Preview: Halo ODST

GAME: Halo 3: ODST
FORMAT: 360
DEVELOPER: Bungie
PUBLISHER: Microsoft Game Studios

September as always been an exciting time to be a gamer as it’s usually the month in which all your essential gaming purchases start to be released in time for Christmas. However this year September is even more exciting as a new addition to the massively popular “Halo” series finally lands on Xbox 360.

Now if you haven’t played or even heard about the Halo series then I can only assume you been living in some sort of primitive cave or something as the “Halo” franchise is pretty much everywhere these days. You see “Halo” is Microsoft’s biggest franchise on Xbox 360, it’s week in, week out the most played on “Xbox Live” and because of this the franchise as been milked as if it were some large, grass chewing, cash cow in an attempt to make the most amount of money out of the franchise as possible.

However it would seem as if the udders have run dry as Microsoft seem to be desperately trying to inject more life into the series like some widow who won’t let go of her dead husband. Including the “Halo Trilogy” (Halo 1, 2 & 3) we now also have “Halo” action figures, a “Halo” movie in the works, a “Halo” anime series coming out and more interestingly a “Halo” spin off game called “Halo Wars”. “Halo Wars” is a complete departure from the “Halo Trilogy” and a game I would consider to be just made in order for Microsoft to cash in once again. It completely ditches the first person genre of the “Halo Trilogy” and instead goes into RTS (Real Time Strategy) like your “Command and Conquer” games and your “Age of Empires” games. Now I profess to being a huge “Halo” fan, I have the entire “Halo Trilogy” but “Halo Wars” seemed to come from more of a business decision than a “really cool idea” so I thought “you know what I’m not going to be brainwashed that easily!” although Mr. Ian French would hate me for saying that. However when news broke to me that a fifth Halo game that harked back to the first person shooter genre was in the works, needless to say I was in with the typical “Halo” fan boys or completely socially inept idiots as I like to call them, rejoicing and eagerly anticipating it’s release.

And finally this month it comes out and you know what? I CANNOT BLOODY WAIT! lololololol!!!!111

Because let’s face it, the sceptics are talking bollocks, they would have you believe that “Halo 3: ODST” is basically just the same as “Halo 1, 2 & 3” and that you an absolute d*ckhead for even thinking of buying it. Well you know sceptics?! YOU’RE BLOODY WRONG! “Halo 3: ODST” will be a completely different experience from the previous “Halo” first person shooters and here’s why.

You see first of all in “Halo 1, 2 & 3” you play as a character called “Master Chief” in which you then go around slaying various types of alien and thus saving everyone from extinction. Whereas in “Halo 3: ODST” you play some other character in which you go around slaying various types of alien and thus saving everyone from extinction! Well….OK…that argument might seem a bit weak however let me explain.

“ODST” puts you in control of quite a few different characters actually and it all centres around the story of a group of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers or as I like to call them, just normal foot soldiers. The group is made of “Dutch”, “Romeo”, “Mickey”, “Dare”, “Buck” and “The Rookie” who serves as the main character in the game. Your group are busy fighting off “The Covenant” alien baddies in a city called “New Mombasa” which the alien horde are busy trying to take control of. However your group gets separated and “The Rookie” sets about finding what as happened to the rest of his squad. What really sets this game a part from the other “Halo” games is that when “The Rookie” finds out about what as happened to his team mates, you assume control of them and actually play out what happened to them along for some cool, none linear story telling which is completely different from previous “Halo games”.

Another thing that adds to a different experience is the distinction between “Master Chief” and an “ODST”. In “Halo 1, 2 &3” you run about as some kind of bad ass commando, who as super agility, super damage resistance and can pretty much use any weapon at their disposal like some kind of robotic version of James Bond. Whereas an “ODST” is far from the superior soldier that Master Chief is. This means that in “ODST” you will be less damage resistant, will have less agility and will only be able to use weapons you’ve been trained to use, which at first may seem like the game won’t be as good as the games in the “Halo Trilogy”. However I find the prospect even more compelling, no longer will you be able to run about slaying hordes of aliens at ease. This game sounds like it requires a bit more skill and thought when playing the game. Of course the “ODST’s” aren’t completely without their own little tools. A brand new HUD displays enemies better so you can see enemies from further away and come up with attack plans well in advance as well as other unknown perks. Add to this much better graphics and you already have the components are a different but still high quality “Halo” game.

And that’s just campaign mode. “Halo 3: ODST” also features a separate disc which is essentially Halo 3′s multiplayer mode with all the bonus DLC map packs as maps boxed with the game. Which seems a little pointless and lazy, I mean why can’t “ODST” have it’s own slayer matches with “ODST” soldiers pwning each other? And the inclusion of all the map packs is a bit of a sour blow for people who had to pay for them separately i.e ME! However the multiplayer features aren’t all bad as “ODST” sees the addition of a new multiplayer mode, brand new to the game called “Fire fight Mode”. Now the premise of this mode already as me wet with excitement and can you blame me?! The idea of a “Gears of War 2” type Horde mode adapted to the “Halo” universe may seem like some cheap addition at first however the idea of five “ODST’s” or a character called “Sgt Major Avery Johnson” which you only get if you pre-order the game, fighting off waves and waves of aliens in “New Mombasa” just sounds brilliant so eat that sceptics!

Price guide (prices correct as of 08-Sep-09)

• The Hut: £29.73 – with Halo Reach Beta access
• Zavvi: £29.95 – with Halo Reach Beta access
• Amazon: £29.96 – with Halo Reach Beta access and Sgt Johnson unlock
• Sendit: £34.89 – with Halo Reach Beta access
• Play: £34.99 – with Halo Reach Beta access and Sgt Johnson unlock
• Game: £34.99 – with Halo Reach Beta access

Tags: bungie, Halo, odst, Preview, XBox 360

Leave a Reply