Halo 3: ODST

Halo 3: ODST

The biggest name on Xbox doesn’t put a foot wrong even as Master Chief steps out of the spotlight.

Imagine Halo without Master Chief. Not so bad, as it turns out. The 7’ tall Spartan warrior is rarely on screen anyhow, and when he is you can’t see his face behind that famous mirrored visor. It could be Jay Z behind there for all we know.

If you want proof look no further than Halo 3: ODST, the newest instalment in the Halo saga, and the second created for Xbox 360. Instead of the series’ iconic hero we’re taken right back to the beginning of the alien invasion, where Earth’s Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST) are first in line to confront the Covenant.

Understandably there has been high expectation placed on the shoulder of the ODST. Not just in the fictional world of the game, but by gamers looking for the next blockbuster experience. On the latter account, development studio Bungie has been bravely managing expectation, stating that ODST is not to be seen as a fully fledged sequel, rather a side-story, and that the emphasis is really on the multiplayer modes.

This is the point where we should point out that Halo 3: ODST is primarily a huge fan service release, unlikely to recruit new followers but bristling with appeal to anyone already sold on the idea. If you recently completed Halo 3 for the 10th time on Legendary, Halo 3: ODST is going to grab you by throat and slam you against the wall. You have no choice. You have to play it. And, you WILL enjoy it.

Though not as lengthy as the main series’ campaigns, the solo mission in ODST is several hours long and cleverly scripted. It flits between scenarios, Heroes / Lost style, focusing on individual ODST and their roles in the conflict at various times ‘After the Drop’. Although this isn’t a squad-based campaign (this is reserved for the multiplayer game alongside friends) the emphasis is more strategic than previously in Halo. The concept is most noticeably enforced by the comparatively slow moving ODST, versus their Spartan counterparts that think nothing of running and leaping to avoid gunfire and explosions. Consequently a good proportion of our time playing the game was spent behind cover, taking out long range targets before jogging fearfully around the outskirts of areas patrolled by Brutes.

By far the greatest triumph of Halo 3: ODST is the sense of vulnerability, and how goddamn cunning the Covenant AI can be if you choose to ramp up the difficulty. To compensate for your human weaknesses, there are more opportunities than in Halo 3 to ride tanks, jeeps, bikes and small flying craft to improve your odds. It feels like a condensed blockbuster experience, and very cool.

Multiplayer is slick as you’d expect. The famous ‘Skulls’ system places various advantages or penalties on your four-man teams. An all-new Firefight mode pans out similarly to the brilliant Horde mode in Gears of War 2; waves of Covenant forces challenge the resolve and team spirit of your heroes, encouraging speedy knowledge of every nook and cranny of the new maps. And if you haven’t yet downloaded all the multiplayer maps released for Halo 3, every one of them is provided on a separate disc packaged with Halo 3: ODST.

Essentially what we have here is solid, time-honoured Halo 3 gameplay with a twist, backed with more of the same, plus more and intriguingly different multiplayer hours-on-end. Very much a game for Halo connoisseurs, but even so one of those games you feel you simply need to own… if only because it’s Halo!

4 out of 5