[Editor's note: Community member Dexter345 went out to the Pasadena stop of the Halo 3: ODST tour to check out Firefight mode. -- CTZ]

Here in Pasadena today, we hit the triple digits in temperature. Why am I discussing the weather on a gaming blog? So you know that I stood outside in the blistering heat around a bunch of smelly nerds to bring you this preview. I hope you're happy, because my bright red arms and face certainly are not.

If you hadn't heard, some reps for Bungie are traveling around the country, showing off the upcoming entry in the mega hit first-person shooter series Halo. They invited any fans out to GameStops to try out the new Firefight mode, which has been described as Halo's answer to Gears of War 2's Horde or Left 4 Dead's Survival mode.

After waiting for a full five hours in line, I was treated to ten minutes of gameplay, which can be summarized thusly: "Yep, it's Halo, all right." 

There are a few key differences between how an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper handles as opposed to a Spartan or an Elite. Although they are the toughest marines one can find in the Halo universe, they are not as strong as a Spartan, nor do they have access to the signature MJOLNIR armor. As a result, ODSTs apparently cannot use the equipment introduced in Halo 3, lack the regenerating shield, can take less punishment before being killed, and take fall damage.

The regenerating health subject is a funny one in this case. Halo: Combat Evolved was one of the forerunners (if not the originator) of this FPS trope, and it sounded interesting that they would ditch the gameplay mechanic. Well in truth, they did not ditch it. In place of the old shield meter is the new "stamina meter," which makes the game function much like the first in the series, where the stamina meter regenerates (albeit much more slowly than the MJOLNIR shield), but when the stamina meter is drained, damage comes off of the player's health, which does not automatically regenerate.

Another element that makes ODST feel similar to Combat Evolved is the return of the pistol. In my short time with the game, I tested it out, and while I'm not convinced it is as powerful as it used to be, it is definitely closer than the pistols in either Halo 2 or 3. It seemed to fire at a higher rate than the original pistol, which may balance out that it still doesn't pack the punch of the original. The 2X zoom on the pistol does make a return, making this new/old pistol functionally like the Battle Rifle.

In place of the equipment, the X button now controls the ODST's visor. We were told that it enhances vision, highlighting enemies, which is especially useful since ODST armor lacks MJOLNIR's motion tracker. The downside to using the visor is that damage taken with the visor on causes it to go staticky and obstruct vision. I tried out the new visor, but we were playing on a particularly bright level, and didn't really notice any advantage to using it, until I got to a relatively dark part of the map.

Firefight, as a game type, functions much like you already imagine. You are given a team of four (fully customizable) ODSTs, and are set with the task to fend off waves of enemies. The team shares a reserve of lives, which gets replenished between rounds. For our preview, we were given unlimited lives, but the kid who set up the game in my group of four set the difficulty to Easy, so it never came up.

An unfortunate side effect of my wussy teammate calling the shots is that I didn't really get a feel for how much teamwork is necessary to succeed in Firefight. I spent most of my time mowing down enemies on a mounted gun, but when that got boring, I did my fair share of running and gunning, playing as the one-man-army that the Halo series is known for. We would call out to one another when a Wraith showed up, but otherwise, I could have just as easily been playing alone, or with AI bots. I can only hope that on higher difficulties, more cohesive teamwork is rewarded, and lone wolf behavior is punished.

As far as the event itself, I had some fun, despite having to wait five hours for ten minutes of gameplay. I met some other genuine Halo fans, including a kid who made his own cardboard ODST armor. However, if you plan on hitting up this truck when it comes to town, I have some advice. Show up an hour early, bring your DS/PSP, wear sunscreen, bring plenty of water. While I had fun, it was not worth standing for five hours and a sunburn. With a bit more planning, it could totally be worth your time to check it out. Otherwise, it might be best just to wait until the September 22nd ship date.