Price: $59.99 | Release Date: September 22, 2009 | ESRB: M (Mature)

5 Stars - Amazing, a must buy game

Halo 3: ODST, an expansion chapter to the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, was a game that was certainly met with the highest amount of scepticism that we’ve seen for some time. It is fitting, then, that Halo 3: ODST is one of the strongest, surprisingly satisfying packages of the year.

There are two starting points from which to approach this review: First, we have the “Oh my God I love Halo so much I have a Master Chief tattoo on my butt” attitude, and second, we have the “Bungie are sell-outs and are only continuing the Halo franchise to milk the series and get some more money” approach. We’re going to be taking the latter.

The first-person shooter has players enter the Halo universe from a whole new perspective as it depicts the happenings of the war between the human race and the Covenant, a religious alien race hell-bent on the annihilation of the human race and the activation of the destructive Halo ring worlds. ODST has the player behind the helmet of a faceless Orbital Drop Shock Trooper known only as “the Rookie”, one sixth of a squad of ODSTs whose drop-pods veered off course when assaulting a Covenant ship. With his pod crash landed in the city of New Mombasa, Kenya, the Rookie (a completely silent hero, apart from the occasional grunt of pain) embarks on a journey to locate his lost squadmates who are scattered all about New Mombasa.

This time around there are a few differences in gameplay since we aren’t playing with the Chief. First of all, ODSTs do not have shields. Instead, they have “stamina”, which is a bit of a cop out from Bungie and really does serve pretty much like a light shield. As stamina runs out, the screen turns red to indicate the loss of stamina, and when stamina has depleted, the ODST’s health meter starts to chip away. Stamina automatically recharges when away from combat, while health can be replenished by finding “Optican” health canisters around the city - a major annoyance with this health system is that your screen goes a sight-inhibiting red only if you’ve lost the tiniest bit of stamina. Second, ODSTs are slightly slower than the SPARTAN super soldier (for the uninitiated, the Master Chief is a SPARTAN super soldier). This means that it’s a bit harder to simply barge through hordes of enemies, as well as it being harder to flee a desperate scenario. ODSTs are also a tad smaller than SPARTANs. 

Thirdly, ODSTs are unable to duel wield weapons, although somehow they are still able to rip turrets from their stands, hold SPARTAN lasers and (drum roll) flip vehicles over.
Sure, it all sounds unrealistic, but cut Bungie some slack: if all those abilities were taken away, everyone on the Halo forums would start whining about how they couldn’t do all those things. Suffice to say, playing as an ODST is rather more difficult than playing as the Master Chief: there’s a significant emphasis on stealthy, sneaky combat and gaining the initiative in firefights.

Most of this sneaking around will be done by the Rookie, as you do in fact get to play as other ODSTs. The Rookie scours New Mombasa, tracking down distress beacons and inspecting fallen objects to piece together what has happened between the crash and his wakening. But in between these sequences, players get to experience flashbacks of what the other ODSTs went through, and these come just at the right time before the stealthy levels get boring (not to say the Rookie’s sections aren’t interesting – they are). In the flashbacks, you’ll get to play through intense, hectic combat segments that are, quite frankly, pretty awesome. It’s all been done before in previous Halo games, but the way this game brings it all together is flawless.

Warthogs, Scorpion tanks, Ghosts, Wraiths, they’re all there. Each sequence explores a different area of Halo’s strengths, although one might not notice it while playing. Whether you’re up for a good bit of sniper-work, a tank run through city streets or if you’re just itching to blow stuff up, you’ll get to do plenty of each. ODST strikes a perfect balance between everything you really want to do in a Halo game, in addition to the mesmerizing lonely levels in which the Rookie attempts to find his way through the shadows.

Luckily, the Rookie isn’t entirely in the dark. ODST helmets come equipped with a special visor mode labelled “VISR”. VISR mode acts as a night-vision mode which also allows one to spot friendlies (highlighted in green) and enemies (highlighted in red), as well as highlighting objects of use, like weapons, Optican canisters and clues. The ODSTs also receive a degree of help from New Mombasa’s artificially intelligent maintenance unit, the Superintendent. The Superintendent provides maps, waypoints and supplies for the ODSTs, which can all be located on the ODSTs’ “NAV” information, which displays a comprehensive map of New Mombasa, objectives, and also allows one to play collectible audio logs which tell a tale within a tale.   

Halo has generally been pleasant on the eyes, and ODST is no different – well, unless you count the fact that it’s better. The darker, foreboding atmosphere of the game is wonderfully enforced through its lighting and textural realism. At other times, during the brighter, wilder sequences, the scenery and architecture of New Mombasa is a visual treat, not to mention the beautiful chaotic bloom of explosions and plasma fire. Remember that scene in Halo 3, when a Covenant carrier burst into the atmosphere and zoomed right over the player? There’s plenty of that in ODST, and needless to say it all looks amazing.

Halo 3: ODST packs one of the most engrossing campaigns to be played on the Xbox 360. Not only is the gameplay well balanced and intense, the narrative storyline is equally captivating. It may be just the method in which it is conveyed, but ODST’s story is nothing short of excellent. The storyline indeed relates to that of Halo 3, although indirectly, and one will grow to like the characters just as they did the Chief. The only flaw in the story is that, once again, Bungie fail to give it rock solid closure, which you might notice has been the case with all Halo games to date.

Of course, there is no Halo without a great soundtrack, and ODST’s score is nothing short of it. Martin O’Donnell brings his A-game to ODST, giving it the best Halo soundtrack since that of Halo 2. Mellow, foreboding tunes mesh seamlessly with the Rookie’s lonely treks through New Mombasa, and as always there are some faster, heavier ones to get your adrenaline pumping. Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori’s foray into the realm of saxophones and softer tones yields stunning results.

The largest new addition in Halo 3: ODST is its co-operative multiplayer mode, “Firefight”. Firefight is a wave-format game mode in which up to four players can fight together against oncoming waves of Covenant forces. Reminiscent of such gametypes as Gears of War 2’s “Horde” and Left 4 Dead’s “Survival”, Firefight is addictive and an absolute blast – but only if you have the friends to play it with. Unfortunately, there is no matchmaking system for Firefight, the only problem with a slightly generic but nonetheless successful game mode.   There are several maps that are tailor made for Firefight, which are also based off of levels in ODST’s campaign. Needless to say Firefight is a terrific way to pass some time, and brings something new and exciting to the Halo universe.

But it doesn’t end there. In a second disc that ships with all copies of Halo 3: ODST, players have access to the full Halo 3 multiplayer experience. Although nothing new, those that have not already bought all the downloadable maps for Halo 3 will find this a pretty decent deal: Halo 3: ODST comes with all the maps so far available for the Halo 3 competitive multiplayer mode, as well as three brand new maps including a remake of Halo 2’s “Midship”. Halo 3’s brightest point was most certainly its multiplayer mode, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to put that into the package. Players also see the return of the “Forge” level editor, as well as Halo 3’s “Theatre” mode.

Halo 3: ODST boasts one of the most immersive, captivating story modes one will get to play this year, although one might argue that Bungie did stretch it out a bit by having the player walk extremely large distances to get from location to location. The campaign is strongly backed up by the latest wave-format multiplayer game, Firefight, and Halo 3’s renowned multiplayer, and is a strong package for any FPS gamer. To cap it off, Halo veterans just might adore the return of the pistol, which, overpowered in Halo: CE and shockingly underpowered in Halo 3, makes a stylish return in the form of an even-powered scoped, silenced killing machine – the perfect tool for a few quiet kills before an onslaught.

The Verdict: So, it may be difficult for some to grasp, but Halo 3: ODST is good. Very good. Its shining light is the game’s campaign mode, packing in-depth characters, flawlessly balanced combat and setpiece battles along with an intriguing storyline. Firefight is ridiculously addictive for such a simple idea, and Halo 3’s multiplayer was always great. So, is Halo 3: ODST worth its $60 price tag? You bet. ODST is a must-buy for any Halo fan out there, and if you don’t like Halo, give it a try. You just might love it. For the unknowing, well, this is also a great introduction to the Halo universe. Halo 3: ODST is, in personal opinion, the best Halo game since Halo: CE first debuted way back in 2001 - it’s clear that a lot of thought went in to the making of ODST, and you really can’t go wrong with it.