This is roughly analogous to the early portion of Pillar of Autumn where the tutorial is. It performs the same function, letting you choose normal or inverted controls, and showing you how the shields work. You will have a chance to look at characters close up here; the levels of detail presented on faces seem to vary wildly, not just between cutscenes and gameplay, but from character to character.

Of course, the ODST giving you a run-down on the new suit doesn't really need to be that detailed, since you're never going to see him again-- at least not in this context.