|
|
Halo 3: ODST
By: Scott H (Master Sandwich) for www.gamertag360.ca
|
 Hi, my name is Scott H from gamertag360.ca, and I am here to review Halo 3: ODST. Just a little snippet before the review..
if you do not like the review or disagree, please email us at projectgamertag@gmail.com and explain what we might have done wrong. Also, please remember that this is a review, if you like the game and wish to play it regardless of what is said in this review, I personally hope you enjoy the game. Anyways, on with the review.
With every review, there is 10 categories that are out of 10. The reviews from www.gamertag360.ca are not biased, nor opinionated, but based on facts from playing the video game. We take pride from making our reviews. Also, you’ll notice that our reviews are out of 10 categories and out of 100. The reason behind this is to review the whole game, instead of minor things. From sound to multiplayer to re-play ability, you’ll leave without questions in your mind. So please enjoy our review and let us know what you think by sending an email to projectgamertag@gmail.com.
And now, onto the review:
Controls: If you played Halo 3, then you don’t need to worry much about the pre-set controls for ODST. There are only two different button functions, BACK is the VISR, and the X is the low light on the VISR. The layout of the controls worked great, like its predecessor, but nothing new. Lastly, there was no real customization for the controls because they weren’t really changed from Halo 3 to ODST.
Halo: ODST scores 9/10
Sound: Sound is very important in a game, it sets the mood and atmosphere for the game experience. The music is ODST was perfectly suited for the game. The music was crystal clear, the guns were great (loved using the pistol) and they sounded crisp.
Halo: ODST scores 10/10
Video: The graphics didn’t really get an overhauling from its predecessor at all, same graphics engine, but they used a blur-ish finish, and it worked with the game pretty well. Within the campaign, there was tons of cinematic’s that were fun to watch, but the shading and texture for the characters left me with a “wtf” moment for their quality. The in game physics were good, everything moved if it was in an explosion, exploded if explosion hit it, and grunts went flying (gotta love seeing that on Firefight). Also, the VISR looked great. I liked the detail it gave to me as I flicked it on to see where enemies are, weapon locations, and important audiophiles locations, but clearly, it only worked during the nighttime, and it kind of made it half useful due to the fact that half of the game was played in the daytime (which blinded you). The “draw distance” was great, I was able to walk without any of the environment to load around me. The game was visible in all areas, and no FPS (frames per second) overload (like choppiness, or a lag in the game), so it was nice.
Halo: ODST scores
7.5/10
Re-play ability: No. Sadly this game does not have much re-play ability except for achievements. The game got too frustrating at time to play (from heroic to legendary), let alone to replay, but some certain achievements make you have to play the campaign again (only if you didn’t play the game in order, and kill or not kill engineers). For the future, Firefight will probably see lots of DLC, and it’ll be fun playing those maps, but nothing else really, there are no alternative ends due to it being a sequel to Halo 2 and a prequel to Halo 3 (in short, no campaign DLC).
Halo 3: ODST scores 4/10
Achievements: The achievements in the games work great with the game, but the downside is that the game isn’t a big enough game to give a real challenge. The only achievements that gave a real challenge were the Vidmaster achievements. The achievements give more playability to the game but almost not worth it because of the amount of collectables needed. They are middle-skilled achievements, most will be unlocked during one play through (lots on legendary), and not much left after campaign completion.
Halo 3: ODST scores 6/10
Delivery: In the game, there are lots of loading screens at about 10 - 15 seconds. All graphics in the game flowed smoothly in gameplay. The games campaign flow into cinematics was well and flowing out of cinematics went well as well.
Halo 3: ODST scores 7.5/10
Single-player: The single play campaign was good, but the problem I found was, it was a halo game trying to be a halo game. The new campaign was good but there was no alternative modes to play. The length of the game was around 1 - 3 hours (from easy to normal), 8 - 9 hours (on heroic and legendary). The quality of the campaign was average, it was a FPS, trying to be halo. The difficulty on the campaign was easy on Easy and Normal, pretty hard on Heroic, and legendary was frustrating, annoying, and not worth it due to the ammo issues, enemy squads, your under powered weapons against their over powered weapons.
Halo 3: ODST scores 7/10
Multiplayer: There is no online multiplayer for ODST, but features something else. Like Horde, Halo 3: ODST’s “firefight” had a little Halo twist on Horde. Firefight would have you and possibly 3 others fight wave after wave of covenant forces, but instead in first person view. Every round activated another skull, with 5 sets of reinforcement per wave, this was Halo at its best. Firefight can be split screen with only 2 people on one console, online with 4, or system link with 4. There is offline bots to help, so bring friends! This is where the money paying for the game is worth it, with ODST, it comes with 2 disc’s, the second disc has all of Halo 3’s maps (including the last 3 mythic maps, now you can unlock Recon Armor).
Halo 3: ODST scores 5/10
Story: There is a beginning, en end, but the middle was chosen by the player to pick in any order the clues to complete the puzzle. As there was no single main character but a squad, that made no real room for character development. The voice acting was great, all came clear and crisp. There was no real understanding of the story of Halo 3: ODST, you needed to do some research to figure out that the game is in between Halo 2 and Halo 3, but really, in the beginning of the game, a brief explanation is shown, but I found that it wasn’t enough to explain.
Halo 3: ODST scores 7/10
Game play: The options of the game were all included that needed to be in the game. The enemy AI was smart, they know where you are, unless you sneak, but even then you get caught. The game was a bit linear but should have been more linear. I believe that we were all used to the objective mission based game play, but this was a bit different. For unlockables, they were really minor, only characters to play in firefight were the only thing to be unlocked. The game required a lot of strategy, like how are you going to pick a fight, how will you execute a plan to defeating your foes, health and ammo issues, etc.
Halo 3: ODST scores 8.5/10
That will give a grand total of 71.5/100
Hits:
Sounds were great
Didn’t have to learn any complicated or new button pre-sets
It presented itself well graphically
T
he story was done well though, tying some major events in the halo universe together
No dumb AI and strategy was a good feature for an FPS
Misses:
The achievements didn’t help the game at all
No new multiplayer, halo 3 disc is now garbage (if you already did the campaign. And come on, we would love to see non-stop online dual matches with silenced SMGs!!)
No good reason to play again, only for the achievements that you miss (the campaign wasn’t very exciting, good enough to keep you interested, but not exciting enough that you would want to play again)
If played on easy, only 1 hour (if you run and gun) and that is still bad.
Buy, Rent, or Pass:
Buy - The real main reason why it’s a buy is because you are getting 3 games in 1 package. You are getting a brand new game, new mode called firefight, and you are getting all the maps for $65 - $74. The campaign is short, firefight you’ll have a blast, and halo 3 multiplayer all tie in to be a sweet deal for any halo fan, so go pick up a copy if your a fan! If not a fan, stil worth it for their online play, and firefight will keep you up all night.
This game got a Green Ring. This marks that this game is a fun and we recommend it.
If this is your first time seeing our review, this is how the skeleton looks to us (Please remember at all times, when looking at a specific category in a broad category, ask yourself "How are the..."):
1. Controls - Control presets, button layout, the feel/flow, and customization.
2. Sound - Appropriate use of in game music, quality of sound/effects.
3. Video - Graphics, cinema tic’s, Video effects, frames per second, lighting/shading effects, "draw distance" (the visibility from your POV to the other side of the map).
4. Replay ability - Potential for DLC, alternative endings, gameplay very rewarding.
5. Achievements - Too easy/ too hard, lengthen gameplay, easy 1000/ impossible 1000, DLC included.
6. Delivery - Loading times, the flow of the graphics engine, length of gameplay.
7. Single player - Alternative game modes, length and quality of campaign, challenging or too easy.
8. Multiplayer - Server quality, host advantages, Xbox Live/Split-Screen/System Link compatibility.
9. Story - Good flow, character development, voice acting quality, Motion Capture, clear understand f background.
10. Gameplay - Options, NPC intelligence, unlockables, strategic ability. |
|
|
