Currently doing a long awaited co-op replay of the game with my best friend from high school on PC, and so far most of what I remember liking about it holds up really well. The writing is painfully 2009 dude-bro dogshit but it's the only Halo game to have such an amazing sense of atmosphere, and the music is easily the best in the franchise. Genuinely justifies itself as a spinoff because it doesn't just play like the mainline Master Chief games--if anything I wish they'd taken some of the stealth/open world ideas present here a little bit further, either in this game or a future one. Unfortunately it was just never meant to be and ODST remains the weirdest and most experimental the Halo franchise ever got and it's better for it.
Halo: Reach (Good Version)
Interesting concept. I loved the atmosphere and hub-level design on "Mombasa Streets" levels and System Shock style Audiologs but rest of the game is just a decent mixture of stereotypical Halo gameplay but mostly its just good -not great-. I liked no armor approach and i loved the characters a lot (even more than reach). This is just decent halo game with some experimental features. Loved the soundtrack a lot btw
I enjoyed the swing in mood, but essentially it's just more Halo 3 with a hub level and more formulaic individual mission design. There's a warthog mission, a tank mission, a sniper level, a sewer level etc; it's not gonna be surprising on this front. The changes in mechanics and game feel are also pretty miniscule despite you playing as weaker ODST soldiers rather than herculean Chief.
It's still solid and worth going through, especially as a sneak peak for how well halo combat could work in a free to roam interconnected map when player is left to progress at their own pace. I'd be pretty pissed if it was sold to me as a full-price game tho.
It's still solid and worth going through, especially as a sneak peak for how well halo combat could work in a free to roam interconnected map when player is left to progress at their own pace. I'd be pretty pissed if it was sold to me as a full-price game tho.
Sadly, this game just kinda wasn’t for me. The atmosphere was a nice change of pace, but I really just found myself constantly trying to get to the next objective. The characters were fun, but never enough to get me very engaged in the story. The story has a cool premise and delivers on it, although the ending is a bit confusing. The music is the best in the series and the more grounded, risky gameplay works really well for the narrative. Overall, this is a game that clearly delivers on most of its interesting ideas, but doesn’t resonate with me all too much.
Fun. Firefight is cool. Story is good. Not a personal favorite.
the story is so investing, the gameplay is fun, there are no silly gimmick levels, this game is just story driven fun, ties with halo reach for my favorite game.
gameplay gets a 5.
story gets a 5.
gameplay gets a 5.
story gets a 5.
It's as aggressively mediocre as a game can get and really suffers from the absolute worst kind of shitty Joss Whedon-esque writing for the dialogue. Soundtrack was 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 at the least
The pondering, nonlinear construction really pushes the expectation on what a Halo game or a space-marine shooter really can be (within the constraints of the genre.) Adds a lot of thoughtfulness and pathos to the Halo world.
The chill sections between missions are better than the missions themselves
My only real complaint is that it didn't do more.
They should've abandoned the level-based system and gone straight into metroidvania.
They should've abandoned the level-based system and gone straight into metroidvania.
It's pretty good as an expansion to Halo 3. Felt pretty good as a shooter since you are more vulnerable. The group of characters are fun. I also like that I can speed through the main missions in like 10 minutes.
Dat Jazz.
Moody offshoot to Halo 3. Everything has so much more weight as an ODST, and things can get really scary. Great atmosphere, fun Halo gameplay, and a very unique story. Probably the least enjoyable Bungie Halo, but still iconic and memorable in every way it needs to be.
Esse é o jogo do sexo. Pena que é curtinho, terminei em 3 horas :(
Finally did my first solo Legendary run, and it's rather hard, but manageable compared to most other Halo campaigns. ODST still has a few issues here and there, but it's a largely solid shooter with some cool levels under its belt. It also has some of the best music the series has ever seen.
Fantastic use of reused assets and locations to create an intimate story experience that's still unlike anything in the series, with one of the best OST in the series as well
My favorite HALO game and it's a side story ! It was quite refreshing to play with a non Spartan character, limited functions and a town to explore at night, all alone with tons of ennemies at every corner.
genuinely a better singleplayer take on halo 3's bones
from the jump this game showed me what depression felled like
Acho que nenhum jogo antes que eu já joguei conseguiu me impactar tanto com uma atmosfera igual esse. Os personagens, mesmo que sem aprofundamento, são bem legais, e a Gameplay é ótima, o que era de se esperar de um Halo. Definitivamente um dos meus favoritos do X360.
Lots and lots of fun.
Fantástico.
Jazz, rain, co-op input lag. Right mood
"Halo 3 ODST OST" is a fun-to-type search query that I just did
ODST is a huge mess that stems back to Mircosoft being greedy, and wanting to milk Bungie's series. There may have been some good concepts there, but it really comes down to nothing was well thought out. It's tedious, boring, and in general is a bad name for Halo and games in general.
FIREFIGHT
This review contains spoilers
When I played this I felt it was really the Halo for me. I've been trying to run through this series since I missed out almost entirely on it when I was younger, and while the third entry was actually really good, I didn't quite fall in love with it (and the first two games were just mixed bags). This one was an experience that felt very much like what a me-core kind of fps can be: steady but not too slow, tactical and with detailed maps that have plenty of little secret rewards hidden throughout. The general Halo vibe of the weaponry and factions was fun, too, and I was definitely a fan of the mixed urban, sci-fi, and natural environments used here. The previous games had a good mix of the second and third ones, but I do often find myself wondering what exactly random civilizations look like in sci-fi settings. Well, this game answered that question for me.
The story's nothing to write home about, but I do think it gets the job done. The characters are generally just action movie stereotypes, but I don't mind too much. I find it refreshing after the fairly barebones cast we had in 1-3 (barring the Arbiter ♡). Having some clear personalities and such to get attached to definitely helps the more lonely vibe the Rookie segments were going for.
The Rookie segments themselves were a super mixed bag. The first one was fine as an introduction, but the second and third were pretty boring to me since the game had you walk waaaay too far through fairly monotonous streets. But it was the last three of those segments, though, that I found pretty fun. You had a lot less walking to do and a lot more fighting or sneaking at that point. On higher difficulties the game expects you to have explored at least a little bit of your surroundings to be able to either avoid some combat or get an upper hand despite being vastly outnumbered. There's a nice sort of atmosphere employed in these segments, and the music's reaaaal nice.
Anyway, this brings me to the big difference in design between this and its predecessors. While the running and gunning and wanton destruction of 1-3 was fun (especially in co-op!), I did find myself craving more of a chance to be using my brain all throughout gameplay. Here, especially in the earlier levels (not so much the last 2), you're rewarded almost constantly for taking the time to check your surroundings and find ways to think about your tactics going into each fight: weapons you have, weapons you leave in particular places, even good vantage points to make your shots. Despite still being a newbie to this franchise I managed to beat about half of the missions on heroic on my first try without dying (and all but one of them without healing)... and that was entirely because I played smart rather than fast. I also really enjoyed the way the HUD looked and functioned. The Halo HUD in general is pretty cool to me, so giving it extra functions and abilities that aren't meant to be on all the time was really awesome. I expected it to be a cheap gimmick, but I did legitimately find myself switching it on and off during gameplay for clarity. Surprisingly well done!
I've heard from other people that at a fair amount of folks really disliked this entry, and I do think I get it. For one thing, I heard about how shittily it was priced. I only paid a few bucks for this and the slow pace made it last longer for me, but I couldn't see this being full price at launch. That's highway robbery. The second part to things is likely that this really isn't all that much like what people had likely come to love in 1-3. I don't mind it because I don't have that deep of an attachment to those things (and the gameplay style in ODST happens to complement the way I enjoy playing games), but if someone else does and thus finds this game too off-putting, I think that makes total sense. I mean, if there is one thing I missed when playing this, it was that some sort of Sangheili Arbiter-like character wasn't anywhere to be found. Twas a shame, but I wasn't really expecting one.
One sort-of disappointing part of this game was probably the last couple levels. The penultimate one was fine but a bit monotonous for my tastes. The final driving level, while better to play than 1-3's vehicle escapes in my opinion, felt tacked-on just to make it feel more "Halo". I honestly wouldn't have minded if that were omitted, but meh, what can you do. The final fight was pretty cool for sure, but unfortunately the enemies didn't seem to use about a whole quarter of the area. It could be that they swarm it more if the player doesn't pick them off early, but in my experience the high ground was pretty much entirely safe. A bit of a shame that the game fizzled in some places right near the end, but I don't think those issues overshadowed my enjoyment.
Overall, I rate this so highly in large part because it felt like it fit like a glove for me. I can find enjoyment in most kinds of FPSes, but I was surprised that a Halo game would feel so natural to play like this one did. Hopefully Reach winds up being this much fun too! I don't expect it to retain the design this one did, but I don't mind. I'm glad I took this game slow, because it really gave me the chance to savor a truly enjoyable time.
The story's nothing to write home about, but I do think it gets the job done. The characters are generally just action movie stereotypes, but I don't mind too much. I find it refreshing after the fairly barebones cast we had in 1-3 (barring the Arbiter ♡). Having some clear personalities and such to get attached to definitely helps the more lonely vibe the Rookie segments were going for.
The Rookie segments themselves were a super mixed bag. The first one was fine as an introduction, but the second and third were pretty boring to me since the game had you walk waaaay too far through fairly monotonous streets. But it was the last three of those segments, though, that I found pretty fun. You had a lot less walking to do and a lot more fighting or sneaking at that point. On higher difficulties the game expects you to have explored at least a little bit of your surroundings to be able to either avoid some combat or get an upper hand despite being vastly outnumbered. There's a nice sort of atmosphere employed in these segments, and the music's reaaaal nice.
Anyway, this brings me to the big difference in design between this and its predecessors. While the running and gunning and wanton destruction of 1-3 was fun (especially in co-op!), I did find myself craving more of a chance to be using my brain all throughout gameplay. Here, especially in the earlier levels (not so much the last 2), you're rewarded almost constantly for taking the time to check your surroundings and find ways to think about your tactics going into each fight: weapons you have, weapons you leave in particular places, even good vantage points to make your shots. Despite still being a newbie to this franchise I managed to beat about half of the missions on heroic on my first try without dying (and all but one of them without healing)... and that was entirely because I played smart rather than fast. I also really enjoyed the way the HUD looked and functioned. The Halo HUD in general is pretty cool to me, so giving it extra functions and abilities that aren't meant to be on all the time was really awesome. I expected it to be a cheap gimmick, but I did legitimately find myself switching it on and off during gameplay for clarity. Surprisingly well done!
I've heard from other people that at a fair amount of folks really disliked this entry, and I do think I get it. For one thing, I heard about how shittily it was priced. I only paid a few bucks for this and the slow pace made it last longer for me, but I couldn't see this being full price at launch. That's highway robbery. The second part to things is likely that this really isn't all that much like what people had likely come to love in 1-3. I don't mind it because I don't have that deep of an attachment to those things (and the gameplay style in ODST happens to complement the way I enjoy playing games), but if someone else does and thus finds this game too off-putting, I think that makes total sense. I mean, if there is one thing I missed when playing this, it was that some sort of Sangheili Arbiter-like character wasn't anywhere to be found. Twas a shame, but I wasn't really expecting one.
One sort-of disappointing part of this game was probably the last couple levels. The penultimate one was fine but a bit monotonous for my tastes. The final driving level, while better to play than 1-3's vehicle escapes in my opinion, felt tacked-on just to make it feel more "Halo". I honestly wouldn't have minded if that were omitted, but meh, what can you do. The final fight was pretty cool for sure, but unfortunately the enemies didn't seem to use about a whole quarter of the area. It could be that they swarm it more if the player doesn't pick them off early, but in my experience the high ground was pretty much entirely safe. A bit of a shame that the game fizzled in some places right near the end, but I don't think those issues overshadowed my enjoyment.
Overall, I rate this so highly in large part because it felt like it fit like a glove for me. I can find enjoyment in most kinds of FPSes, but I was surprised that a Halo game would feel so natural to play like this one did. Hopefully Reach winds up being this much fun too! I don't expect it to retain the design this one did, but I don't mind. I'm glad I took this game slow, because it really gave me the chance to savor a truly enjoyable time.
"It's kind of like A Joss Whedon thing" went from a selling point to a drawback in about 4 years but the game still owns
Easily the most contained and small-scale campaign we've seen in this universe up to this point. The cast of Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk & Nolan North has only gotten more impressive with age, the fact that we get so attached to these characters with such little time given is a testament to their abilities.
My only complaint seems to be a common one, that the game itself wasn't longer. While I love how small-scale the ultimate storyline is in this game, I wouldn't have minded some more time with these characters.
My only complaint seems to be a common one, that the game itself wasn't longer. While I love how small-scale the ultimate storyline is in this game, I wouldn't have minded some more time with these characters.