It's hard to talk about the updated version of Halo 3: ODST without first mentioning its current-gen genesis. Perhaps 343i had plans to rerelease it anyway, but the announcement confirmed it would be given to early bird adopters of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. An apologetic offering for players who booted up the much anticipated and hugely hyped multiplayer mode for the Xbox One's Halo collection, and found it to be - for want of a better word - broken.
Halo 3: ODST first came to those among us who've been suffering through Halo: MCC's considerable growing pains. It's the first campaign added to the collection that doesn't star Master Chief, which gives us hope that 343i might well be preparing to throw Halo: Reach and maybe even Halo: Wars to the MCC mix, making it the current-gen hub for all things Halo. Pure speculation on our part, but we live in hope.
We don't have to speculate about ODST, as it's already here. First up and disappointingly, there's no Firefight. This part of the game was Bungie's first experiment with wave-based modes a la Gears of War, and we have many fond memories of playing through certain areas of the game in the relentless mode. It simply has not been included, ostensibly so 343i could focus on delivering the campaign side of things, and it remains unclear as to whether we'll be getting the missing features added as an update or even as additional DLC. We suspect they'll never make an appearance, but we'd like to be wrong.
Those that don't get the game free will be able to buy it as DLC, and when the price is a mere £3.99, that represents incredible value. What you get for your money - or not, as the case may be - is a quirky campaign that stars a squad of elite ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers). Led into battle by Nathan Fillion, they're a motley crew of soldiers, and the banter between them as they prepare for battle at the start is as militarily-themed as you would expect.
One of the best things about ODST is that it sees Bungie playing with narrative in a way that they don't normally. The player switches between two timelines that eventually converge for the final mission when all is revealed. There's the established members of the squad and the stories of what happened to each of them after their drop to the planet surface that when horribly wrong. Linking it all together is the story of the Rookie - faceless, blank canvass, you - who explores the ravaged city of New Mombassa hours after the drop.
As you explore the atmosphere drenched city with the Rookie, you uncover clues as to what happened to the squad during the hours before. The city is a joy to explore, as you scurry between wrecked cars under the glare of moonlight. The soundtrack is great, and the noir-esque tunes wonderfully juxtapose with the ravaged city streets, where Brutes, Jackals, and Grunts patrol and regularly provide resistance to your progress. It's not as straight-forward as jaunting through a level from behind the visor of a Spartan; the ODSTs are more vulnerable. They might have a shield that protects them, but there's no recharging health bar and the system has more in common with that of Combat Evolved than the recharging health bar from Halo 3.
The fragility of your character(s) changes the pace of the game considerably and makes it important to think before each encounter. Positioning, cover, the locations of nearby weapons and health packs; all this becomes vital knowledge. Of course, you can put the game on Normal and breeze through the campaign in four or five hours, but take it up a notch or two and the whole feel changes, and taking on a patrol with two Brutes becomes much less of a formality, and surely with these less-Spartan heroes, that's the point.
From the audiologs you discover along the way, through to the converging storylines, Halo 3: ODST is a nice change of pace when considered alongside the campaigns it now resides with on Xbox One. It still scrubs up well, and we're talking about six years since it was originally launched. The 1080p and 60fps makes for a crisp and smooth experience, although the framerate regularly takes a tumble when playing co-op (online). There are also some clunky character animations that underline its age, but these are shortcomings that are easily dismissed.
There's a really solid campaign here, and it'll be a nice treat for those who are eligible for a free copy. For everyone else, when it goes on general sale, there's absolutely no reason to give this one a miss. Halo 3: ODST might not come fully equipped thanks to the absence of the Firefight mode, but the campaign is still, after all these years, worthy of your time (and if applicable, your money).
