Halo 3: ODST

Halo 3 ODST was billed as am expansion to the Halo 3 experience. What it promised was to provide a side story that runs alongside the Halo 2 campaign, but from the perspective of a unit of drop troops who are fighting the Covenant incursion on Earth. While ODST provides this, it retailed at the same price as a full game, despite lacking the game content to justify this price tag.  
 

 
The story of ODST also has some problems. The original trilogy of games tell a single story with a core cast that we got to know over the series, despite the characterisation not being great at times. ODST has a large cast, all of whom are weak characters. You play the game as "the Rookie". The Rookie is a voiceless character with all the emotion of a toaster. The game begins with you being separated from the rest of your squad, and you go to waypoint locations which allow you to have a flashback level as one of the squad and find out what happened to that member of the squad.  Even though there are some 6 different members of the squad, they all fit into the exact same character mould. The cast of characters are annoying enough, but the objectives of the entire campaign do not really hold up to examination or scrutiny, and the end result is a dead end that is never referenced again in the Halo series. There are also some strange clashes that this game has with the Halo games that released before it. Maybe I am wrong on these points, but this game is set in conjunction with the early parts of Halo 2, yet the enemies are Brutes and not Elites. The story changeover in the enemies had not yet occurred at this point, so canonically this does not make sense. There are other points in this games story that just don't hold up with the story of the original trilogy. Halo ODST does not remain faithful to the interesting and at times haunting story of the series, instead telling a strange offshoot with a poor cast and conflicts with the far superior story of the original games.  
 
ODST uses the exact same engine as Halo 3, and so visually it is near identical. The character models look fine, though faces are still a bit unusual. The lighting in the game is excellent. New Mombasa looks fantastic at night, with the lighting work making a beautiful contrast between fires and lamps against the shadows and emptiness of the darkened city. The locations are not as varied this time around, but what is here looks fine. Explosions and weapon effects all have the same shiny look that Halo 3 had. Much of the game is spent in a kind of hub world, and this has a kind of Noire look about, compliments of the lighting.
 
The soundtrack in ODST in typical Halo quality, that is to say excellent. It still has the excellent monk chants and orchestral pieces that have a way of improving and enhancing scenes, putting emotion into events that may not have as much resonance without them. The problem here is that ODST lacks the strength of story to compliment this track, but nonetheless the score is excellent. There are more sombre and lonesome tracks that perfectly suit the more isolated feel that ODST goes for during much of the game. The characters are al voiced well, with Tricia Helfer and Nathan Fillion lend their talents, but the script is so generic that none of it sounds out. The script ensures that none of the characters pass generic space marine status.   
 

 
ODST plays the same core way as Halo 3 did. The main differences in game play come from the change in character the player is controlling. Unlike the super human Master Chief, the Rookie cannot dual wield, as obviously only Master Chief can use 2 hands at the same time.  You don’t have recharging shields. Instead, you have “stamina”, which functions exactly like recharging shields, but with more hyperventilation involved and if that is depleted, your character’s finite health bar is next on the docket of meters to be drained. Also, you now suffer damage from jumping from heights. It makes the game a little bit different, but only in slight ways. The weapons, vehicles and core game play are all identical to Halo 3, equally as polished and well made but also nothing new. The structure of the game is severely different, as New Mombasa serves as a hub for the games other missions. Despite Bungies noteworthy attempt to change up the game formula with a less linear design, it falls back into the classic Halo formula very fast, and even in the hubworld you follow waypoints on a map that make the large city deceptively linear. 
 
Aside from the Hub of New Mombasa, the game has 8 levels. The campaign is very short, lasting 5 hours at a stretch. The difficulties are the staple Halo, with heroic being the recommended setting to get a reasonable challenge. ODST has firefight mode, which is a solid rendition of the horde mode from Gears of War 2. Its a fun mode with friends, but sadly has no matchmaking option, so you HAVE to have friends to play it. Besides this ODST has no independent multiplayer of its own. The game comes with a disc containing all the DLC maps from Halo 3, but hardcore Halo fans likely already have this content so its a bit of a mute inclusion. It feels as if this disc is included to justify the games price tag of a full retail release, as the core game certainly does not.   
 

 
Halo 3: ODST is a solid game with polished game play and a fun campaign. The firefight mode is a great inclusion, and the Halo 3 multiplayer disc is excellent for those who do not have those maps already. However, the story that I enjoyed in Halo 1-3 is seriously watered down here. The characters are boring, and the events all feel pointless. The narrative direction is certainly here, but it feels a lot less focused than previous titles. The weapons, vehicles and even enemies [ with 1 exception] are all the exact same as Halo 3. ODST is a game that people looking for more of the same will like, but it does not warrant a full retail price due to its length. Its not a bad game, but certainly is a disappointing one.  
 
 
 
 
Pros: 

• Same solid shooting mechanics
• Weapons are balanced and fun to use
• Vehicles are still brilliant
• Same tactical approaches to combat situations 
• The noire feel to the city of New Mombasa is an atmospheric change
• A good attempt to change the direction of the game
• Successfully creates an atmosphere of isolation in the hub world
• Great soundtrack
• Halo 3 maps are a nice addition
• Firefight mode is a great addition

 
Cons: 

• The characters are generic and on the annoying side
• The ending feels pointless
• Conflicts with the timeline of events in the other Halo games
• Poor script
• Lacks level differentiation
• Too short to warrant being a full price game
• No matchmaking for firefight mode
• Just not enough content across the board

 
Wtf: 

• Do the writers know their own storyline? Why does it conflict in so many areas with the original story? 

 Score: 

• 6/10

The core game is fine, but it really needed more content and better writing.