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Introduction

Prepare to drop! Halo 3:ODST is a title that has a lot of people guessing. Is it worth my $60? What is new? What is the same? While Halo is not a title to need an introduction the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers bring a whole different aspect to the game. No longer are we the super human spartan Sierra 117. We are Hell Jumpers and Halo 3:ODST is our story!

Gameplay

Bungie has once again delivered a rock solid game to its consumers. So far they have hit a gold mine with the award winning game franchise Halo and ODST is no different. But that seems to be the problem. ODST really did not do much different. Some would ask the question ‘Is this really a bad thing?’ and the answer from many would be no. The story missions are very well done with awesome music, cut scenes and casting. They manage to deliver a great feel but sadly there is nothing new here mechanic wise. Instead of shields you have stamina and the health bar makes a return as well. You are unable to do several things that the Spartans can do which was expected but what was hoped for was something to take its place. Perhaps a little bit of focus on stealth instead of just making it more of the same.

Halo 3 ODST really does not introduce any new gameplay but you can still enhance it with the use of any of the Halo 3 skulls that you might have found.

Presentation

Bungie always does an outstanding job with the way they present their story. The use of sound and cinematography to convey an emotion has always been a strong point for them and once again they deliver with ODST. With composition done by Martin O’Donnell the mood is set as soon as you exit your drop pod.

The voice acting is well done with hidden comedy all over the place. The inclusion of stars such as Nathan Fillion who were willing to include their likeness in this game lends more character depth than would be expected. Well, except for the fact that the character you play, the rookie, is unfortunately the silent type.

Extras

Multiplayer! It is what Halo has been about since it changed the genre back 2001. Not to disappoint but Firefight does not introduce anything in the way of conventional multiplayer. Though it does come packaged with a disk that includes Halo 3′s multiplayer along with all of the map packs released to date plus 3 new maps that are only available on this disk. What is new in ODST is a co-operative multiplayer mode called fire fight. This is how it works.

You and up to 3 of your friends, I say friends because there is no match making for fire fight mode, start in one of two spawn rooms with the silenced SMG and new pistol. There is spare ammunition for those guns here along with health packs to help you preserve your precious lives; your team has 7 to share at the start of the game. You fight off waves of enemies from the campaign that get progressively tougher via the skulls from Halo 3. Progress is tracked via Waves, Rounds and Sets. There are 6 waves in a round and at the end of each round there is a weapon drop. The weapon drop replenishes all the ammo and weapon spawns on the ground. At the end of each round, the skulls that are active change out to make it progressively harder on you and your friends as well as to provide you with bonus lives. An additonal way to earn bonus lives is in the bonus round which occurs at the end of each Set. In the bonus round all skulls are active, respawning is disabled and the team tries to get a certain score to earn the bonus lives.

Rants and Raves

Rant

The length of the campaign leaves much to be desired. As a pair of moderately skilled first person shooter gamers we were able to finish the co-op campaign on legendary difficulty in roughly six hours. With only eight missions this falls short of what we have come to expect from Bungie.

The lack of a match making system for fire fight makes it hard to get a game if you do not have any friends that have ODST. That said it is a bit of a mixed point because having some random player in the game could really mess over your attempt by either killing you and your team or just quitting, because quitting ends the fire fight for all players.

If any one of the four players in fire fight mode leaves the game for any reason the game ends for everyone. If they get disconnected, have a power flicker or just plain quit the match is terminated. I’m not sure if this is for balance purposes or what but it is extremely frustrating.

Raves

The storytelling, use of music and all around cinematography for the campaign is fantastic. This aspect of the game lives up to the standards that Bungie has set for itself.

Fire fight is a very addictive game mode. It is so much fun that we have found ourselves attempting to perform our day jobs with very little sleep since 9/22.

Conclusion

Halo 3 ODST is a solid game in the end. Excellent presentation combined with tried and true gameplay can cause players to waste away hours of their life with their friends slaying the Covenant masses. If you are a fan of the franchise then this game is for you. Unfortunately it is unlikely to win over any new fans. That did not seem to be Bungie’s goal, however, as they stated ‘Halo 3 ODST is our gift to the fans.’

Score: 7.5

*Readers, this is the first time we are trying out a method where two reviewers play the game and review it together. Please let us know what you think about it here.

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Welcome to our next 360RR Gamer Spotlight. Today we’ll be talking to 360 Rant Rave staff member, Bender Bot 2000.

360RR: Tell us a bit about your gamertag? Do you have any stories behind it? What made you choose “Bender Bot 2000″?
Bender Bot 2000: I’m a huge fan of Futurama and Bender is the greatest.

360RR: Ah in the words of yourself “Who are you, and why should I care?” But enough of that, tell us where you live?
Bender Bot 2000: Mobile, AL

360RR: Good ole Mobile, what do you do there in order to fund your xbox habit?
Bender Bot 2000: I am a cable guy… seriously. But I don’t tell stupid redneck jokes.

360RR: So you must be the Jim Carrey version of the Cable Guy then right? When did you become a member of Xbox Live?
Bender Bot 2000: When Halo 2 came out.

360RR: Ah I recall buying an original xbox just to play halo 2. Who is your best friend on Xbox Live and least favorite person on Xbox Live? Anyone that you compete against on a regular basis?
Bender Bot 2000: My best friend is also my least favorite person because he is the only one on my friend’s list that can go toe-to-toe with me on most games (especially Halo). That would be Jolly Buccaneer.

360RR: I bet that piratey scuz bucket is reading this now! What is your favorite video game of all time, if you could pick just one that is? And then tell us your favorite 360 game!
Bender Bot 2000: Hmm, hard to say. Halo Franchise I suppose, although Bioware and Bethesda games rank pretty high on my list too. Borderlands might take up the top spot though.

360RR: Borderlands is looking good, don’t forget to check out our interview with Randy Pitchford if you have not yet. What is your favorite Game Console and why?
Bender Bot 2000: 360 without a doubt. Great library of games, great online functionality, and the best controller around.

360RR: We all love our Xbox. What is your funniest/ most memorable moment on Xbox Live?
Bender Bot 2000: Either getting a quadruple kill on CoD4 with an enemy’s grenade or Killtacular on Halo 3 SWAT.

360RR: Halo 3 SWAT, so glad I will not be playing that anymore. What is your favorite movie of all time and why?
Bender Bot 2000: It is between the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy or Kung Fu Hustle… I love when action combines with comedy and pirates.

360RR: Kung Fu Hustle was a great movie. Who is your favorite game character and why?
Bender Bot 2000: Myself… Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Oblivion… the best characters are the ones you make yourself.

360RR: Those do seem to be good qualities of those games. What is your favorite band of all time?
Bender Bot 2000: Between Aerosmith and Linkin Park. Don’t make me choose.

360RR: Aerosmith, a classic! iPod or Zune?
Bender Bot 2000: Zune… but I own an iPod.

360RR: A bit confused there are we? What do you think will help to contribute to 360 RR’s growth?
Bender Bot 2000: Tying in Rant and Rave into the site more… like in reviews

Ah yes we just started doing this in some of our reviews, why don’t you check out the recent ones here.

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