Halo 3: ODST Review

Halo 3: ODST

Publisher: Microsoft Developer: Bungie Platform: Xbox 360 Release: 2009 Players: 1-4 (Campaign), 2-16 (System Link / Online) Genre: First-Person Shooter Rating: 9.0 \ 10.0: Excellent

Above is Rookie battling Covenant on the streets of New Mombasa with a silenced SMG
 

Awhile ago, Halo fans may have wondered what it was like to be a UNSC Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST). When Halo 3: ODST was released, they wondered no longer. The game takes place during the events of Halo 2 (that makes me wonder why the game's title isn't Halo 2: ODST). The Covenant have discovered the location of Earth and are launching an all-out assault on New Mombasa, a port city in Kenya, Africa. Since the Master Chief is somewhere on Delta Halo, a squad of six ODSTs is dropped in pods from thousands of feet in the air into to New Mombasa (that's where the "Orbital Drop" part comes in). This squad consists of Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, Captain Veronica Dare, Rookie, Dutch, Mickey, and Romeo. Rookie, like Noble 6 in Halo: Reach is anonymous, and with the exception of grunts and shouts, Rookie never says any word aside from a rare "ow". The latter four have real names in the Halo universe, but they're not mentioned in the game. When you crash down in Mombasa, you start off as Rookie, and you've been separated from the rest of the team. Throughout the campaign, you will switch between each soldier, with each interesting object Rookie finds leading to a flashback from the perspective of the ODST who dropped it. Up until the last two missions, Rookie's segments are rather boring-- they're 25% action, 75% strolling towards through the streets of Mombasa towards your objective point. However, the sights of the streets can be breathtaking, and little touches such as car alarms blaring and ATMs malfunctioning add to the desolate tone. The game is visually impressive the majority of time, and the sight of Mombasa at night is especially beautiful. The Halo 3 engine was reused for this game and looks better than ever, but it does show it's age occasionally. The action doesn't become the traditional intense and nonstop stuff fans are used to for Rookie until the last couple missions. ODST presents a new feature: the Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance (VISR). Activated by pressing the X button, the VISR lights up dark areas as well as highlights enemies red and allies green. By pressing Back, a menu will be opened up that allows you to view the mission map, mission objectives, and listen to the game's hidden collectible audio logs. This is an awesome feature that I'm disappointed hasn't been seen since. By discovering enough of the 52 audio logs documenting Mombassa escapee Sadie Endahsa, you can unlock perks such as an armory room and Mongooses, all of which make Rookie's segments a little more interesting and enjoyable. The campaign is difficult, a feature that is present in all Halo games, but it's not particularly lengthy. Of course, it's still very fun. Gunning down hordes of Covenant with a turret as Mickey, soaring through the night sky in Buck's stolen Banshee, blasting Banshees and Phantoms with a missile pod manned by Romeo, and racing down the coastal highway of Mombasa in Rookie's Warthog are some of the highlights of my experiences with shooters. While it's not my favorite campaign, it has more incredibly fun setpieces like this than any other game in the series. While I've become use to saving the universe as the Chief, I still enjoyed the noire style of the game, especially the moody jazz soundtrack that goes with it. If you're bored with the campaign, you can play  other modes that come on the second disc in  all of Halo 3's DLC maps: Of course, there's Matchmaking; You can make your own maps in Forge mode from Halo 3; host your own matches in Custom Game mode; and you can survive waves of Covenant in the new co-op Firefight mode that is included on Disc 1. Firefight is can feel repetive when solo, but it's a blast with buddies. Halo 3: ODST isn't my favorite Halo game, but it's still an incredible title that series fans shouldn't miss.

Ups
What's it like being an ODST? Question answered!
Tons of fun campaign moments
Game comes packaged with all Halo 3 DLC maps and modes
New Firefight mode

Downs
Campaign is shorter than usual
Rookie's segments are boring
The visuals are bland on rare instances
Firefight gets repetitive solo

ESRB: M Content: (DISCLAIMER: I disagree with the Mature rating, as there are just as violent games and movies with lower age ratings) (PARENTAL WARNING: This game contains intense violence, large amounts of realistic blood, bad language, and scary scenes) Content: Blood, Language, and Violence Price: $19.99 (Retail)