Halo 3: ODST Review
First and for most I am a fan of the Halo world, I’ve played and beat the other games and I have read all but the latest two books, so I will try to not be biased. I will also try not to let slip any story spoilers.
ODST is unlike the other Halo Universe FPS games as for the first time you play an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) known as “The Rookie”, not Master Chief or the Arbiter. Unlike either of these two characters you are not super strong or nearly indestructible. You can and will die quickly at the hands of the alien invaders if you try to play this game like the other Halo games thus far.
ODST takes place in New Mombasa, a major port city and industrial center on Mombasa Island in the East African Protectorate on Earth, right before and at the time Master Chief and the Arbiter are battling the Covenant on Earth in Halo 3. This game is darker than the others as this time around you’re not trying “to win the fight” but to recover, survive, and escape the fight alive.
Chances are if you enjoyed the other Halo games you’re going to enjoy this one as well. Not much has changed graphic wise from Halo 3, other than models are more detailed and the graphics are more polished. What has changed are the weapons you have to use, namely the SMG and pistol. Both are now silenced and have had “scope” features added. Other weapon changes are the energy sword and the Battle Rifle are not seen in this game. You also now have an enhanced view mode, found via the X button, which improves your view in dark areas as well as adding highlight outlines to objects in the game. These highlights help you determine friend (green) from foes (red) as well as find weapons and usable items (blue). You will also see bright yellow that marks out background story points, which are presented in Audiophiles with still images. Word to the wise on these make sure you are in a safe place if you wish to watch the image slide show as the bad guys do not stop hunting in the city when in Vizr mode.
The campaign is fun if not a little short, I managed to beat it in five to six hours on normal difficulty with killing every bad guy I was able to find. It’s played out as “the Rookie” finding items the rest of the team have used via flashbacks in which you play the role of each team member. This works fairly well if not a little confusing at first. As “the Rookie” you must be stealthy, carful and mindful of what’s around you in the dark abandoned city as you find your way through it. Whereas each team members story plays out more like the other games with hard fast battles, which basically go in a straight line killing everything to whatever point these items are left in their wake. In the end it all fits nicely together leaving you with the same feeling you get from the other games. I will be going back and playing this again on the hardest difficulty to get more of a challenge and game play out of the game.
This game also has a Firefight mode in which you and your team (4 players total) fight off an onslaught of Covenant with a limited number of shared lives. I have yet to play this with my friends, but I have tried it by myself and find this to be a great addition to the game as it presents unlimited replay value. This mode is basically survive as long as you can and kill as much as you can. You start off with limited ammo and weapons to fight off the waves of Covenant that are sent against you. I managed to hold out for five waves on my own on Normal. Each wave as some weapons and ammo dropped in before they come which was nice as I quickly ran out of ammo in the first wave. This is one I think me and my friends will be enjoying over and over again till the next Halo games rolls out.
My final conclusion, if you’re a fan of Halo buy this, if you enjoyed the other Halo games but don’t find yourself playing them then rent first. My only dislike of this purchase (not game it’s self) was that it comes with all of the paid DLC for Halo 3 on disc 2, which I already paid for on Xbox Live. While I really enjoyed this game this leaves me feeling slightly used and abused in the end.
[Repost from Previous WP blog]
