Halo Insiders can now access and play the Halo 3: ODST public test flight. It’s another word for ‘beta,’ and if you’ve signed up for the Halo Insider program you can now try out several multiplayer modes, single player levels, and some of the new features coming when Halo 3: ODST arrives in the Master Chief Collection.
The current flight adds Halo 3: ODST weapons to Halo 3’s multiplayer, as well as updated hit registration. You’ll be able to use Theater with mouse and keyboard, and try out some of the updated customisation options that are coming with the remastered version of the classic Xbox 360 FPS game. You’ll also receive 50 season points when you log in for the first time, which you can use on custom nameplates and cosmetics. You’ll find that in the Season 3 Overview screen.
There’s also a selection of single-player and co-op levels to try out, and they’re available in all difficulty levels. According to Halo Waypoint, these include the levels Mombassa Streets, Tayari Plaza, Uplift Reserve, NMPD HQ, Data Hive, and Coastal Highway. For Campaign Playlists, you’ll have Flight Test, Flight Test (Heroic), Hoofin’ It (Tayari Plaza, NMPD HQ, and Data Hive), and Street Smart (Mombassa Streets).
The flight also includes some Halo 3 multiplayer content, including social games (4v4 and 8v8), competitive, and the Halo 3 multiplayer levels Construct, Guardian, Last Resort, Narrows, Sandtrap, The Pit, Valhalla, Foundry, Standoff, Avalanche, Sandbox, and Heretic.
The multiplayer sessions are scheduled as follows:
- August 18: Social 4v4, H3 Team Hardcore, and Firefight Arcade
- August 19: Social 4v4, H3 Team Hardcore, and Heroic Firefight
- August 20: Social 4v4, H3 Team Hardcore, and Firefight Arcade
- August 21: Social 4v4, H3 Team Hardcore, and Heroic Firefight
- August 22: Social 8v8, H3 Team Hardcore, and Firefight Arcade
- August 23: Social 8v8, H3 Team Hardcore, and Heroic Firefight
- August 24: Flight ends at 10:00 PDT / 13:00 EDT / 18:00 BST
Each day, there are two scheduled multiplayer sessions. The first begins at 10:00 PDT / 13:00 EDT / 18:00 BST and ends at 13:00 PDT / 16:00 EDT / 21:00 BST. The second begins at 17:00 PDT / 20:00 EDT / 1:00 BST and wraps up at 21:00 PDT / 24:00 EDT / 5:00 BST.
You can check out what Dustin thought of the last addition to the Master Chief Collection in our Halo 3 review. And if you’re already an owner, you can look forward to cross-play hitting the Master Chief Collection later this year.