Post 1k, Halo 3:ODST

It's finally my 1000th post. I thought it would be a grand day, but I'm only finding less use for this site. Guess I meant it when I said the towel was thrown. But since I'm god an awful cold and I'm stuck home playing ODST for a few days, here's my review.

For a person who has tired of gaming lately, I'm surprised I ordered ODST. I'm still not sure why they didn't just stick with Recon as a subtitle, as I think it fits and sounds better overall. What is game about? Recon. Sure, it centers around the ODST's, but we never learn enough about them to commit the acronym's meaning to memory. Rookie does recon to find out where to go. Recon worked.



Continue reading...

ODST is an expansion, nothing more. They charged $60 and I guess this could be justified since all the Halo 3 maps are on there (which are normally a separate cost) and that extra disc is what people play the most in the XBL/Haloverse: Multiplayer. Halo 3 can be picked up for about $30 so the price works...if you don't already have Halo 3, but most of us do already.

As for the gameplay, it's Halo 3. With health. The "stamina" comes verse which is health a la COD2, etc...screen turns red to indicate a problem. Following that comes the life bar. Aside from that, there isn't dual wielding and there' a special visor. All the enemies and vehicles are there. The "new alien" doesn't really affect gameplay much so it's forgettable.

The game is short and the story is quite far from gripping. I find myself more interested in the audio log story I'm still trying to complete. Otherwise I would have finished in a few short hours and been done.

Is the game worth buying? If you are a big time Halo fan, definitely. But this could easily be a rental if you just want to check it out.

3 pros:
-Plays almost exactly like Halo 3
-Touches on a bit of side-story in the Halo saga
-Comes with Halo 3 stand-alone multiplayer disc and new maps, and new mode

3 cons:
-Price
-Brief
-Not very exciting; no watercooler moments; no MC badassery

Resembles/Feels like: Halo 3

Rent or Buy: Rent

Personal Appraisal:$29.99*
MSRP: $59.99
Other Opinions:**

*Personal Appraisal at the time of the review
**Link to other sites' reviews

9/10 @ IGN
9/10 @ Gamespot

Kotaku says:

If you want to judge ODST for its fun without worrying about its price and the contents of its case, then know that its campaign hits the peaks of Halo 3 less often due both to its relative brevity and its uneven, experimental hubworld. The campaign can mostly be a joy. Firefight with a group of players is a blast. The main hero may be a bore, but the fiction is at least as interesting as it was in prior Halo games. Bungie's done good this time. That's a victory, even if that's a departure from a series which has often seen Bungie do great.