Previously at Tied the Leader, we chronicled the adventures of TTL Dren as he intercepted the ODST Van. This week, it is our profoundest pleasure to introduce you to The Rookie…

No, no, NO… Not THAT Rookie. Today, we are talking about our very own TTL Faithkeeper. He’s the most recent gamer to pass the trials required to join the ranks of the Gunslingers. He even sold out already, and slapped our clan tag onto his avatar. There he is [depicted below] on maneuvers in Phoenix, Arizona. As the Helljumper Express fled across the desert, yet another Gunslinger climbed aboard.

Check out what our keeper of faith had to say about his Firefight. He knows the moves. Read all about his dance:

TTL Faithkeeper said: When we were told, “Step inside if you guys want to start up a game”, we were immediately mesmerized by a PreGame Lobby for a Firefight match. There are a lot more options to customize your character – new symbols, new characters… More options than a 3-digit callsign.

After navigating the different customizable options, the match started and things got real fun real fast. The SMG has a new look and feel to it. Zooming on it was fantastic. It had the accuracy of a Battle Rifle, but it felt like an Assault Rifle. As Dren mentioned, the pistol has more of a Halo 1 feel to it. The Needler still packs quite a whallop and the fuel rod gun is a beast. When you get a rush of Grunts and a couple Brutes clustered together, that gun can blast quite a few at once. The Sniper Rifle felt just the same as Halo 3. Also, it looks like you can hold more than 2 grenades per slot. There are fun new medals; like getting one for killing someone with the Needler, getting a spree with the Hammer (“Dream Crusher” for 10 in a row), and getting an Assist. I’m sure there’s more that we didn’t see.

I little bit more about the “VISR” mode – It highlights enemies in Red and Friendlies in green, but more importantly it gives you an outline to cloaked Brutes. When you’re hit with the VISR on, you get a little static across your screen. You can switch in and out of VISR mode by pushing the blue skittle, aka “x”.

Gameplay highlights – A Grunt ran kamikaze-style (complete with the high pitched battle cry!) at me with two plasma grenades and took out most of my shields, blowing himself to smithereens; hitting a Chieftan with a fuel rod right before a teammate rocked his launched body with the hammer, sending him off the map; getting that adrenaline rush when a Chieftan would appear; seeing new medals flash on my screen; and enjoying the new feel to this game. The grenade throwing has a whole new animation and feels entirely different from launching grenades as MC. Even crouch walking has a different feel to it – feels like you bounce up and down a little bit more.

All-in-all, this was a great experience. If I wasn’t sold on Halo: ODST before, I am now. Thanks Dren for being the first of us to share in the experience and get my interest stirring. Thank you Bungie, Microsoft, and GameStop for making this all possible. I’ll be seeyin ya on September 22nd!

Tied the Leader regrets to inform you, Constant Reader, that – after his playtest – Faithkeeper hijacked the Helljumper Express and stormed off toward the horizon. When last seen, he was bounding down the highway like a bat out of hell, headed in the general direction of Dallas, Texas.

Given what we know about Faithkeeper and his preferred objective routes, we have been able to plot his theoretical trajectory. Confidence is high that TTL agents in Dallas should be able to jack him from the vehicle. If not, that task will lay before you…

Be advised that Faithkeeper may have been aided in this heist by four associates from Halo 3 In The Workplace. Depicted below: known accomplices PiercingTiger, Necktatpat, Eddie Knucks, and Liztr0n. All are heavily armed, and battle hardened from years of simulated combat.

Put your boots on the line, you would-be Helljumpers. We need that truck back! The very fate of he Halo Nation is in our hands.

Posted by XerxdeeJ