Halo 3: ODST

The Halo franchise is the most beloved and hated franchise of all time. Most of the gaming community love the franchise and say it's fresh enough to keep play after you finished it, thanks to it's excellent storys, varied and fun gameplay, great graphics, and a multiplayer that is un-matched. Others say "It's over-rated." Now, with it's highly anticipated Spin-Off, Halo 3: ODST, finally arriving, all I can say that it was worth the the wait. 
 
Remember that part from Halo 2 after Master Chief destroy that giant Scarob, and the Covenet(or however you spell it) leader heads to slip-space and destroys a city? Well that's where ODST's story takes place. You play as a nameless ODST member. When he and his team drop down to the city, the slip-space thing I was talking about happens and you are separated from your squad. You wake up 6 hours later and go and you must try to re-group with them. Unlike the other Halo games, where your just one lone soldier, you have 5 soldiers with personalities of their own. It's a story up to bungie standards with great writing and thanks to 5 soldiers, rather than one, ODST has a much deeper, if not shorter, story than previous installments.
 
Speaking of previous installments, the design is also different than the Halo trilogy. The game has some what of a day and night cycle(not like Sonic Unleashed, nor as boring as it). You start of in a hub-world at night and when ever you get to part of your team mates head armor, you then get to play as that character. Don't worry, all characters play differently.  In these missions, It's all action throughout. In the hub-world, your one Spartan and your all alone against enemies that you'll have to run from know and then to live. You'll finish ODST's campaign in about 6 hours. After that, you have fire fight mode and a second disc. Fire fight is basically Halo's version of Hord mode for Gears 2, but Halo style, and it's just as, if not, more awesome than that. The Second disc will be a disappointment since it's just all of Halo 3's maps, with 3 new ones. ODST maybe have a short single player campaign, and a disappointing second disc, It's the gameplay and Fire fight that make it stand out.
 
ODST has the same gameplay of previous games, but altered. Remember this in battles. YOU AREN'T MASTER CHIEF! Why? Since you won't take as many bullets as him, you don't have regenerating health, you have some fancy glow in the dark goggles, fall damage is real, and health packs, which where from the first game, are needed to survive. This may seem bad, but once you get the hang of it, it's all Halo fun. Battle's are still incredible, and the set piece are still outstanding. It's everything you loved in the Halo franchise. If your looking for something new, You may feel disappointed. Outside of what I said of you not being a Spartan and getting a few new weapons, ODST isn't as ground breaking as it's original as the trilogy. But, unless your someone who thinks something has to be new to be good, you'll have a lot of fun with ODST and thanks to the expertly pace single player and Fire fight mode will keep you up all night with friends.
 
While the Graphic's engine is still the same, ODST manages to look better than any of the Halo games combined. The graphic's are just outstanding. The art and color's used are just great, and you'll still see some jaw-dropping moments. The audio is just a great with fantastic music that fit's every moment, especially in the hub worlds were it adds to the tension, and on top of that is impeccable voice.
 
If your a fan of the Halo games, this is another buy. While A kind of still would say wait for it to drop down due to it still kind of feeling like an expansion pack, it's still a game worth getting this year. So I say but it, especially if your a Halo fan.