The thing that Halo really thrives on in its plot is being some rando guy having his (not very well written) world-saving adventure amidst this bonkers millenia old conflict between an ancient & immensely powerful protocivilization and Meat Mountain where both are cheerily describing wiping out all life in the universe, so obviously what bungie decided to do with the last 2 games in the franchise was suck literally all the fun & weird apocalypse archaeology and replace it with nothing but the bland rent-a-sci-fi environments that they originally designed to contrast against the Forerunners to make them even more bewildering.

Also everyone talks like a fucking Joss Whedon character non-stop & i hate it

It's my 3rd favorite halo game. Yes, even above Halo 2. This game introduced firefight, brought back the autoloader, the charm and wit of characters that was sorely lacking in halo 3 but in abundance in halo 2. Gameplay, visuals, etc are all nearly the same as Halo 3 but with no dual wielding and ODST characters have health like in Halo CE and Reach and ODST characters have stamina which is almost the same as shields but there’s no visual bar. The atmosphere of walking through the ruins of new mombasa is chilling and somehow peaceful and quiet at the same time, which is complemented beautifully by another masterpiece score by Marty O'Donnell, the perfect blend of somber piano and heroic drum melodies.

Can be kind of hit or miss. The nighttime levels are ambitious and interesting, with a phenomenal atmosphere primarily thanks to the music. At times, though, they can be a bit boring to walk through. I would've preferred a more desperate feeling like I was alone and being hunted. The daytime levels are more traditional Halo, just more stripped down. A lot of the success of these levels is owed primarily to Halo 3's awesome engine, as they don't bring anything new to the table. Overall, solid Halo, and I applaud it for trying something new, but it's definitely rough around the edges.

In it's opening moments, Halo 3: ODST shows a lot of promise. A noir mystery set in an open metropolis with a unique score and that classic gameplay initially makes ODST one of the more interesting titles in the Halo franchise. However, as the game goes on all the elements prior end up becoming dull and unfulfilled. As far as the mechanics are concerned; ODST is a Halo game through and through, which is good if you like this gameplay. However the lack of a core identifying feature has ODST feeling more like a Halo 3 extension rather than something standalone. I guess you could point to the visor mechanic that let's you see in dark environments, but I felt like it's only use amounted to seeing red outlines around enemies, blue outlines around weapons, and yellow outlines around optional audio log content. Overall I'd recommend Halo 3: ODST to Halo enthusiasts. It's opening moments alone make it worth experiencing. However ODST's latter game needed more to it in pretty much all departments. This is definitely not a game for first timers new to the series.

Well, this was not what I expected. I'm playing through the franchise for the first time, and I had absolutely no idea that ODST was some weird film noir experiment. I think it works (I really love the atmosphere during the sections where you roam around the city) but not always. I think a lot of the game hinges on the characters which is an issue, since all of them are walking stereotypes and have dialogue that I don't think was considered passable in 2010. Still, this was probably my favorite Halo experience so far, and knowing the rest of the franchise doesn't take risks like these kind of bums me out.

Pretty middling and hardly has anything interesting to show for itself. Visually, it's the most striking and distinct but that's hardly worthy of praise considering how low of a bar the rest of the series set for that prior.

It's a glorified walking sim with fortune cookie length levels occasionally sprinkled in that's over before you even begin to think anything about it.

Not really bad per se, but it's one of those things that make you go "Oh yeah, I played that, huh?" on occasion.

Would say it's style over substance, but in reality its neither. Very forgettable game that's an okay enough time killer if you're really bored.

‘Jazzy neo-noir Halo game’ is such a bonkers idea that I can’t be too mad that it mostly doesn’t work. I love quiet loneliness in games, but the toolkit that the Halo franchise is unable to leverage it properly with its fabricated, cultureless personality devoid city design inspiring only boredom as you wander the empty streets. ODST is a deeply fractured, conflicted experience but it at least provides the spectacle of examining an oddball creative vision colliding into the routine bombast expected of the franchise up to this point.

"Take my advice, Rookie. You ever fall for a woman? Make sure she's got balls."

ODST was a nice little change of pace! After playing as Chief for the last 3 games, it was nice to switch gears a little bit. Bungie wanted to get more experimental here and for most of it, I was totally on board with their new vision! The atmosphere of the city at night was incredibly well done and breaking it up with some more traditional Halo levels (while I wish they weren't there) were fun enough to be a safe inclusion.

Paying 60 bucks for this back in the day would be insane though. Even as someone who prefers shorter games, ODST's campaign is extremely short. It's longer than a lot of other DLCs sure but it's just not a full price game. It's a £25 or £40 game for sure.

All that said, I had a good time with it!! I'd love another Halo game that explores this idea way more someday.

Still gradually making my way through the Halo series. Halo 3: ODST is the most surprising entry to date and perhaps my new favourite. It takes you away from the power fantasy of playing as the near indestructible Master Chief and places you in the shoes of a regular, human marine. Due to this change the tone takes on a far more oppressive tone to reflect the weaker player character and the dire situation they find themselves in. It almost feels more like a survival horror games at points, and in my mind is more akin to something like Bioshock than Halo at certain points. I must also mention the fantastic OST/score by Marti O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori. Halo has always had great music but this brings it to a whole new level of brilliance. It's so melancholic and depressing, while at the same time being beautiful and so very human. I'd expect to find this tone of music in a game like Hollow Knight or a Souls game, but it fits here never the less. Although the story itself is nothing to write home about, the ruins of New Mombasa are so interesting to explore and the music makes it an almost hypnotic experience. This atmosphere is even more impressive when you consider how fast-paced and chaotic Halo usually is as a shooter. It just shows you that any gameplay can be complemented and improved by proper world-building and atmosphere, no matter how diametrically opposed they might seem to be. Although not my favourite narrative in the series, this is probably my favourite experience so far. It delivers the same great combat, and with an even deeper level of intimacy and emotional impact. I'm hoping Bungie can recapture some of this magic in their final outing with Halo: Reach.

Fun side story of Halo 3 but it did take me a bit to get used to the gameplay as it does change some things from traditional halo 3 as you are obviously no longer Master Chief or the Arbiter, and based on my initial impressions I'm a little confused about the Epilogue and how it actually fits with Halo 3, Buck's charactor and his romance with the captain was also annoying in my opinion and some of the dialogue from the playable characters was the worst part about the game in my opinion. Still like I said a good game worth your time if you like Halo.

Playing through this for the first time was such an interesting experience, the atmosphere and campaign structure are unlike any Halo game I've experienced thus far. Basically ODST puts you in this massive hub world, the abandoned streets of New Mombasa as you fight off covenant and unravel the mystery of what happened to your squad mates. Each time you find an artifact of theirs, a flashback occurs to where you play as the aforementioned squad mates and put the pieces together, where in these sections it's the standard Halo affair. These parts of the mission are...fine, I guess. Nothing amazing, just what you would expect out of a typical Halo mission. The atmosphere is what truly sets it apart however. Roaming the empty streets of New Mombasa, hearing soft jazz in the background as rain begins to pour and abandoned cars are still sounding off their alarms, it truly nails the sense of isolation, and gives off a super eerie vibe that something like the flood just never accomplished in 3 total games. Side note, but the dialogue in this game is awful, like genuinely the rest of your squad mates have really one note personalities and the stuff that comes out of their mouths is borderline cringeworthy. Regardless, this one is definitely worth checking out.