot.
Comment by JMart3 — June 12, 2009 @ 5:10 pm
I don’t believe the city’s superintendent AI is in the ONI complex. Few reasons; the “super” is a dumb AI set up to oversee the cities vital functions (fire, police, public services, transportation, etc…” it would make more sense that the “super” is housed in the city’s municipal infilstructure, like city hall. The superintendent AI is a dumb AI, not like ship board AI’s like Cortana, the “super” is not self aware and does not have access to sensitive material; hence when it begins a search in it’s database for the drop pod (in the original trailer) it is cut off.
Believe the ODST’s defend the ONI complex due to some forerunner secrets (say the crystal recovered from Reach) that are kept inside. If the ONI has an AI in the building it would be a very advanced AI, not an AI in charge of making sure garbage truck routes are run on time.
Really looking forward to this game. Real troops fighting, going to have to be selective in your engagements; no Spartan like, roid-rage fueled, head first charges into groups of Brutes. Hopefully the interaction with the flood is limited, really don’t enjoy that aspect of the game.
ODST = AIRBORNE!
Comment by Drew — June 16, 2009 @ 10:23 am
Well Drew I think that the superintendent AI could be in the ONI complex because he may also be a defense AI like in the book contact harvest. Im guessing if in mostly peace time(Other than the insurgents) ONI would make a secret defense AI for a farming planet hidden inside the planets AI mack who was assigned menial tasks such as collecting the harvest or plowing the field. If they would make one for that i believe that they would also make one just for their HQ. Perhaps in some later point in the game the superintendent would get taken over by this AI or perhaps for whatever reason the superintndent has to take over that AI duty of defense.
Also this is just a wild guess not even a theory really but that writing on the wall remember reach what if that if somehow connected to the new game halo:reach. I dont see how it would happen because i dont see any story plot they could do for it other than it meaning the invasion. Still does anyine else know of any possible connection that could be made between this and whatever may happen on reach. I do still suspect to just mean the planet as a whole however.
Comment by dandark — July 24, 2009 @ 9:22 am
As usual, this site has provided another fine bit of analysis.
Just a note to comments #25 and #37: the strange crystal recovered from Reach was destroyed deliberately, wasn’t it? In First Strike, didn’t someone actually end up killing themselves by blasting it AND themselves, just to make sure it got done?
Comment by TheAsterisk! — September 1, 2009 @ 2:04 pm