Review: Halo 3: ODST

Game: Halo 3: ODST
Format: XBox 360
Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

So after all of the excitement and anticipation, “Halo” fanboys (including me) have been busy dropping their loads over the latest instalment of the franchise like an army of pubescent, spotty teens. Since I wrote a preview for the game (if you’d like then go and check it out) I decided I’d probably be the best authority to deliver a review of the game, so here we bloody go! Whether the game is good or not, it is already a success with a staggering 2 million plus copies of the game being sold in the first 24 hours of release. But that’s probably down to all the shit storm hype that Microsoft seems to create around it’s big name titles, so the question is does it live up to the hype at all?

Well yes and no, it seems whilst Microsoft are happy to hype their games up to the highest of heavens it ultimately means that very, VERY few actually meet the standards that are promised. So when “ODST” did finally come out there were bound to be people who were left disappointed, however I was not one of them. You see, despite pointing out what I loved about the whole “Halo” series in my preview, the “Halo” games have never been in that special place in my heart, it’s always been reserved for games like “Gears of War” and “Viva Pinata” and I think that’s because I’ve always found the “Halo” games to be a little bit faceless and void of any character or personality. However after putting the game in, within the first 10 minutes of actual game time I’d already felt that “ODST” had gone someway to try and rectify that and it’s because of that, that I think it is probably the best “Halo” game that’s been made so far (I can already hear the backlash coming.)

Campaign wise the story is brilliant, far better than any “Halo” story so far. Ok it may be a tad cheesy and melodramatic but I gasped in shock and horror as I actually found myself playing a “Halo” game in which I actually genuinely cared for the characters. Some say the campaign might be short but I say at a nice little price of £35 in most retails and with a superb Firefight mode and Multiplayer mode the length of the story isn’t really an issue. In fact I’d even go as far to say that making it longer would had made it worse and more drawn out.

The gameplay also goes some way to also help add some personality and this is done by making the game a lot more realistic (well as much as a game set in the future, where there is a big war involving the entire of humanity and an alien race can be) and by making this game much more realistic is key in bridging the gap between the characters in the game and you the player. Why is it more realistic? Well it’s essentially the same gameplay as the previous games however the difficulty is ramped up drastically. The AI is far better and more intelligent and the gun stats are far more balanced meaning bigger guns do more damage and on the whole feel a lot more deadly. On top of this you then add the fact you no longer have any shield like in previous instalments meaning you can run about taking insane amounts of damage. You no longer have a radar (meaning you don’t have the luxury of knowing where distant enemies are) and you also cannot dual wield weapons. In fact if you have played any of the previous games in the franchise then “ODST” is gonna take some getting used to. Be prepared to die….A LOT.

Of course being an “ODST” isn’t all doom and gloom, you get a very nice visor which works great in night time levels (not so well in day time levels however) which identifies where enemies are in front of you and you get a spiffing weapon set of a silenced SMG and a silenced pistol as well as the ability to pick up alien weapons dropped from kills. The only issue I have in terms of weapons is your constantly having to pick up new weapons as the ammo is so scarce in this game, it’s like the guys at Bungie are laughing manically as you are desperately struggling to find ammo and cover from fire, which brings me on to another gripe I have. Guy if you’re going to make cover pretty integral to the game then maybe you should’ve put in some kind’ve cover mechanic because ladies and gentlemen there isn’t one and it is absolutely crying out for one. I can say however that health is in abundance and is issued via little dispensers littered around the city. One last thing I will say about the gameplay is the objective in the rookie parts could have been made a lot clearer as I found it frustrating wondering around a huge city for about an hour trying to figure out where to go right at the start of the game.

Graphics wise the game looks far better and prettier than the older “Halo” games and so it should because obviously it’s a newer game. An area I think the game really excels where I think the previous ones haven’t so much, is the soundtrack (yes, OK the “Halo” theme is great but I’d rather not have it on loop as I play through the game thank you very much!) The soundtrack I think really adds to the experience of playing this game. Much like games such as “Doom” and “Dead Space”, the soundtrack is brilliantly crafted to what you see on screen. The quiet eerie moments as you wonder around the city, isolated from everyone is reflected in the soundtrack as well as adrenaline pumping, shoot out moments which helps immerse you into the game.

I know this review as gone on quite a bit but I suppose I better go over the Firefight and Multiplayer modes, so first up – Firefight. This mode is brand new to the “Halo” series and is really being pushed as one of the many reasons why you should buy the game and I think that this maybe one of the reasons why the actual campaign is a little bit overshadowed but Firefight is a brilliant mode. Best played with 3 other friends over Xbox live, Firefight pits you against wave after wave of “Covenant” aliens, each time getting harder and harder and believe me, Firefight mode is bloody hard! How does it get harder you ask? Well after each wave there are various skulls which are activated (you know like the ones you could collected in “Halo 3”? Yeah them) each skulls having different implications for example one skull makes enemies throws endless amounts of grenades at you whereas another skull only allows you to regain health by melee-ing enemies to death. Throw in various bonus rounds, weapon drops, extra team lives, which are used up once one of your team mates dies and health drops and you have the perfect ingredients for a mode which is brilliant yet never gets boring or samey. The aim of the mode is to last as many waves as possible like in “Gears of War 2” right? Wrong actually, the main aim of the mode is to stay alive whilst racking up various points and medals such as killing sprees and funnily enough there’s a set amount of points that once surpassed gives you a cheeky little achievement.

Anyway “ODST” also comes with the sublimely brilliant “Halo 3 Multiplayer Experience” which is basically an extra disk loaded with the multiplayer of “Halo 3” including all the maps (as well as some new ones) and all of the playlists and forge games. Now I won’t go on about this too much as well nothing seems to have changed (and why should it? It’s already additively brilliant) but like I said in my preview, I don’t see why “ODST” couldn’t of had it’s own multiplayer slayer type mode, I mean it certainly is worthy enough to warrant one. That said, there is special ODST playlist within the mode (or at leastt there was, Bungie decided to have a double xp weekend on the weekend of launch of the game and since then the playlist has gone) which is the closest you’ll get to an “ODST” version of say slayer (Halo 3 slayer with no shields and a more balanced weapon system.) So all in all then “Halo 3: ODST” is in my humble opinion the best “Halo” game made. It has much more personality than it’s predecessors and is chock full of modes that will keep you playing for absolutely ages. If you haven’t already, then I suggest you go out and pick up a copy to see what all the big fuss is about.

Review Round Up

Graphics: 4/5 – Not the most stunning 360 game I’ve seen but it doesn’t look like poo either and is still a big improvement from Halo 3.
Sound: 5/5 – Soundtrack is brilliant used, completely immerses you into the Halo universe.
Gameplay: 4/5 – Gameplay is essentially the same as the other Halo games with some slight differences which make the game a whole different beast altogether. However a cover mechanic would be nice and the idea of day time levels when you have a visor which makes everything brighter is a little bit stupid.
Longevity: 5/5 – The game is packed with modes, Campaign is interesting enough to replay, Firefight will have you teaming up together with friends for hours on end and if that wasn’t enough you then have the frighteningly addictive Halo 3 Multiplayer.
Overall: 5/5 – I’ll give the game 5 M6C pistol headshots out of 5. Best Halo game made in my opinion and at £35 its a steal.

Price Guide (prices correct as of 02-Oct-09)

• The Hut: £29.73
• Zavvi: £29.95
• Amazon: £29.96
• Sendit: £32.89 – with Halo Reach Beta access
• Play: £34.99
• Game: £34.99

[starreview tpl=16]

Tags: bungie, Review, XBox 360

Leave a Reply