Move over, Master Chief

Few gaming franchises have the testicular fortitude to release a spin-off which does not include its posterboy. Bungie and Microsoft have just today launched Halo 3: ODST, which is essentially Halo 2.5, a side story detailing the events prior to Halo 3.

You play a rookie with the ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers), sent into New Mombasa to clear it of Covenant hordes. The way the game plays is much more Halo 1 rather than 2 or 3; there’s no dual wielding, or use of equipment. There’s no Cortana-like AI guiding you along the way either, so it’s a very lonely and bleak game. Playing as a regular human soldier, you also feel much more vulnerable during the near pitch-black city sections.

One of the big complaints of the Halo series, and many other story based FPS games is how linear the gameplay is, i.e. you need to go through A, B, and C, before going to D, E, and F. ODST creates the illusion of being able to free roam using a hub world, where you then go off and unlock missions to further the story. This is all well and good, but you still need to do missions A, B, and C, before going on to D, E, and F. Oh well, at least with linearity, you never miss anything crucial.

The music is clearly Halo, but lacks any of the tunes heard in any of the other games, sounding almost like Halo meets Resident Evil; it’s haunting and fits the dark and brooding atmosphere presented to the player.

There is a new multiplayer mode, called Firefight. It is essentially a clone of Gears of War 2’s Horde mode, where you face wave after wave of increasingly tough enemies. I’ve not had a chance to play this mode yet, due to wanting to get the campaign finished though I will post my findings later.

All in all, a welcome addition to the Halo universe (much more so than Halo Wars). If I have to make one complaint, it’s that Bungie really need to work on their models for women because they look FUGLY. The female lead of the game is made out to be eye-candy amongst the ODST team, but Christ, lady looks like a dude!

Oh, also netted myself a freebie last night from Gamestation’s midnight launch. Only twenty or so of us turned up, and the store manager decided to reward our loyalty with a fetching ODST t-shirt. It’s superbly made and better than some t-shirts I’ve spent hard earned money on!