Halo 3: ODST Review (XBox 360)

The newest game in the Halo series has been released in Halo 3: ODST. It's essentially a side story from the actual Halo 3 game, that originally was going to be an expansion pack which eventually turned into a full-fledged game. ODST stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, which is what you play. In the Halo universe, they are the bravest of the brave. They are a division of soldiers that are sent into suicidal battles, dropping in to assist in all battles. Consider them a Navy Seal of the Navy if you will.

First things first, you are not Master Chief in this game, so the invincible alien killing machine is on the sidelines for this release. Secondly, the story is a little disjointed, and truthfully, very short. The premise is that you are a rookie on your first real drop into action. The drop goes wrong and your entire squad is split up. As you roam the city at night, you piece back together what happened after the drop, and how everyone gets back together as a group again. It's told actually pretty well with background info, just can be frustrating walking back and forth in the dark city.

I enjoyed the story, it was quick, more human emotion, and wasn't "boring" like Halo 2 and 3 were. Now I loved Halo 1, but the story grew stale on me. This is the 2nd Halo game I actually played from beginning to end and finished. I just enjoyed it, and it being short helped as well.

The game can be beat in 4-5 hours, if you do side missions in collecting audio logs amongst other thing, this can increase. The harder difficulties can also increase the length. That's a tad short, but with my limited gaming time, it's perfect.

Now, obviously Bungie/Microsoft knew the game was short, so two multiplayer modes are thrown in. We'll get to the easiest first, that being the Halo 3 muliplayer disc. Coming on disc 2, it's the entire collection of Halo 3 maps (including 3 exclusive maps) that have been released as downloads for Halo 3. Giving you the entire muliplayer package of the Halo 3 suite. If you are big into the series, this will extend the life by hours and hours. The other multiplayer addition is Firefight mode. Like Horde mode from Gears of War 2, you and up to 3 buddies take on waves of the Covenant scoring points and trying to best your friends scores on the leaderboard. Great mode, tons of fun, but there's no matchmaking, meaning you have to have your friends on to really enjoy it.

Overall, it's a great addition to the Halo universe, no real twists or turns, but simply a fun game to run through.

Liked
- The story was good. Kept me wanting to see how it ended. Also loved being an ODST trooper instead of the unstoppable Master Chief. Gave the series more life.

- The soundtrack was fantastic. Best in the series to date, gave the city life, and gave some scenes very raw emotion.

Disliked
- Too much wandering around at night. Felt like I walked here, then there, then here, and back again. The dark scenes almost felt like I was in a horror themed game, thank God for the visor system.

- No matchmaking in Firefight mode. Sure I can play it single player, but where's the fun in that? If your friends aren't on, then you are going solo, no looking for randoms to join up in the fight. Boo!

Final Score - 8.0 out of 10