Right well here it is, this was an inevitability that a Halo game would finally be reviewed by me, Vrex the Halo fan. If you are new to the Escapist or haven?t encountered me before all you really need to know is that I love Halo like a religious person loves their deity or a father loves his child. The Halo series and I have a long and very happy history, it was playing Halo combat evolved for the first time that made me realise that I could not just stay a casual gamer, no sir I had to own a console and start buying and owning games. Halo made me a gamer and the trilogy has been at the core of my entire gaming history, it?s a charming nostalgia run for me and I can still find myself charmed when I play a Halo game remembering myself as that wide eyes little boy who played five minutes of Combat Evolved and woke up for the first time. But you know what I could praise and gush about Halo for days on end because there is a lot to talk about in my love for Halo and all the good things it has done for me. But that should be left for another time, as I have to cover my review of Halo 3 ODST.
Okay one thing to get out of the way, I swear this is the last one, and then I?ll actually get on with the review, is that back in the glory days of Halo? I wasn?t really all that impressed by the ODST?s. I mean yeah I thought they were cool and all but cool in a very straightforward manner. To be honest I was much more interested in? well guess, seriously guess. If you guessed ?the Covenant Elites? then you are correct, god bless the majestic Sangheili. I guess you could have worked that out from my avatar. But the point is that everyone was so into the Spartans and ODST?s and here I was worshipping the ground the Arbiter walked on I think I was the only one who truly loved the Arbiter levels and who demanded to be second player in Halo 3 co-op to be the Arbiter. I guess I always wondered why it so much the human perspective, I mean the Arbiter was a great stroke of story telling on the part of the writer but still we always seem to see things from humans. So when it came time for a new Halo title to be released I was crushed that once again they didn?t create a game called:
?HALO: SANGHEILI CHRONICLES.?
Or something, so when I heard there was going to be a game about the ODST?s I have to say I wasn?t amazed or particularly awe struck because once again I was stuck with the boring lousy and greasy humans yet again. I felt bitter, jaded and betrayed. But one of the things I love about Halo is its ability to bring people together by mutual excitement. I saw some gameplay trailers and heard about some of the content but it was not the marketing that swayed me, indeed it never is the marketing that gets me interested. If I choose to buy something it is because I consciously decided to do it and therefore my purchase of Halo 3 ODST was something I did willingly. Besides I respond to new Halo title releases like a crocodile responds to a stranded duckling. Every time I get a chance, I snap one up. So after going to the store, making a purchase and returning home I had a little break and then got to playing.
And you know what? I liked it. Now that my star struck ranting is out of the way, let?s talk review.
I?ll start with the story elements. Now I am a firm defender of the overarching Halo storyline even if there are people out there who will condemn it. I will admit Halo is not ultimately the most original story in the world but it has some nice original elements. I still look at Halo for the perfect ?aliens versus humans? story because as I said before with the Arbiter it was clear that the aliens were similar to us and ultimately not just baby eating devil spawn that so many other games depict them as. I also like how Halo can have some great epic moments interwoven with points of satire and a genuine sense of humour about itself. From the antics of the Grunts to the quips from the Marines to the joy of the ?I would have been your daddy? skull and some of the exchanged dialogue between Cortana and Master Chief I found this to be true.
ODST however is a completely different story to the main trilogy however, and therefore the tone is different. It is much darker and much moodier and instead of massive full scale war, alliances and epic confrontations we are instead greeted to a mute ?Rookie? ODST who is alone in the deserted streets of a war torn New Mombassa shortly after the events of Halo 2. He is separated from his squad but not alone; there is plenty of Covenant moving about the place. The theme is much less focussed on a full-scale war and much more on this loner?s personal journey to relocate his squad and work out what his mission is.
These sequences are interwoven with flashback sections in which you take control of the other squad members and slowly the plot is pieced together. The characters in this story each have their own personalities and traits and little quirks and while they aren?t given much screen time there are some good moments of chemistry between each of the ODST?s present. If nothing else it provides a nice alternative perspective on the war of the Halo universe and you even get a few moments and references to things that happened in the main trilogy (I think the most obvious one is where you bump into a room full of dead brutes and elites and it seems as though the two races fought among each other killing each other and that any information regarding it is classified? a great prelude to the start of the human/elite alliance?. Though I am still pretty pissed that the coolest alien race in popular culture gets to serve as background objects for the entire duration of the game) and ultimately the themes once again solidify the idea that ?not all aliens are evil?.
Also on the topic of story I found myself loving the audio files of ?Sadie?s Story? the journey of a young woman attempting to regroup with her father in the centre of the city mid Covenant Invasion. I liked it because it put an interesting spin on things and allowed you to view the Halo story from a civilian perspective, something that was barely touched upon in any previous Halo game (Halo Wars and Halo 3 came close but not this close).
Overall ODST is a story that has a lot of depth and some likeable characters thrown in and offers an interesting view on the overarching story line. I get the feeling however that this kind of story would really appeal more to a Halo fan who is familiar with the story because then they would get all the internal references made within the game and ultimately would get more out of it than someone unfamiliar. Because to be fair it?s another case of ?story telling for the fans? wherein if you have played prior games in the series you?d get more out of it then someone who had no idea what a Gravemind is. (Speaking of, I don?t know if anyone?s realised this but ODST is the only Halo game so far does not feature the Flood.)
But enough about the story, as much as I liked it, and now onto the gameplay department.
ODST has two major design styles. The one of the rookie and the one of the flashbacks. When you take control of the Rookie you are playing during nightfall over in the streets of New Mombassa (don't worry, you have nightvision and the effect is really cool) and that is when the game takes on an open world aspect. You are more or less free to travel wherever you want (though there are a worryingly large number of locked doors especially at the beginning which had me screaming in exasperation in the beginning. Whether or not you need this much space I feel is debateable, of course there are the audio logs to find and exploration does lead to seeing Covenant doing some non-combat behaviour but ultimately at first I found myself wondering why I needed so much space. And then?. I realised that there is a lot of space to make evasion of enemies possible. That?s something however, that I will talk about later for now let?s focus on design.
The second aspect of ODST?s design is the flashback sections. I know that this is something other games have used before; I think Metroid Prime did this at one point, but regardless of who did it first it really works wonders here. You find an object that is the remnant of equipment that your team members left behind and it triggers a flashback sequence. When this happens you take control of a squad mate and see things in their perspective and the action becomes a semi linear action heavy game? just what Halo is best at. The design of these levels varies from:
?Oh my god that was so easy.?
To:
?OMG THAT FUCKING JACKAL SNIPER TAGGED ME FOR THE FORTIETH TIME!!!!?
? Seriously Jackal snipers, hate ?em god damn those Velociraptor-Vulture things they get me so many times, it?s so cheap. But still enough of my gripes. With a combination of some new stuff and some of the good old stuff ODST retains the feel of what made previous games good and adds some new elements of design. Some work, like the stealth aspect and the night vision, some elements really don?t work however mostly because they don?t make sense from a plot standpoint? but I?ll cover those in the gameplay section. But before I do, a million thank you?s to Bungie for adding the multiplayer experience and even reinstating my old profile on it. The magnificent Sangheili specimen you see on my avatar. The thing is I never got the new maps for Halo 3 because I could never download them as I lack Xbox live. But I finally have them and am going crazy with the forge making all kinds of maps? like for instance a friend of mine (who you may have met on here actually.. he is named r3lix) and I decided to make District 9 just for giggles.
Now okay when I finally got into the action heavy combat section I had to pause the game, put the controller down and say quite loudly:
?Madness? This? is? HALO!!!!?
The action sequences are great fun, there is no question of that. You can get some of the old thrill you got from playing as the Masterchief in the original Halo games? but not for long. The main difference is that your health does not regenerate at least not on Normal difficulty and you get shredded apart really quick if you just try to run and gun (At least from my experience playing some solo fire fight). I went through my first campaign play through on Easy because I always do the first time I get a game so I can enjoy the story and setting before going back for the challenge and that?s where your health does indeed regenerate. But other than that if you play on Normal you need to take a slower tactical approach to combat and it can feel really rewarding when you take down a Hunter because of it. Because your health does not regenerate health stations become a priority and fortunately they are pretty common at least when you are the rookie. However despite having no ability to dual wield, taking more damage than a Spartan and needing to put more damage into your attacks you don?t quite feel much more significantly weak than the Masterchief. For one thing you can still rip a turret off its stand, which made sense if you were a Spartan or Elite but for a human it makes no sense. Also while you can?t board many big vehicles you can still board a tank and lob a grenade into it? you just can?t bash it apart like in Halo 3. Ultimately I feel more human than Masterchief or the Arbiter when I play this game but not too much more. I feel as though instead of being a god of combat I am merely a demi god, which is still pretty powerful. But still I can?t carry two SMG?s at the same time but I can lift a hammer twice my height?
Of course when I play firefight I get my arse kicked more often than not, which at least reminds me that I am no superman.
Speaking of, I?m aware that Firefight is not the first game time of its kind and nor will it be the last but I gotta say I like it. Even if I lose my mind sometimes from backing away from one charging grunt with two grenades in its hands only to back into another and still be blown up. It?s fun to play with friends really and is a nice party alternative provided you hang out with the right people.
Finally we reach the section about ODST?s presentation. With a good solid cast and some clever writers ODST does deliver some memorable lines and quips and is overall on the same level as most of the Halo dialogue. It runs on the same engine as Halo 3 and I gotta say while it isn?t the most brilliant usage of graphics ever it certainly still looks good on it?s own merits. Little pieces of detail are clear throughout the visual presentation like scatches on pieces of metal and the tiny registration numbers on the SMG. Finally saving the best ?till last? the music is simply great. I would expect nothing less from the Halo series but the thing is that ODST has a completely different theme to the other Halo games because it is a completely different game. Instead of epic choir and orchestral music ODST has a nice moody lonesome soundtrack of piano solos and jazz that jut beautifully fit the tone. Truly amazing stuff for a classical music snob like me.
So in conclusion I may have gushed a little and yes there are flaws but you know what I really don?t see the point in dwelling on faults in games that I liked. It is much better if you just praise the good bits and ODST has a lot of those good bits to praise. So I say give it a try, if you are a Halo fan you will like it and if you are just a gamer you?ll probably have some fun in firefight.
Remember, this is not madness?. It?s Halo.
For Other self indulgent Vrex related reviews please click on the following links:
Vrex at the movies: Coraline [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.130069]
Vrex at the movies: Dead Space Downfall [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.105604]
Vrex at the movies: Pitch Black [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.120198]
Vrex at the movies: Mary and Max [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.114658]
Vrex at the movies: Friday the Thirteenth [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.107487]
Vrex at the movies: District 9 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.136231#3067612]
Vrex at the movies: Up [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.141623#3174604]
Vrex at the movies: 500 days of Summer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.145257#3283119]
And as for games:
Vrex behind the controller: Otogi: Myth of Demons [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.113073]
Vrex behind the controller: Dead Space [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.116791]
Vrex behind the controller: Mass Effect [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.116372]
Okay one thing to get out of the way, I swear this is the last one, and then I?ll actually get on with the review, is that back in the glory days of Halo? I wasn?t really all that impressed by the ODST?s. I mean yeah I thought they were cool and all but cool in a very straightforward manner. To be honest I was much more interested in? well guess, seriously guess. If you guessed ?the Covenant Elites? then you are correct, god bless the majestic Sangheili. I guess you could have worked that out from my avatar. But the point is that everyone was so into the Spartans and ODST?s and here I was worshipping the ground the Arbiter walked on I think I was the only one who truly loved the Arbiter levels and who demanded to be second player in Halo 3 co-op to be the Arbiter. I guess I always wondered why it so much the human perspective, I mean the Arbiter was a great stroke of story telling on the part of the writer but still we always seem to see things from humans. So when it came time for a new Halo title to be released I was crushed that once again they didn?t create a game called:
?HALO: SANGHEILI CHRONICLES.?
Or something, so when I heard there was going to be a game about the ODST?s I have to say I wasn?t amazed or particularly awe struck because once again I was stuck with the boring lousy and greasy humans yet again. I felt bitter, jaded and betrayed. But one of the things I love about Halo is its ability to bring people together by mutual excitement. I saw some gameplay trailers and heard about some of the content but it was not the marketing that swayed me, indeed it never is the marketing that gets me interested. If I choose to buy something it is because I consciously decided to do it and therefore my purchase of Halo 3 ODST was something I did willingly. Besides I respond to new Halo title releases like a crocodile responds to a stranded duckling. Every time I get a chance, I snap one up. So after going to the store, making a purchase and returning home I had a little break and then got to playing.
And you know what? I liked it. Now that my star struck ranting is out of the way, let?s talk review.
I?ll start with the story elements. Now I am a firm defender of the overarching Halo storyline even if there are people out there who will condemn it. I will admit Halo is not ultimately the most original story in the world but it has some nice original elements. I still look at Halo for the perfect ?aliens versus humans? story because as I said before with the Arbiter it was clear that the aliens were similar to us and ultimately not just baby eating devil spawn that so many other games depict them as. I also like how Halo can have some great epic moments interwoven with points of satire and a genuine sense of humour about itself. From the antics of the Grunts to the quips from the Marines to the joy of the ?I would have been your daddy? skull and some of the exchanged dialogue between Cortana and Master Chief I found this to be true.
ODST however is a completely different story to the main trilogy however, and therefore the tone is different. It is much darker and much moodier and instead of massive full scale war, alliances and epic confrontations we are instead greeted to a mute ?Rookie? ODST who is alone in the deserted streets of a war torn New Mombassa shortly after the events of Halo 2. He is separated from his squad but not alone; there is plenty of Covenant moving about the place. The theme is much less focussed on a full-scale war and much more on this loner?s personal journey to relocate his squad and work out what his mission is.
These sequences are interwoven with flashback sections in which you take control of the other squad members and slowly the plot is pieced together. The characters in this story each have their own personalities and traits and little quirks and while they aren?t given much screen time there are some good moments of chemistry between each of the ODST?s present. If nothing else it provides a nice alternative perspective on the war of the Halo universe and you even get a few moments and references to things that happened in the main trilogy (I think the most obvious one is where you bump into a room full of dead brutes and elites and it seems as though the two races fought among each other killing each other and that any information regarding it is classified? a great prelude to the start of the human/elite alliance?. Though I am still pretty pissed that the coolest alien race in popular culture gets to serve as background objects for the entire duration of the game) and ultimately the themes once again solidify the idea that ?not all aliens are evil?.
Also on the topic of story I found myself loving the audio files of ?Sadie?s Story? the journey of a young woman attempting to regroup with her father in the centre of the city mid Covenant Invasion. I liked it because it put an interesting spin on things and allowed you to view the Halo story from a civilian perspective, something that was barely touched upon in any previous Halo game (Halo Wars and Halo 3 came close but not this close).
Overall ODST is a story that has a lot of depth and some likeable characters thrown in and offers an interesting view on the overarching story line. I get the feeling however that this kind of story would really appeal more to a Halo fan who is familiar with the story because then they would get all the internal references made within the game and ultimately would get more out of it than someone unfamiliar. Because to be fair it?s another case of ?story telling for the fans? wherein if you have played prior games in the series you?d get more out of it then someone who had no idea what a Gravemind is. (Speaking of, I don?t know if anyone?s realised this but ODST is the only Halo game so far does not feature the Flood.)
But enough about the story, as much as I liked it, and now onto the gameplay department.
ODST has two major design styles. The one of the rookie and the one of the flashbacks. When you take control of the Rookie you are playing during nightfall over in the streets of New Mombassa (don't worry, you have nightvision and the effect is really cool) and that is when the game takes on an open world aspect. You are more or less free to travel wherever you want (though there are a worryingly large number of locked doors especially at the beginning which had me screaming in exasperation in the beginning. Whether or not you need this much space I feel is debateable, of course there are the audio logs to find and exploration does lead to seeing Covenant doing some non-combat behaviour but ultimately at first I found myself wondering why I needed so much space. And then?. I realised that there is a lot of space to make evasion of enemies possible. That?s something however, that I will talk about later for now let?s focus on design.
The second aspect of ODST?s design is the flashback sections. I know that this is something other games have used before; I think Metroid Prime did this at one point, but regardless of who did it first it really works wonders here. You find an object that is the remnant of equipment that your team members left behind and it triggers a flashback sequence. When this happens you take control of a squad mate and see things in their perspective and the action becomes a semi linear action heavy game? just what Halo is best at. The design of these levels varies from:
?Oh my god that was so easy.?
To:
?OMG THAT FUCKING JACKAL SNIPER TAGGED ME FOR THE FORTIETH TIME!!!!?
? Seriously Jackal snipers, hate ?em god damn those Velociraptor-Vulture things they get me so many times, it?s so cheap. But still enough of my gripes. With a combination of some new stuff and some of the good old stuff ODST retains the feel of what made previous games good and adds some new elements of design. Some work, like the stealth aspect and the night vision, some elements really don?t work however mostly because they don?t make sense from a plot standpoint? but I?ll cover those in the gameplay section. But before I do, a million thank you?s to Bungie for adding the multiplayer experience and even reinstating my old profile on it. The magnificent Sangheili specimen you see on my avatar. The thing is I never got the new maps for Halo 3 because I could never download them as I lack Xbox live. But I finally have them and am going crazy with the forge making all kinds of maps? like for instance a friend of mine (who you may have met on here actually.. he is named r3lix) and I decided to make District 9 just for giggles.
Now okay when I finally got into the action heavy combat section I had to pause the game, put the controller down and say quite loudly:
?Madness? This? is? HALO!!!!?
The action sequences are great fun, there is no question of that. You can get some of the old thrill you got from playing as the Masterchief in the original Halo games? but not for long. The main difference is that your health does not regenerate at least not on Normal difficulty and you get shredded apart really quick if you just try to run and gun (At least from my experience playing some solo fire fight). I went through my first campaign play through on Easy because I always do the first time I get a game so I can enjoy the story and setting before going back for the challenge and that?s where your health does indeed regenerate. But other than that if you play on Normal you need to take a slower tactical approach to combat and it can feel really rewarding when you take down a Hunter because of it. Because your health does not regenerate health stations become a priority and fortunately they are pretty common at least when you are the rookie. However despite having no ability to dual wield, taking more damage than a Spartan and needing to put more damage into your attacks you don?t quite feel much more significantly weak than the Masterchief. For one thing you can still rip a turret off its stand, which made sense if you were a Spartan or Elite but for a human it makes no sense. Also while you can?t board many big vehicles you can still board a tank and lob a grenade into it? you just can?t bash it apart like in Halo 3. Ultimately I feel more human than Masterchief or the Arbiter when I play this game but not too much more. I feel as though instead of being a god of combat I am merely a demi god, which is still pretty powerful. But still I can?t carry two SMG?s at the same time but I can lift a hammer twice my height?
Of course when I play firefight I get my arse kicked more often than not, which at least reminds me that I am no superman.
Speaking of, I?m aware that Firefight is not the first game time of its kind and nor will it be the last but I gotta say I like it. Even if I lose my mind sometimes from backing away from one charging grunt with two grenades in its hands only to back into another and still be blown up. It?s fun to play with friends really and is a nice party alternative provided you hang out with the right people.
Finally we reach the section about ODST?s presentation. With a good solid cast and some clever writers ODST does deliver some memorable lines and quips and is overall on the same level as most of the Halo dialogue. It runs on the same engine as Halo 3 and I gotta say while it isn?t the most brilliant usage of graphics ever it certainly still looks good on it?s own merits. Little pieces of detail are clear throughout the visual presentation like scatches on pieces of metal and the tiny registration numbers on the SMG. Finally saving the best ?till last? the music is simply great. I would expect nothing less from the Halo series but the thing is that ODST has a completely different theme to the other Halo games because it is a completely different game. Instead of epic choir and orchestral music ODST has a nice moody lonesome soundtrack of piano solos and jazz that jut beautifully fit the tone. Truly amazing stuff for a classical music snob like me.
So in conclusion I may have gushed a little and yes there are flaws but you know what I really don?t see the point in dwelling on faults in games that I liked. It is much better if you just praise the good bits and ODST has a lot of those good bits to praise. So I say give it a try, if you are a Halo fan you will like it and if you are just a gamer you?ll probably have some fun in firefight.
Remember, this is not madness?. It?s Halo.
For Other self indulgent Vrex related reviews please click on the following links:
Vrex at the movies: Coraline [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.130069]
Vrex at the movies: Dead Space Downfall [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.105604]
Vrex at the movies: Pitch Black [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.120198]
Vrex at the movies: Mary and Max [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.114658]
Vrex at the movies: Friday the Thirteenth [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.107487]
Vrex at the movies: District 9 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.136231#3067612]
Vrex at the movies: Up [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.141623#3174604]
Vrex at the movies: 500 days of Summer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.145257#3283119]
And as for games:
Vrex behind the controller: Otogi: Myth of Demons [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.113073]
Vrex behind the controller: Dead Space [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.116791]
Vrex behind the controller: Mass Effect [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.116372]
