Halo 3: ODST

Rating:

Reviewed by:
Gerasimos Manolatos

Price: $59.99

The Skinny
If it plays like a Halo, and costs as much as a Halo, does that make it a Halo? The game's developers hope you think so. On the heels of sending The Chief off into space in a cryogenic capsule, Bungie is introducing us to the life of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. They're less dexterous, don't jump as high, and need to be healed when shot by a laser. (Wussies.) The story, broken up into flashback playthroughs of each squad member, puts you in the warpajamas of a rookie ODST separated from his unit following a drop into New Mombasa. With Covenant patrols in control of the city, you must locate your mates and get to the bottom of the enemy's invasion.

What We Thought
Halo 3: ODST is set-up like a game to hate: It's an obvious exercise in milking an already-trilogied series, and many of the features seem tacked on, physically in the form of a second disc for Halo 3 multiplayer. Heck, there aren't even any halos! But, fanboys and casual gamers, rejoice—this is not a Halo game in name only. While you are now in the shoes of Master Chief Version .5, pretty much everything that has made the series popular—the gripping story, the equally interesting gunplay—has made its way back.

But, unless you're heavily invested in the Xbox Live experience (and by invested, we mean a paying member), this will be the shallowest of packages you'll get in a 60 dollar game. In fact, we zoomed through the campaign on legendary difficulty in under seven hours. Keep in mind that your CPU-controlled squadmate is invulnerable on the solo campaign, so feel free to use them as a human pinata while you sneak out the side door during more heated skirmishes. We can imagine the co-op is exponentially harder.

Fortunately, the story, while devoid of Spartan lore, is interesting enough to hold your attention for a few hours. Your rookie ODST will stumble across various gear left behind by his teammates that will begin a flashback sequence putting you in control of that soldier. You'll play through the chapter and discover how things like their broken sniper rifle or used bottle of biofoam are littering the streets. Thankfully, guiding you from one level to the next is a VISR feature, which illuminates places of interest like hidden audio logs recorded by a citizen of New Mombasa. Halo geeks will appreciate that story-within-the-story as it provides perspective of the war from a normal human's perspective. The climax is what one would expect from the series—corridor after corridor of enemies and a final driving sequence that drags on too long. Overall, it's a short, but sweet adventure.

Of course, what would a first-person shooter be without its own unique arsenal? While most of the weaponry in the game has been carried over from previous iterations, there are two new guns to play with: a silenced submachine gun and a scoped handgun which many may remember from Halo: Combat Evolved. The SMG, at least in its role as a utility gun, isn't much different from the assault rifle, but the handgun is a welcome re-addition, especially useful when taking out mobs of annoying grunts.



When you're done saving the day, Firefight mode is where most online dwellers will spend their waking hours. It's basically Gears of War 2's Horde mode taken to the next level of addiction. You fight off increasingly harder waves of enemies and accrue as high of a score as possible before running out of lives. But, in an oversight of monumental proportions, there is no matchmaking for ODST's multiplayer modes. You'll have to hope your friends buy the game too, or play with them in the same room. (How 2005!)

Lastly, on a more personal note, while the overall soundtrack is once again fantasmagorical, the church music synonymous with the title screen for every game in the series sadly does not make an appearance.

Helfer Yourself
Tricia Helfer voices Dare, the seductive mission commander. If you're tired of your real-life woman bossing you around, she may not strike you as the girlfriend type.

Buy, Rent, or Disembowel
The Halo horde won't think twice about buying this and if you're a fan of the series, this should be in your collection. For those on the fence, you can do without this one, especially with Halo Reach just around the bend.