HALO 3: ODST Review
ODST. Your first question when Bungie renamed this game from HALO 3: Recon to ODST was probably, what the heck is ODST. It stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, they are a group of the hardest and most deadly soldiers in the UNSC (think the equivalent to our Navy Seals). Also referred to as Hell-jumpers because of the unique way they are inserted into battle. Their mode of transportation is a small 1 person drop pod which is fired from the UNSC ships above the battlefield. They don’t have shields, can’t dual-wield, and rely on health packs and teamwork to survive.
ODST is not a sequel to HALO 3, it actually doesn’t even take place at the same time as HALO 3. The games time/setting is during HALO 2 in the African city of New Mombasa. If you remember in HALO 2 when the Prophet of Regret makes a slipstream jump out of the city, this is the exact moment that the ODST you’ll play in the game are hurdling toward earth. Now a slipstream jump is something that is usually done in the middle of space, not thousands of feet above a mega city. So when this occurs it affects the trajectory of the ODST leaving them scattered all across New Mombasa in the middle of a Covenant Invasion.
You play the Rookie. A voiceless character that is grouping with this squad for the first time. Buck, the leader of this squad is an outgoing,wise cracking, and all around like-able character. The other 3 ODST are Romeo, Dutch, and Mickey. While they have their moments, the game never really gives you a reason to care about their well being. They all specialize in one specific area of combat such as explosives and sniping. The other member of the group is a ONI operative named Dare. She is the one who is leading this mission and knows that they aren’t going into this city to just fight covenant, there is much more to it than that.
When the Rookie crash lands his drop pod he is knocked out for 6 hours. During this 6 hour timeframe the rest of his squad is battling to try and find one another and get the hell out of the city. When the rookie wakes up it is dark, rainy, and you can see Covenant Phantoms flying overhead. You blow open the blast door on your drop pod and drop down to the city streets. Upon falling from your pod which is stuck in debris, you will experience one of your first setbacks of not being Master Chief, fall damage. Thats right kids, no more jumping off buildings and recklessly hopping around like bunnies in this game. These first few moments are very lonesome, the classic HALO music sets the mood perfectly but you in fact are not alone.
The Superintendent, a Artificial Intelligence that basically runs the city helps guide you past those nasty Covenant and to your next objective. This is probably one of the most clever and original ideas I have seen in a HALO game in a long time. It is a brilliant way to use the atmosphere and setting to help guide the player and reminds me of something I would see in games such as Bioshock. Changing sings to say “keep left” or “detour >>>” is the Superintendents way of helping you along your path. The main reason why this is needed is because while playing the Rookie you are in an open HUB world. After the first few missions you can explore the entire city which is actually quite a large unrestricted place for a HALO game.
ODST’s also have a special night-vision visor that helps them see in the dark. This game is very dark and is sometimes hard to see even with the visor activated. This was a problem for me at the beginning of the game but I eventually got used to it. The visor is also used to show you dropped weapons which are outlined in blue, enemies in red, and friendlies in green. The most important use of the visor is to show you the clues to where your fellow ODST squad mates are at or what happened to them. This is the primary objective of the gameplay while playing the Rookie. Going from destination to destination looking for these clues. This sort of detective vibe is actually quite enjoyable and was definitely something different for the series. Once you find a clue you are transported back to when that ODST crash landed. Then you play a typical sprawling HALO level that will feel very familiar. However, once that level is over you switch right back to the Rookie and your off to your next clue. Once you’ve done the first few missions you can pick which order you want to find the clues in for yourself. You can go to the next closest one or skip passed it and try another. Eventually you have to to do them all in order to advance the story so it is really up to you the player.
The controls are classic HALO. You have all the different settings and sensitivity options that you would in any other HALO game. The main differences are the jumping and grenade throwing. Not being able to jump as high didn’t really bother me but getting used to not being able to throw a grenade 3 miles like the chief did took some getting used to. ODST’s grenades probably throw half as far as the chiefs, so take that into account before you get started.
One of the most important parts of a HALO game, the sound, is also absolutely fantastic. We have come to expect nothing less. Although, there are some slightly new sounds on two of the weapons. The Pistol and SMG have both been silenced which makes them sound much quieter and more effective at long range combat. The also have a noticeable kickback if you spam the right trigger. These weapons are most effective in short bursts, so keep your trigger finger under control if you want to take down those pesky brutes faster. There are no other new weapons in the game and the rest will all feel and shoot like their HALO 3 counterparts.
My biggest complaint of the campaign mode was the lack of backstory for the ODST squad members. Yes, I know that there are several viral marketing videos I can watch to give me some backstory. That however is not an excuse for not putting it in the game. The game would have been much more emotionally engaging if I actually cared about the other 3 ODST’s outside of Buck. The game also suffers from being built on a game engine that is 2 years old. This isn’t a huge setback but there were definitely moments when i said “ewww, that looks like crap”. The faces of the ODST looked absolutely terrible. Bungie should definitely give Bioware or Bethesda a call before they make another animated face. Even though this is a minor gripe, it doesn’t at all hinder the games playability. The campaign is about 5-6.5 hrs long depending on how long you spend exploring the hub world. While this is short, remember that this is an expansion of sorts and can also be played in 4-player co-op.
Moving on from the campaign, lets talk about an entirely new mode to the HALO series called Firefight. This is basically Bugnie’s version of Gears Horde mode or COD’s zombie mode. You play as ODST with 4 of your friends against waves of Covenant. Notice I said friends and not random screaming 13 yr. olds. This is because Firefight doesn’t have matchmaking so if you don’t have friends you are up you know what creek with out a paddle. This mode is actually really fun and I found it was much more enjoyable than Horde mode. There are 10 different levels two of which can be changed between night and day. There are also the standard HALO difficulty levels to up the challenge. The maps are taken right out of the single player campaign and are fun to play. You can also take use of Bungie’s theater system which allows you to save films of your campaign and firefight matches. This works exactly like HALO 3 and allows you to upload them to the bungie.net website.
ODST comes with 2 discs. The first disc has the ODST campaign and firefight mode and the second disc has the entire HALO 3 multiplayer experience. Including all the map packs released to date along with the 3 new maps that will be available in the Mythic Map Pack.
I am a huge HALO fan and have read all the books and just genuinely enjoy the universe Bungie has created. ODST to me was a great game, not perfect but a very polished game to have only been developed in a year. While I was disappointed with the lack of background story, the campaign was one of the most well paced yet in the series.
Now, is it worth your 60 dollars? Should it have even been priced at 60 dollars? In my OWN opinion I think the game should have been 40 dollars. While I had no problem paying 60, I am in the minority which is a hardcore fan of a entertainment property. Much like the Star Wars or Pearl Jam. If your just a casual HALO fan and are just curious about the game then I would strongly suggest you rent it. I really felt as though Bungie wanted this game to be more of a hardcore HALO fans game. Sort of like a special edition or a lost chapters if you will. A hardcore fan is always willing to pay more for these things. For Instance, If Pearl Jam announces 5 lost tracks and charges a full CD retail price for them its probably going to upset the average music listener. Although, you can bet your stickman tattoo that all those hardcore Pearl Jam fans will be there the same day it releases at Target. So in the end, yes it is 60 dollars. If you don’t want to pay that much for it borrow it from a buddy for 8 hours and be done with it. It does suck that Microsoft would do this to its most important game franchise, but that is big business. They new that you would by it at 60 dollars anyway. If you feel so strongly about this price then the best thing you can do is fight with your wallet and don’t buy the game.
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