Game Details

Title: Halo 3: ODST
Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Microsoft
Website: Bungie.net Halo ODST page
Game Type: First Person Shooter
Multi-player: 4 player co-op and up to 16 player competitive through Halo 3 Multiplayer disc
Age Rating: 16+
Single Playe Length: Short (<10 hour campaign)

My Impressions

While there has been some fuss made over Halo 3: ODST being released as a full price game (though it is cheaper than most games in the UK typically selling at £35 vs £40-£50) following the initial announcement that this would be an expansion to Halo 3 and not a full fledged game in its own right. After playing the game though I was more than satisfied with Halo 3: ODST as a full price title, though there is at least one major flaw in the game.

From a single player perspective the game works fairly well, with you being thrust in the role of the rookie, who is searching through New Mombassa for his squad mates who he has been separated from. The cutting between the Rookie at night and various members of his squad during the day worked well, though I was not sure if the squad flashbacks were being “told” to the Rookie by the cities AI “the superintendent” or if the flashbacks were for our benefit alone.

While there was nothing especially innovative about the single player campaign, it held together well and it felt like a Halo Universe game despite it not having a Spartan in site. My biggest dissapointment in terms of the single player game was the lack of elites present as enemies and several times during the campaign felt that some of the brutes (the jet pack brutes in particular) where initially elites that had been swapped out later on. Given when the game takes place in “Halo History” I cant think of a meaningful story reason for their complete abscence and it felt like laziness on the part of the developers.

I also enjoyed the “collectible” side mission in the form of Sadie’s story though I did wonder what she actually intended doing after she reached her dad who was in the middle of covenant territory. There was also a part of me that wanted someone to knock her out or sedate her in order to force her to leave the city and get to somewhere relatively safe.

Moving on to the firefight mode, this was to me the biggest flaw in the game. Not in terms of the gameplay which is fun and a nice addition that I hope is kept in Halo Reach, but the lack of matchmaking. I am sorry Bungie but your excuse of it not being worth the effort just doesn’t cut it and the ability to play with strangers as well as friends is something I have come to expect as standard in online multiplayer on the Xbox 360. The game has been finished since May so surely Bungie could have had a small team working on adding matchmaking to firefight mode.

Another flaw in the multiplayer is the lack of a competitive ODST multiplayer mode, while I appreciate the Halo 3 multiplayer disc and all the Halo 3 DLC and an extra 3 maps being included, it would have been nice to have a versus multiplayer game using ODST’s even if there was only a small number of maps. The Halo 3 multiplayer disc is also nearly pointless if you have already bought the Halo 3 DLC. These flaws mar an otherwise excellent game.

Despite these gripes Halo 3: ODST is a solid and enjoyable game which will appeal to all fans of the Halo franchise, ultimately though it falls short of being a classic game due to the lack of polish firefight matchmaking and ODST specific competitive multiplayer could have provided.

My Recommendation

Buy

Halo 3: ODST is justifiably a full price title and one of the better games that has been released in 2009. However even with the Halo 3 Multiplayer Disc, the game is lacking in the multiplayer department a flaw compounded by the lack of matchmaking in firefight. These flaws mean a potentially great game is “merely” a good one.