You might think I was happy when I heard about another Halo game but i was quite reluctant about this one. A add on size game that is a full £35 and doesn’t have multiplayer based on the worst Halo campaign, in fact I was very unhappy about it. But I got it anyway and was quite surprised with the results.
Halo 3 ODST has you play as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper by the name of Rookie, your part of a team of highly trained ODST's in orbit of Earth, New Mombasa specifically. You drop into the city as The Prophet of Truth sets off a slip space rupture inside the city scattering your teams drop pods across the city. Your mission is to find your squad and get out of New Mombasa before it is glassed by the Covenant.
The story is an absolute masterpiece, a highlight of the entire series, its more emotional and personal than the previous Halo's as you play as an actual human, not a genetically engineered superhuman soldier. This makes the game more down to earth...literally, it deals with more human issues such as death, family and love. It also means your more vulnerable in combat, you have a health bar and a weak shield meaning that a more tactical approach is needed to many situations.
The game has a world hub as the city of New Mombasa, you will find a clue as to the whereabouts of your squad and start a mission in their point of view to then return to the Mombasa hub as Rookie.
Every time you play as Rookie its night-time meaning enemies are hard to see and you can easily get lost, Bungie thought of this though and have included VISR. VISR is essentially night vision but it also highlights enemies in red, friendlies in green and environment in yellow making things a lot easier to see.
The game runs on the same engine as Halo 3 and looks no different, nor does it handle differently. The game is darker though and it suits the atmosphere and the situation of what is happening, this makes the game feel grittier and more adult than the previous Halo titles.
The soundtrack for this game is one of the best I have heard in years, entirely orchestral and very minimalistic in sections but extremely effective.
The game has no multiplayer but it does add a new gamemode for Co-Op players. Firefight is Halo's attempt at wave survival, it is split into waves, rounds, and sets. Every wave is harder than the previous, every wave is harder than the previous and every set ends with a bonus wave that is excruciatingly hard to survive.
Once you end set 4 there is an endless set 5 where you can quit or continue until all lives are gone.
There is a second disc that contains all of Halo 3's DLC maps for you to play at your leisure but its nothing special really.
Halo 3 ODST delivers more than I expected and is one of the best Halo's in the series. The story will take you about 5 hours and has 4 player Co-Op and firefight will last you a long time to come. This is a must buy for any Halo fan.
Halo 3: ODST – 9/10
+The Best Halo Since The Original
+Amazing Atmosphere
-Uses Halo 3 Assets
