Badass. That's the first word that comes to mind when thinking of ODST. Having just finished the game about 30 minutes ago, I'm still reeling from Bungie's latest offering in the Halo series.
So first things first: Is it worth $60? Your damn right it is. Hell, I payed $100 for the limited edition and I still feel it was worth it (albeit mine came with the limited edition ODST controller). It also depends on what defines "worth it" to you. Is it long enough to be a full priced game? In a word, yes. I wasn't keeping track of how long it took me to finish ODST, but I've played it every night since Tuesday, for several hours a night and I just finished it. Hell, once I got the Mongoose I just hauled ass from one clue to the next, I didn't even find all the weapon caches or audio logs (I'm saving that for my Legendary play through). So to get the question of if it's worth it or not, yes, it's worth it.
Common logic says that I should have been able to jump into ODST and feel right at home but that's not exactly the case. Not being the Master Chief takes some getting used to, requiring you to change your tactics when fighting the Covenant. Not having shields takes the most getting used to as you can't just run out into battle and wait for your shields to recharge after taking some hits, well not exactly anyways. In ODST you have stamina, which acts like shields but isn't quite as strong as Master Chief's shields in prior Halo games. Visually the effects of stamina look the same as when you take damage in a Call of Duty game in that the screen gets all red and your guy starts breathing heavy.
Don't get me wrong though, ODST is still unmistakeably Halo. The graphics really do the most work when it comes to letting you know you are in fact playing a Halo game, because the game looks almost identical to Halo 3. But that's fine with me because I love the way Halo 3 looks, but I could definitely see where improvements were made. There seems to be a slight film grain look that appears to try and represent what it would be like looking through the ODST's visor. The character's faces and animations seem a step up from Halo 3 as well. The lighting is amazing as usual and even better than Halo 3 in a lot of ways.
The new weapons, which are the suppressed and scoped smg and automag pistol, are really fun to use. The automag can be very deadly when laying down head shots and the smg is accurate enough to hit enemies at a distance but still enough of an uzi to handle multiple enemies in close quarters. I must say though, it feels weird not having the Battle Rifle, almost as if it were "less Halo" if that makes any sense. I found the best way to take down brutes quickly was to "noob combo" the plasma pistol and the automag. Also, it could just be me but it seemed like it was taking more shots to kill Covenant than it did in Halo 3 even though I was using the same weapons (from Halo 3) most of the time.Weird.
The story is really cool especially for someone like myself who has read all the books and generally soaks up as much "Halo" as they can. Bungie did an excellent job of flexing their creative muscles in order to bring some innovation to the tried and true Halo series. Some might argue that mechanically the game hasn't changed, and I would not argue with them. But that's the beauty of it, they managed to make it feel fresh while keeping it familiar. The way the game is set up is that you have the city of New Mombasa, in which you can roam through freely and as you make your way through the city you find clues, these clues when found trigger a sort of flashback that then puts you in the shoes of another member of your squad showing you what happened to them.
Other things like how the superintendent guides you through the city using pay phones, car alarms, police sirens, and detour signs are all really well done. Also, the visor which has been called a night vision visor in some media outlets, is not exactly that. It does provide limited vision in low light areas, but some areas you may be just as well with it turned off. The cool thing is how it outlines structures and things of importance like enemies, weapons, and clues. It's also a must for finding the audio logs scattered throughout the city. The audio logs are cool because they add another layer of story to the game and give you a better look at the civilian side of the Covenant invasion.
I think Bungie's decision to use the voice actor's likeness' in the game really payed off as well. Nathan Fillion is incredible as Buck as are all the other characters. The character development is some of the best yet seen in a Halo game and really shows how good Bungie has gotten at telling rich, compelling stories. I also enjoyed the fact that Buck and Captain Dare had once been a couple and the extra layer that brought to the story. This game really made me care about the characters and what happened to them. There are other things that are introduced later in the story that are really cool and well done, but I won't spoil the game here.
Overall I was very pleased with ODST. The fact that the game was made in a year just blows my mind and really shows how much time is spent just building the game engine. ODST's single player alone would be enough to justify a $60 purchase for me, but when you add in Firefight mode AND the complete Halo 3 multiplayer disc it becomes a no-brainer. I can't wait to play through the single player campaign co-op with three friends. ODST is already my favorite game this year and with all the multiplayer content I imagine I'll be playing it well into next year.
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