The latest game that I have been playing is Halo 3: ODST, I’m only a couple of hours into the campaign and have been enjoying it so far. I don’t actually own an Xbox 360 so I have borrowed one from my cousin. I figured that if I am to write about video games for a living I should probably familiarise myself with all three major consoles and not just my PC.
Anyway, Halo 3: ODST is actually a side-story to the main Halo series of first person shooters. Its events run concurrently to those in Halo 2, but instead of playing as inter-galactic badass Master Chief you play as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper or ODST. ODSTs are an elite arm of the United Nation Space Command and are used to complete difficult and high-priority missions. They are deployed via drop pods that are released from large warships in our atmosphere, similar in manner to the way paratroopers were deployed from aircraft during World War II. Your character is “Rookie” and after a failed “drop” you find that you are separated from your squad and that you have actually landed in the middle of the Covenant invasion.
The game’s narrative is told primarily through a series of playable flash backs which are triggered by Rookie finding clues about his squadmates eg. finding the black box from a fallen surveillance drone or a squad member’s helmet (spoilers). It is a refreshing take on the typical story-telling methods employed by modern games that rely heavily on large set pieces depicting cities being blown up and army men yelling military catchphrases left, right, and center. Okay, there are a few of those in this game but I just find them funny. I guess I’m just used to hearing them really.
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Speaking of audio, one other departure from typical Halo games is the soundtrack. It doesn’t feature the iconic strings and defined drum beats of the series’ main theme, instead opting for more nuanced and emotionally resonant themes that play off of the game’s noir-esque atmosphere. My favourite piece so far features strings that are accompanied by a piano playing a haunting melody while you search the streets of New Mombassa in the Rookie segments. It does add a sense of unease because your character doesn’t have the super-human strength or advanced MJOLNIR armour of the Master Chief.
In fact, you don’t have a shield or a motion tracking system – not even regenerating health. Instead you have a stamina meter, a full-sized map via a menu, and rely on good old-fashioned med kits to replenish health respectively. Alright, the systems aren’t exactly innovative but they do provide a noticeable change to the regular Halo gameplay formula. Another key difference is the HUD system called VISR (Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance) which boosts the brightness of the scene in front of you and outlines every single object with colour: red for enemies, green for friends, and blue for weapons on the ground, and (I think) a bright yellow for interactive objects like computer terminals.
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Oh, and did I mention that the entire time you are playing as Rookie you are being watched over by someone (or something) called the “Superintendent”? Whatever it is it uses environmental objects such street signs and ringing phone booths to direct your path through the ruins of the city. It is all very creepy and I have the sneaking suspicion that the “Superintendent” is not actually a human being… or maybe it is? I don’t know, I’ve only played a couple of hours.
Okay, I do not intend this to be a proper review so I’ll just say a couple of things in closing: the gameplay is fun and you can actually employ a stealthy approach to enemy encounters, the graphics are pretty decent for a 360 game, cut-scene character animations can be exaggerated in a way similar to Robot Chicken, and that this is a genuinely great game even without the Halo connection
You know what, I may actually end up reviewing this game. 😉
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