After finishing up "Halo: Reach," I had thought my journeys in the "Halo" series would be on pause until the release of "Halo Infinite." But there was one game I hadn't gotten to play in "Halo: The Master Chief Collection," and it was "Halo 3: ODST." There was no rhyme or reason, I just didn't really have much motivation to download the game onto the collection. I did have some curiosity thanks to multiple recommendations, and to my surprise, when I received my Xbox Game Pass subscription, it automatically added "Halo 3: ODST" to "The Master Chief Collection" for me. So, now I had no excuse not to give it a whirl. And all in all, I did enjoy my short time with it, even if it did just feel like a bit more of the same.
"Halo 3: ODST," even despite being a sort of "expansion pack," has a few nice things going for it. Despite being a prequel, the story still has impact and feels meaningful, with a solid cast of characters that are plenty interesting. The visual design remains strong, and the music is the typical great stuff we’ve come to expect from "Halo." In general, I also think the campaign features some awesome action set pieces, and from a gameplay perspective, the vehicle sections are very enjoyable to play. The shooting controls also remain as smooth and enjoyable as before, and the wealth of great multiplayer modes makes for plenty of replayability.
All that said, I struggled to really "love" my time with this game, and I think it's largely because it definitely feels like more "Halo." It's more of what you'd expect from the series without many major changes to the formula, and while not every game NEEDS to have major changes, it just means that this game generally can't help but feel like the expansion pack it is at some points. Also, while I understand their purpose, the night sections are honestly pretty bland and empty. I know they are meant to be the "calm down" between the action-heavy flashbacks, but to me, they just feel a bit pace-breaking.
Overall, "Halo 3: ODST" is a fine expansion pack, though your mileage with it may come down to your love of "Halo." While it presents an interesting and unique new story, the gameplay feels very much like what we've come to expect from the series, and it doesn't include any big, new ideas to change things up. Thus, this is definitely easier to recommend to "Halo" diehards than casual fans of the franchise. If you love the series and can never get enough of it, give this a whirl. Otherwise, don't feel totally bad if you skip out on it. It's a pretty good time, even if it's not the most essential entry in the franchise.
Final rating: 7 out of 10 "Good"