Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: First person shooter
Metacritic Rating: 83/100
Copies Sold: 3 million (As of September 2009)
Release Date: September 2009
A new shooter has been released. It is Halo 3: ODST. In this game, players explore and open-ended environment. The setting takes place in Africa, in the fictional town of New-Mombasa. When it comes to gameplay, Halo 3: ODST resembles earlier titles. There is one prominent difference, however. The player never assumes the role of Master Chief, the main protagonist in the world of Halo 3. Instead, gamers control a variety of ODST, which are basically soldiers. These soldiers do not have the same abilities as Master Chief, as they are unable to jump fast, survive large drops or fire two weapons at one time. Players also lose the ability to take advantage of Master Chief’s special energy shield. Instead, players must use a special recharging mechanic. If one of the ODSTs get hurt, the screen turns red and the player’s overall stamina goes down. If he or she continues to receive damage, the player will start to lose health. If the player runs out of health, they will die. At that point, the game has to be restarted from the last checkpoint. To avoid such consequences, players should pick up medical packs. They will restore small portions of the ODST’s health. Also, if you learn how to use properly use the VSR mode, you will be able to know when enemies are coming. This will give you time to prepare for an attack. In addition, the VSR mode can also give you clues to all of the power-ups and other important items in the area.
Halo 3: OSDT also comes with a campaign mode. It can be played by oneself or cooperatively with three or fewer players. The premise of the mode is to figure out what happened to the character’s teammates. He must collect different pieces of evidence to come to these conclusions. These mini campaigns can be played in whatever order the player desires.
Multiplayer Mode
The multiplayer mode available in Halo 3: ODST comes on a separate DVD. It comes with 21 different maps and 3 bonus ones. These bonus maps are related to the game’s achievements. If that is not enough, there is a map editor. This will allow players to create their own customized levels. By doing this, the game does not stop with what the designers originally wanted. Players can keep the game going indefinitely based on their own creations.
There is also Firefight, another cooperative game within Halo 3: ODST. Players have to fight very difficult enemies in a “survival” environment. Firefight can be played with up to 3 gamers, but they must use the System Link to connect their consoles. If a player is using Xbox Live, they will have to play using a splitscreen mode. As for the gameplay, all of the players are given a shared pool of 7 lives. All of these lives get replenished at the end of 5 rounds. But the hard part involves maintaining at least one life, especially considering the “skull” system. These are modifiers that either improve or handicap a character. For example, if a player gets a “Catch” skull, enemies will throw more grenades. The first 3 rounds all have their own skills. When players get to the fourth level, all of the skulls are activated. In addition, gamers must be able to survive for a full minute. If they get hit even once, then they have to start all over.
Since its release, Halo 3: ODST became very successful, one of the best-selling games for the Xbox 360. The critics gave the game very positive reviews, as they were impressed with its atmosphere and cut scenes. However, they had mixed opinions on the game’s price. They felt that even with all the extras, the main campaign was just too short to warrant the $60 cost. Nevertheless, Halo 3: ODST sold very well in 2009. Over 3 million copies were sold. This should be enough of a clue as to whether or not Halo 3: ODST is worth the money.