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Pros: Great voice talent, expands on the Halo mythos

Cons:  Where do we start? Been-there-done that storyline, Low-resolution Graphics, "Floaty" controls, extremely short campaign, ending that asks more questions rather than solve them.

Purchase or Rental? : Neither.


Let's get this out of the way: Halo ODST is not worth $60 dollars. In fact, I would argue that Bungies latest Halo game isn't even worth $30 dollars. Read on to find out why Halo 3:ODST is the most disappointing entry in the Halo franchise to date.

Story: In Halo 3:ODST you assume the role of "The Rookie", a whiny unarmed member of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers(ODST) who has a penchant for all-things Master Chief-like. The beginning of the Campaign sees "The Rookie" helljump into New Mombasa, a familiar territory for previous Halo players. If you were wondering how the Covenant came about, then Halo ODST will answer your question;In 2 minutes. What happens to The Rookie and his fellow crew members(Dutch,Dare,and Buck) is never fully explained,which leads us to believe Halo:Reach is the next $60 Halo entry that will attempt to answer questions from a previous Halo entry. Conclusion:Short, confusing, and raises more questions than it answers.

Controls: The word "Floaty" doesn't even begin to describe the abysmal controls of Halo:ODST. Wherein Halo 3 you had a tight and responsive feel to the game, Halo 3:ODST feels like the exact opposite-so much so that I had to literally pause the game and look for a "Halo 3 controls" settings(There was none). An announcement of a controls patch should be coming shortly. Conclusion: You will constantly fight with the controls.

Gameplay: Gameplay-wise, if you've played any Halo game you know what to expect;Enemies spawn,you shoot,repeat for 4 and a half hours.What Halo 3:ODST introduces is Survival HordeFirefight Mode, a new Co-op mode wherein the player has to basically...Survive.(It should be noted that Halo 3:ODST comes in 2 Discs, one for the Single-player campaign and another for the Multiplayer mode). Conclusion: Short and unimpressive.

Graphics: The Xbox 360 has come a long way in terms of visual candy: from Gears of War to Gears of War 2, the platform has produced some of the best looking Unreal Engine 3 titles to date. Halo 3:ODST is where we witness failure in the graphics department, from the low resolution of 640p to the low resolution textures on just about everything, Halo 3:ODST offers nothing that will pleasure your eyes. Conclusion: Halo 2 on Vista looks on par with ODST, troubling.

Overall Score: 1.5/5. Halo 3 fans will have a love-hate relationship with the 4-5 hours provided by Halo 3:ODST, but newcomers to the franchise will loathe it to the very core. Poor storyline, unimaginative and outdated gameplay, and low-resolution graphics are all contributors to the terrible nature of Halo 3:ODST.