Halo3 ODST-Review

Halo: ODST [Orbital Drop Shock Trooper] is the story of a group of ODSTs being sent into the city of New Mombasa to land on a Covenant Carrier hovering above the city, and kill the Prophet inside… Or so they think. ONI [Office of Naval Intelligence] has a different plan. Too bad even ONI didn’t expect the Carrier to jump right above the city. Sound familiar? That’s right, this game takes place DIRECTLY after Master Chief followed the Carrier through the ‘slip-space rupture’ in Halo 2. In this game, you play the FNG [or ****ing New Guy], simply referred to as the Rookie. Don’t be sad though, these guys are still crazy, if not crazier, than Spartans. Think about it. They get launched from space in a tiny pod, break through the atmosphere, and survive the impact into usually enemy filled territories. At least, that’s how it’s SUPPOSE to go. There’s a certain saying among the ODSTs. ‘Digging your own grave.’ I’ll leave you to ponder that one. Another saying, just to emphasize the point, is ‘Jumping into hell feet first.’ That’s right, these Helljumpers are no pansies, and boy, do I love it.

As ‘The Rookie,’ you wake up six hours after the slip-space rupture occurred, and scour the nighttime city in search of your lost squad. The game blends a gritty film noir type setting until you find trigger clues, these can be anything from a bent sniper rifle, to a camera from a Drone. Once found, you’re sent into the shoes of one of the Rookie’s squad mates, where you drop the detective setting and put on the kick ass Halo style boots. My personal favorite is playing as Dutch and leading a Warthog charge against a Covenant infested zoo.

While playing this game you may feel like you’ve done a lot of this before, not that this is a bad thing, of course. That’s because Halo: ODST uses the exact same engine as Halo 3. With a few moderation’s, of course. Two of the most notable differences in the game are: A) The lack of duel wielding. That’s right, kids, you can’t use two of the new amazing pistols at the same time. [I’ve already cried about it.] And B) The lack of the Battle Rifle.  Yes, yes, cry, my children, cry. I personally am ecstatic to see that hunk of junk go! Back to the game of course.

ODST’s campaign will burn about 3-5 of your sweet hours depending on your difficulty setting. For ODST first timers, I recommend Heroic. If you’re play Co-Op, go straight into Legendary. Now, onto the actual game itself: health packs have made a comeback, and shields are only on brutes. Instead, ODST’s have Stamina, which will recharge and Health, which can only be restored with health packs found across the game. This will be familiar with those of you who’ve played Halo: Combat Evolved. [If you haven’t, go do it now.] The mini-map is also gone, though it is replaced with the cities superintendent, the AI that runs the megapolis, and his detailed grid of the city, including enemy locations. Vehicle driving is just as fun as always, with every vehicle from the Halo series returning. Scorpion inside of the city limits? Count me in! You can ever find a couple of vehicles as the rookie, albeit only mongooses.

But, wait! There’s more! [More?] Yes, more! Let me introduce you to Firefight. Lately, the survive as long as possible games have been huge successes, [COD: 5’s Nazi Zombies, GoW2’s Horde, etc, etc] and this one is no exception. The maps are fun and gorgeous. Playing this on live with 3 other friends is a BLAST! [LITERALLY!] As you play, you rack up a ton of medals, each showing your amazing feat. Hammer Spree? I’ve got about 3 of them. Headshots? 29. It just never ends!

Oh, god, I’m starting to feel like an infomercial. Yes, there’s more. ODST comes with a second disc that contains EVERY Halo 3 multiplayer map known to us common man. This was good news for my 20GB hard drive and me. This also means that you don’t need a copy of Halo 3 to play multiplayer. The game comes with three new maps, each of which is STUNNING!

I give Halo: ODST a 9 out of 10. Bungie really went above and beyond the call to create a real game between their Spartan II epics. Also, I’m a sucker for add on stories and the ODST’s are just as bad ass as it gets. Buy it now, you will NOT be disappointed.

Oh, and as I said in my earlier article, if you purchase ODST, you’ll have an invitation for the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta next year! What are you waiting for!?