E3 09: No dual wielding or Equipment usage in Halo ODST

I had a meeting with Bungie yesterday where they were showing off Halo ODST’s campaign and Firefight gametype. While Paul Bertone (Bungie’s Design Director) was running through the campaign, I noticed that the weapon pick up icons weren’t showing the dual wielding options.

Turns out you won’t be able to dual wield in Halo ODST. It makes sense why, as you’re playing as a regular soldier and it’s not easy to dual wield oversized weapons like the SPARTANs can. The ODST soldier also loses the ability to make use of Equipment items (Bubble Shield, Energy Drainer, etc). You’ll still see Equipment items as the Brutes can use them. 

In place of the Equipment is the ODST’s VISR and it allows the ODST solider to see in the dark. The environment gets brighter with VISR and there’s no limit to VISR’s power. You could play the entire game with it on in fact. VISR is also a target acquisition system that highlights friendlies/enemies and takes the place of the motion tracker.

Check back for a more detailed look at Halo ODST’s campaign and Firefight mode later today.