Isn't this game supposed to take place during Halo 2, pretty much? Well, my question is... where are the Elites? You fought Elites in Halo 2, but I can't see any Elites in the Quick Look or screenshots, just a bunch of Brutes.
 
I understand why you don't fight Elites in Halo 3, but they should be hostile in ODST, right?

" I believe it's taking place between the end of Halo 2 and Halo 3.  As such, it makes sense that there are only Brutes and no Elites.  This is during the fall of New Mombasa. "

It definitely seems to take place during the time of Halo 2 while MC is on Halo Delta.

I hope this means that we'll be fighting Elite's again in Halo: Reach!

I'm alright with that.

Elites stopped being interesting when they all started their Quasimodo impressions in Halo 2. They were much cooler when they had good posture.

Brutes have kinda stopped being all that interesting themselves, though. I mean, they were sorta cool with their big berserk attack and lack of shielding in Halo 2, but then they got shielding in Halo 3, kept the berserk, and uh... yea, not much more.

"Brutes have kinda stopped being all that interesting themselves, though. I mean, they were sorta cool with their big berserk attack and lack of shielding in Halo 2, but then they got shielding in Halo 3, kept the berserk, and uh... yea, not much more. "

They basically assimilated all the traits Elites had had before. Shielding, strafing, dodging tactics. They don't go "Gorilla" Beserk anymore, just I'm-angry-and-I-want-to-hit-you Beserk.  I like them more in Halo 3 because, well, they actually react to being shot. Before they were just bullet sponges. "

" Elites had no AI in halo 3 so they left them out of that game. "

By the time all this shit at New Mombasa was going down the elites had already gone rogue

Bungi straight up said No elites, at Pax.  You cans check youtube, even.

I think there are no elites because at this point truth had already plotted to dispose of them so he brought them to the halo rings where they wouldn't screw up the occupation of earth... or something like that.

Bungie was too lazy to code the AI for them.

Elites broke off from the Covenant in H2, along with Grunts and Hunters. Then they stayed as Separatists in H3, while Grunts and Hunters were put back into the Covenant. So while ODST is happening on Earth, the Covenant Civil War was raging over near Delta Halo and such. Though what happened to the Elites already stationed at New Mombasa I have no idea (I remember fighting them at the beginning of H2). Maybe the Covenant Cruiser going Slipspace over the city killed them? Or the Brutes dealt with them? They left with the Prophet?

" Well, technically Elites DID have AI as they appeared as allied soldiers in Halo 3. I always DID find it weird, however, that in Halo 2 Hunters and Grunts allied themselves with the Elites, but now all of a sudden in Halo 3 they're back in the Covenent.  I mean, did Bungie just think "Oh shit, we got rid of too many of our enemy types" and decide to put them back?  I don't get it. "

" @big_jon said:

" Elites had no AI in halo 3 so they left them out of that game. "

Well, they easily could have at least ported over the AI from Halo 2, so I don't think that's the reason. "

There is s specific moment in the first level as Buck where he questions Dare where all the Elites are; the Elites absence is taken care of within the game world.; in fact their corpses are strewn about in some areas. However it does represent somewhat of a timeline issue since the Elites are not forced from power until later into Halo 2.  The Covenant ship jumping in slipspace happens near the beginning of Halo 2, placing ODST running concurrently with the events of the second game and slightly into the beginning of the third.  I suppose its possible the Elite rebellion STARTED at Earth and worked its way back to High Charity, but it was not presented that way in either Halo 2 or 3.