Bungie takes a risky departure from Spartans and rings with Halo 3: ODST and drops us into the ruins of New Mombasa.

User Rating: 8.5 | Halo 3: ODST X360
You play as an ODST known as the Rookie. If you haven't attempted to look into ODST at all, the last part stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. After a mishap with a drop, a rather rough landing and a 6 hour nap, the Rookie awakens in the darkened streets of New Mombasa. Equipped with his Detecti- I mean, VISR and silenced weaponry, it's up to Rookie to find his team and link back up with his team. With the help of the Superintendent, Rookie gets a map, marked with multiple waypoints that guide the Rookie to beacons. Upon finding a beacon, players are taken back to the crucial moments of his teams time spent in New Mombasa while he was sawing logs in his pod and ultimately finding out what the real mission is. Outside of the main story, you can hunt down 30 audio logs which tell the tale of a young Sadie and her journey throughout New Mombasa during it's first moments of the covenant invasion of the city.

Exploring the stories of multiple ODSTs is a rather risky departure from the big green Spartan we've come accustomed to but, Bungie manages to pull it off. Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, and Tricia Helfer provide their voice acting talent to give the Rookie's teammates more personality and are much more believable than a certain Chief. The only person lacking any real personality is Rookie himself. Unlike our last hero of Halo, Rookie doesn't utter a word in an attempt to make the players feel like the Rookie. It's a nice try on Bungie's part but doesn't exactly mesh well since the game doesn't focus on Rookie and his shenanigans in New Mombasa. You spend more time in the other ODSTs perspectives than Rookies.

When you're wandering the streets of New Mombasa, you'll notice how dark it is. So dark that you'll need to use Rookie's VISR to outline objects in the environments. It's very reminiscent of Batman's Detective mode from Arkham Asylum. With it, you'll be able to navigate the dark streets of New Mombasa, identify enemy troops and locate clues with ease. You'll probably notice some differences while playing as an ODST like the lack of dual wielding and the return of the health pack system. Shields are now known as Stamina that regenerates during a fight and once that goes, so does your health which doesn't regenerate. Along with the addition of the health pack system, some of the guns have been tweaked. The SMG is now silenced and so is the pistol which makes it's return from Halo Combat Evolved. The weak part is, there's no Battle Rifle and no Elites(which Bungie does have a rather interesting explanation for).

ODST comes bundled with a few interesting things. First off being Halo 3's multiplayer in it's entirety on another disc. Second, ODST has firefight, where you'll fight off wave after wave of covenant soldiers for as long as you can. All the while, skulls will activate making enemies tougher to fight. Firefight is a very fun mode, but just like the 2 player co-op, it lacks matchmaking and will certainly die out quick when you and your friends move onto the next big thing. And finally, there's the Halo: Reach beta, which isn't out yet but it gives us something to look forward to right?

Not much has changed graphically in ODST. While you're walking through the pitch black streets of New Mombasa, you're bound to notice how some of the objects tend to blend in with others because how dark it is. When you're playing those missions during the day, you'll be taken back to Halo 3, when all the graphics were bright and pretty. It is nice to see that they're still driving their old engine, but it's definitely starting to show signs of age. The game also supports a rather wonderful orchestral soundtrack. At times it seems a little out of place like it should be in more of an old detective flick but, helps add emphasis on the empty yet dangerous streets of New Mombasa.

In short, Halo 3: ODST is a great return to the Halo universe through the eyes of those who helped a certain Spartan save the universe from annihilation. It's short, and the lack of matchmaking will only lead the game to a dead end, but it's still worth playing until everyone else moves onto the next big thing and the Reach beta for those who are still into the franchise.