The expansion or sequel if you will - was originally named Halo 3: Recon, one confusing name change later, we have Halo 3: ODST with the price of an expansion. This expansion quickly turned to a full fledged game with the price at 69.99 in Canada and 59.99 in the US. Is Halo 3: ODST really worth the 60 odd dollars or should we save our money for the insane amount of games in Q4?
Synopsis:
Running parallel to Halo 2, you are an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper ready to land on a Covenant ship, but all goes wrong and you’re sent sailing off course along with your squad. You wake up hours later to find yourself in New Mombasa, a dead Covenant infested city all alone and no contact with your squad. You are the Rookie – as they call you – and you search around the city of Mombasa looking for clues to what had happened to your squad mates.
Single Player:
When playing ODST, you feel like a downgraded Spartan walking around the city of New Mombasa with a silenced SMG. Compared to a Spartan, you jump lower, die quicker because of no shields, and can’t dual wield but you can walk faster than Master Chief with a detached turret. With the same engine as Halo 3, the gun play is similar - but you find yourself dying a lot more and utilizing cover which is a different feel, than the run and jump gameplay from previous Halo games. There will be times where you are stuck in a tank, warthog or put into intense battles, very much like Halo 3. These levels seem like they were taken right out of Halo 3 and Bungie put bunch of ODST’s in them.
The Halo games were generally linear and it is obvious that Bungie is trying to move away from that linear experience. With the open world you experience as the Rookie, it feels very pointless when you find yourself looking in deep corners to find nothing but a bunch of garbage bags. What is unique about an ODST is their HUD vision, which allows you to see clearer in the dark and it outlines hostiles and teammates. The story is a lot easier to follow than Halo 3 because it’s not trying to throw a bunch of things at you all at once. To expand on the story, you can find up to 30 audio logs which is similar to BioShock and I must admit that Bungie did a good job making them easy to hear and access. The single player can take from 6-8 hours depending on the difficulty you choose.
Multiplayer:
ODST comes with a second disc which includes the Halo 3 multiplayer, with all the DLC maps and 3 new maps to satisfy all your Halo 3 cravings. A lot of people – like me – already have all the maps and probably feel ripped off that they are paying for things they already own. If you do plan on playing Halo 3 for years to come, then this second disc might appeal to you. But if you already have the maps and don’t think you will be playing Halo much longer, then this might rub you the wrong way.
The newest addition to the Halo universe is ODST Firefight. Essentially this like Gears of War 2’s - Horde mode or Call of Duty: World at War’s – Nazi Zombies. This new mode is tonnes of fun and you can spend hours with it and not even notice. I feel like this should be DLC for Halo because I’m pretty sure more people would have bought it if it was priced at 10- 15 dollars. One feature that ODST does lack is the inability to jump in Firefight with 3 random people. So what I’m saying is, if you have no friends then Firefight might not be the best experience for you.
Presentation:
The best part of ODST is the fantastic sound track which depicts the mood of every moment. From Jazz music to lonely tunes, ODST is soothing to the ears and really makes you feel like you are the only ODST alive. The graphics are a step up from Halo 3 and with its soft colours illuminated by the fires in the background; it is appealing to the eye.
Final Thoughts:
Halo 3: ODST is a great single player experience that all Halo fans should get their hands on, and experience for themselves. The single player is probably the best I have played in the Halo Series and its great soundtrack really makes it something to remember. Firefight is really addictive and if you still play Halo 3 multiplayer, then this game will prove its value. I would have given this game a lot more praise if it wasn’t priced as a full game, instead they it should have been released as an expansion or DLC, like how it was originally planned. If you don’t own all Halo 3 multiplayer maps then go out and buy this game. If you want Firefight, but not Halo 3, then you have a tough choice to make. If you already own the maps and want to play ODST’s single player, then I suggest you borrow the single player disc from a friend or rent it for a weekend.
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