This week’s guest review is written by Kevin Heger, a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago who has been interested in video games for as long as he can remember. We thank Kevin for the wonderful review and wish him the best in his future endeavors!
Halo 3: ODST Review by Kevin Heger
Halo 3: ODST has been one of the biggest talking points lately in the gaming world. Selling around 2.2 million copies on launch day, Bungie’s creation has surprised everyone but has been received very differently. Arguments over the $60 cost of what some people see as an expansion pack has questioned the overall experience for such a price.
Halo 3: ODST is set in between the events of Halo 2 and 3 and puts you into the eyes of an unnamed Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (which the characters actually address frequently to my amusement). From the beginning of the campaign, connections are made a little deeper then previous titles as your introduced to your team through an interesting use of first person perspective. Due to a slipspace rupture, your pod is thrown off course and crashes into the city of New Mombasa. A very quick tutorial wraps up and you’re on your own, which ends up being one of ODST’s biggest highlights. Right off the bat, the gameplay feels different: you don’t feel like a god-like Spartan anymore. Your first encounter with a group of enemies feels drastically different as you actually struggle a little adjusting to the new Silenced SMG and Magnum (more on those later) and realizing you’re beat downs don’t have the power they used too.
One of the features I enjoyed was the night vision option for the visor. This step up from previous Halo titles gave a more in depth look at how the equipment of the future works. However, in a similar realm to that of the detective mode in Batman: Arkham Asylum, most of you’re time in the streets of Mombasa is seen through this filter rather than the nerve-racking darkness (which in my opinion was done very well by Bungie). Thankfully, the flashback missions are set in light settings so the familiar textures and enemies can be seen normally and not always out-lined in red. These flashback missions also add to a unique story telling not seen often in games, especially from Bungie, so the added narrative gave a deeper feel to the game. Throughout ODST there was also comical moments, some of which actually made laugh out loud. This lighter take on the Halo Universe was welcomed by my friends and I and gave the characters more depth.
Though the story is very immersing, the quickest way to ruin it is co-op. The feeling of being alone in the dark streets of Mombasa is shattered as you and your buddies rampage the streets without worrying about being sniped as you sneak along the walls. Only a handful of missions feel right with co-op, but a lot of the experience can be lost. In my opinion, it is best to play through once on your own, and then tackle the harder difficulties with your friends.
Gameplay-wise, Halo ODST feels pretty much the same as Halo 3, with the exceptions of different jump physics and new HUD. The Silenced SMG and Magnum are welcomed additions, but they don’t feel enough. The Silenced SMG tends to be called the “Not-so-silenced SMG” with my friends and I, and the Magnum, though hilariously effective against Grunts and Jackels, still does not deliver the way the Pistol did in the first Halo. Other then these 2 new additions, the familiar weapon set still exists along with the similar habits in using them (Picking up a Brute Spiker is a rarity for me) and having the absence of duel-wielding leaves me feeling weaker. Thankfully, one of my favorite weapons, the incendiary grenade, shows up very frequently, allowing a slight change in grenade strategy.
Incendiary Grenades: Always Hilarious!
All the basic enemies return (except the Flood thankfully) with addition of one new unit, The Engineer. The Engineer simply adds shields to any unit near, but this enemy doesn’t feel like a huge addition to the roster. Also added to the game are Audio logs similar to those like in Bioshock. These audio logs give an interesting story background, but don’t have the impact like those in other games and don’t feel worth collecting for anything besides the achievements. The music score very impressive with new scores that gave new feeling to the big fights and struggles you encounter. However, I found myself hearing an epic track as I listlessly wandered the streets of Mombasa, so I felt that the placement of some of the songs to be off.
Coupled with the ODST campaign is the new firefight mode. A similar take to Gears of War’s Horde and Call of Duty’s zombie Nazis, you and you’re friends take on waves of Covenant. I actually found ODST’s take on this mode quite enjoyable as the difficulty continues to increase with addition of skulls and the hilarious bonus rounds of grenade spamming, super Grunts. Be prepared to invest some time into Firefight because to reach even the goal of 200,000 for the achievements takes at least a hour+. Along with Firefight, a separate disc of the complete Halo 3 multiplayer comes with ODST, containing all the released maps and the ability to still get multiplayer achievements for Halo 3. Previously unreleased maps Citadel, Heretic, and Longshore come with this disc, a nice addition for those who play Multiplayer.
Overall, ODST is a fine work by Bungie, but it’s still hard to call it it’s own game. Having a campaign that only lasts around 6 hours, one new mode, and only a couple new additions makes the game feel a little lacking for those of us who are Halo veterans. However, I believe Halo 3: ODST is a great way for newcomers to get introduced to the Halo universe with the indulging story and gameplay. For newcomers, the $60 price tag is made up with the full multiplayer experience, saving time and Microsoft points to obtain all the maps. However, to those of us who had already purchased the map packs, it feels a bit like a steal. I believe that if ODST had been released as DLC it still would have received the praise it deserves and still would have sold over 2.2 million units. Halo 3: ODST is a great game to play and will help tide gamers over until the release of Halo: Reach (and the included multiplayer beta is a nice addition too). Bungie certainly has another hit on their hands, but it leaves with the taste of wanting so much more.
Vice Verdict: Buy
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