Does Bungie's newest masterpiece really need an introduction? You play a rookie ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, for those of you living under rocks) and aside from Spartan 117 himself, these guys are the biggest bad-asses this side of the galaxy.
Naturally however, due to the fact that you are no longer a walking, you know, TANK, there are a few changes. The ODSTs do not have a Spartan's speed or jumping ability, nor their super-strength. Your melee attack power is greatly decreased, and is far less useful than when playing as a Spartan. ODSTs also obviously do not have the energy shield of a Spartan. Instead, when you get shot, your screen will gradually grow more red as your character's breathing becomes more labored, and eventually if you keep taking fire your health bar will begin to deplete. This resulted in the return of health packs in ODST, however they are seamlessly integrated and rarely force you to wander searching for a health station.
Additionally, the ODST lacks a radar system, having instead a virtual map of the city of New Mombasa, in addition to the VISR system, which identifies enemies, friendlies, weapons and static objects in different colors. In some ways this is far better than being a Spartan, although the tradeoffs are noticeable.
ODSTs also have some trooper-only weapons at their disposal, like the silenced Automag and the silenced SMG. The Automag is amazing for taking down unshielded targets in rapid succession, but is utterly useless against Brutes and to a lesser extent, Hunters. Despite this, the Automag is an extremely utilitarian weapon and will be a staple. The silenced SMG is reasonably good, better than the Halo 3 SMG only in that it has a scope and can be used at greater range. However, with the absence of the battle rifle entirely, it is a shitty fill-in, as it too is rather useless against shielded targets.
I know it may seem as though the game's best features have been removed (No shield? No super-beatdowns? NO BR?!) but give ODST the chance it deserves. It is an excellent game through and through, no ifs, ands, or buts.
The campaign is short. Very freakin' short. Poke and I played it through on Heroic first time through and beat the game in one night. However, our intense compulsion to beat every Halo game on Legendary will no doubt extend the gameplay. Despite being short, the campaign is extremely fun, with an great combination of stealth, vehicle rape, and general bad-assery to satisfy every Halo fan, myself among them. (Quick example: If you ever play Halo 3's multiplayer, you may have noticed that attached to the C.Q.B. armor's chestpiece is a combat knife. Right, well the ODSTs have a combat knife as well, however unused it may be. In a certain cutscene, we see an ODST stab a Brute Chieftain IN THE NECK with his combat knife. Awesome.)
Without giving too much of the story away, the main campaign consists of you (the rookie) searching for your squadmates who got separated from you during your drop into New Mombasa. As you wander the dark, Brute-infested streets, aided by the city's AI "The Superintendent", you will discover clues that will help you understand what became of your ODST squad.
The graphics are somehow improved from Halo 3, especially on the 2nd campaign level, where I simply had to sit back and say, "That's real purdy." The cinematic sequences, in traditional Bungie style, are near-perfect. The music, as well, is excellent, featuring just the right mix of moody overtones with heart-thumping battle anthems.
Not much else to say about campaign, so moving on to the new mode of Firefight. Firefight lets you and up to 3 friends throw yourselves against insurmountable odds. The mode starts you in a defensible position with a few weapons and some ammo, and 6 lives to share among your squad. The game is played in sets, with 3 rounds per set, and 5 waves per round. The mode starts off simple but rapidly becomes difficult as more and more skulls (which create new rules that increase game difficulty, i.e. the Catch skull, which makes enemies chuck a ridiculous amount of grenades) are added. The sheer number of levels not to mention the random enemy spawns make for a interesting alternative to co-op, ahem, single player.
Despite ODST's undeniable awesomeness, there are several things that bother me about the game. For one, when using the shotgun or the sniper rifle, significantly less damage is done than when Master Chief wields the same weapon. A headshot with the sniper rifle on Easy in ODST does not even break a Brute's shield, whereas on Heroic in Halo 3 it will kill him. Same goes for the shotgun. Often in ODST it will not break a Brute's shield, where, again, in Halo 3 it would kill the Brute, or at least break his shield. I understand that ODSTs are no Spartans, but come on. Why do they do less weapon damage? That doesn't even make sense.
The following paragraph is mainly my personal bitching about the game, though none of it truly negatively affects gameplay. For hardcore Halo 3 players, the arc in which the ODSTs throw a grenade is much different than in Halo 3, and may bother you for quite a while, especially if you switch between games frequently. And may I add, shielded drones? Really? Really Bungie? I mean it's bad enough drones were in the game at all, I was like FFFFUUUUUU but then I saw shielded ones and i was yet again like FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU- And even worse, beat a level on Legendary with no grenades or weapons used!? AAAAARGH
It has been said that ODST is a "expansion pack" not worthy of its $60 price tag. These peopel have clearly not played the game yet. ODST is a refreshing and fun Halo experience, and may interest those of you addicted to Call of Duty, refusing to play Halo based on principle. At any rate, I highly recommend ODST. 9/10
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