The Save Points!

Halo 3: ODST, just what is this game? Why do you want something that was just tagged on top of the Halo 3 franchise? Where’s master chief!?

Master chief is right where you left him. Between Halo 2 and Halo 3. Yes, this game takes place in an entirely different area with an entirely different crew. You play the role of the Rookie. The new silent protagonist. Left alone in New Mombasa to figure out just what is happening. Split from the rest of your squad, you roam the streets and find pieces of a giant puzzle. All while the city’s AI helps you find your way.

Developer: Bungie

Publisher: Microsoft Games Studio
Date of Release: 22/09/2009
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: First Person Shooter
Players: 1-4 ODST Campaign and firefight and up to 16 in Halo 3 Multiplayer

The Graphics:
It’s pretty much Halo 3 with a new HUD. For the franchise, it’s pretty much the biggest evolution it’s gotten in a long time. The rendering is still sub HD rescaled. In my eyes it’s pretty good. I’m not really picky about seeing scars on my space marine’s gigantic bodies or anything of the sort. I do think that the facial models could have been done a whole lot better however. It’s not as bad as Castlevania: Lament of Innocence however. But then again that was a PS2 title. The enhanced vision is very nice and helps a whole lot.

The Game:
The exposition in the campaign is very good. I’d say I love it a lot more than the previous titles. It’s a different beast however. It may have the same graphics engine, slightly tweaked maybe, but it doesn’t really feel the same. There’s a map that allows you to navigate around very easily. Although in the overworld the signs point you in the right direction. You’ve got a lot more tools at your disposal. Less weapons however. But that’s not a very big problem. The Halo 1 pistol is back, this excuses all.

I have a beef with this version of the game however. On one console you can have a maximum of 2 players for ODST. This means campaign and firefight. If you want to fill your game with 4, you need to have two consoles. On all previous titles 4 players on one console was possible and I believe it may have been the norm in most places. I know I usually played with many friends.

So basically the hub world has you playing as the silent protagonist. The rest call him Rookie. Once you reach a point of interest on him, you trigger a scenario to the likes of the Firefight mode. In these scenarios you play as other members of your squad. You’ll see a lot more combat and action in these. The pace will be a lot slower with the rookie.

I completed the game at heroic and in the coming weeks I plan on doing it on Legendary. It does have quite the difficulty leap between the two I find however. I think I will play this through the xmas break as well.

The Sound:

The music is awesome. You’ve got your mix of Jazzy noir detective music in there with the usual tribal epics. I really enjoyed this one.

For the voice acting they took some talent that may be familiar to you sci-fi buffs. A few from the cast of Firefly/Serenity. Nathan Filion for one! I enjoyed hearing them and quite often in Firefight you might hear Nathan yell out “Bam said the lady”. Which is always good for a laugh.

The Bottom Line:

It’s slightly different than previous Halo titles, but if it wasn’t your cup of tea before. Chances are it might not be still. However, I do suggest trying the story mode with a friend at least.

This game has two different version that you can purchase in stores. The special edition, comes with a controller and the game and just the game. In the game package you have Halo 3: ODST and the Halo 3 Multiplayer disc. Now my beef right here is that, in Canada, at EBGames, I was being charged nearly $90 for just the standard edition while the Collectors was a few dollars more. I’m guessing the price will decrease soon enough because that was ridiculous. On amazon.ca I see it for $69 so that’s not so bad.

In the package you also apparently get to play the Reach beta at some point when it become available. However I don’t have a clue how they want us to redeem this.

Pros:
- I like the ODST story.
- Firefight.
- Halo 3 Multiplayer bundled if you don’t already own it.
- Halo Reach beta when it comes around.

Cons:
- Storyline is rather short. (If your looking to sink hours in a campaign you may only find that through replay and trying to get scores.)
- Price may be steep.

The Save Factor:
This is a hard sell for Bungie.  I think the idea of packaging the multi with ALL downloadable maps is a very nice bonus. Especially for those who might not have halo 3 or didn’t want to pay for additional content. The $69 dollar price range for the regular edition is rather high in my mind. I do think this is a wonderful game but I’d say wait until it’s $60 or below. As for the collectors edition. I highly suggest it, you get an additional controller for just a little over standard retail! I have 6 controllers total now. Lots to spare and change depending my mood. For the Collectors Edition $99 is a rather good Save Factor.

The Image Gallery: (taken from Bungie.Net and Wikimedia)

Victor Review, xbox 360