I was looking forward to Halo ODST. I even pre-ordered it from Amazon. Now I’ve played it and I’m very disappointed.
It’s standard Halo 3 fare. Some graphics are slightly improved and there are minor changes, but, oh dear it is boring. I’ve played it for a few hours now and the monotonous streets of New Mombasa are so samey-samey that nowhere really stands out. Making my way through dark corridors with little to see and even less happening is even worse.
You stumble upon enemy groups on the streets and blast away at them from a distance until your weapon runs out of ammo. It’s always the same groups of the same characters too. Oh look! Them fellas with the shields, and the big guys, again! Didn’t I kill them back there a bit?
Or maybe it’s the weapons. The original Halo 3 was all bright and colourful and cartoony and I liked it. It had some great set pieces. The weapons suited it. The energy weapons you pick up from dead enemy corpses are much the same as in the previous game but here they look totally out of place, even childish or something. The pistol is great though. Zoom in, bang, headshot! Nice.
Maybe I’m expecting too much of of the venerable Halo 3 engine? I’m honestly not sure if I can bring myself to load the ODST disc to play the game again. By all means, rent it out and give it a go, or buy the original Halo 3. It’s going cheap now and it’s a great game!
Oh, in case you’re wondering, I only played the single player game. I don’t have any interest in multiplayer, although Firefight was a nice distraction for 5 minutes. (and now the fanboys will crucify me.)
