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Platform: Xbox 360
MSRP: $59.99 - Release Date: September 22nd, 2009
Before I begin my review, I’d like to introduce myself since I’m new to the blog. My name is Greg and I’ve been friends with the blog’s creator since we were just wee little tykes. When he told me that he was starting a review site I was all for the idea. Our goal with this site is to provide reviews for all different kinds of media, and hopefully provide you (the readers) with useful information as well as entertaining commentary. That being said, I’m going to start things off with a review of Halo 3: ODST for the Xbox 360.
First thing’s first: I’ll be talking mainly about the game’s first disc, the campaign. I have a nerd-tastic amount of experience playing the original Halo 3’s multiplayer, which is basically the same exact thing as ODST’s second disc. There’s not much new in the multiplayer… in fact, it’s really just Halo 3 with all of the downloadable maps. I’m not sure if the two new weapons from the campaign made it into multiplayer, but even if they did they’re pretty useless and boring. But more on that later.
Halo 3: ODST offers a relatively fresh perspective of the Halo universe. Instead of playing as Master Chief, a “Spartan,” you play as multiple humans who are members of an elite task force (“ODST’s,” or “Orbital Drop Shock Troopers”). You switch between these humans as you progress through the main storyline, although you always come back to the main character (a mute ODST simply known as the Rookie). This change is interesting, as it tried to develop a side story that really has nothing to do with Master Chief. The plot intrigued me, but I wasn’t so into it that I couldn’t wait to see what happens next.
Which brings me to the “hub.” Whenever you take control of the Rookie in campaign mode, for most of the game it’s a “hub” level. What I mean by that is after every legitimate stage where you’re controlling one of the ODST’s, you switch back to the Rookie who is in the same part of the narrative’s city (New Mombasa) for most of the game. The Rookie’s job is to snoop around until he finds a clue, which will lead you to the game’s next level as one of the other ODST’s. This ends up becoming quite tedious, especially since there’s not too many enemies and really you’re just traipsing around a dark, endless city. It is extremely distracting and jolts you out of the main game’s storyline. If I could have skipped the hub every time, I would have.
There’s not much new in terms of the actual gameplay. There are two new weapons, one of which is a useless, weak submachine gun, and the other being a useless, weak pistol. I don’t understand why they even bothered, really… I don’t think I used either of those guns once aside from the opening sequences. The other major gameplay tweak here is that double wielding is no more. That’s right, kids: Bungie opted to get rid of the mechanic that allows you to brandish two small weapons at once. I wasn’t as bothered by this as I thought I was going to be. In fact, it makes it feel a little bit more like classic Halo. That being said, this is really just an expansion pack for Halo 3: there’s no new enemies, abilities, etc. It’s the same old Grunts and Brutes you’re fighting as you progress through the game… and that never changes.
All in all, I enjoyed playing ODST for a while. But it didn’t really offer me anything new, and it felt like I was playing a dumbed-down version of Halo 3. The graphics are a little bit more polished than its predecessor, but nothing really stands out all that much. It looks pretty, but not as pretty as several of today’s games. The price is way too high, and I definitely regret spending 60 smackers for this “expansion pack.” It should be 25-30 at the most. The multiplayer is excellent, but you can just use the original Halo 3 and buy all the maps if you really wanted to. My advice would be to rent it for the campaign and save the money.
This game gets a 6.9
[by Greg Michaels]
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