New story, new hero, new Halo 3 maps, Firefight mode, new features... What else could you possibly want in an expansion?

User Rating: 9 | Halo 3: ODST X360
First off, to you BS3 fanboys, youpeople seriously need to grow up. People have complained for so long that MS fanboys go around insulting any good PS3 games, but the reality is that you hypocrites continue to give great games like Halo 3: ODST low reviews because you're jealous of its superior quality and that you can't play it. Spamming a great game with low reviews means nothing except that you PS3 fanboys will never ever grow up and play a game for what it is instead of having a hissyfit at its superior quality to anything you will ever have.

Now, onto the actual game, Halo 3: ODST is a great, action-packed experience that, in some respects, fell a little bit short of some of my expectations. The campaign is longer than I thought it'd be and has a good, fast pace to keep you interested. Gameplay is solid all around, and I enjoyed the new approach that was taken to this game. You don't realize just how much lessening your jumping and only holding one gun, and having some of the gear you didnt previously have before can make a Halo game so much harder. The campaign is NOT ANYTHING like Halo 2 or 3, hearkening back more to the Halo 1 days, and even then theres enough significant differences to keep the combat fresh, like the new open world setting that you can roam around in and find hidden weapon caches, or the hidden untold story on one of the former citizens of the city. If the rest of the game had been modeled after the campaign format, this game could have received a much higher score.

However, multiplayer is a mixed bag in some respects. Firefight (basically Gears 2's Horde Mode) is outstanding and can likely add a lot of replay value to the game, and although it can get very challenging once the third skull has been activiated, it never gets so difficult to the point of frustration. This mode is outstanding and is a huge addition to the Halo franchise, but regrettably, the only other online content is more maps for the Halo 3's multiplayer modes. If you've already bought the other maps, it is kinda lame that you are basically repaying for them again here, but the new maps function well and are some of the best released on the game to date. For me, Longshore was definately the best of the 3 exclusive maps, but the other 2 were perfectly playable as well. And it was definately nice to see one of my favorite Halo 2 maps return here as Heretic. It's still Halo 3's multiplayer, which means its still amazing in just about every respect, but you may get frustrated about rebuying the same online wihtout any new system added in with the new content (True fact: the silenced pistol and SMG can't be used in Forge Mode).

However, the game still features top notch FPS controls that continue to top just about any other shooter, graphics that manage to top the rest of the entries in the series (even though other games have definitely done better and sadly, to be honest, that wasnt admittedly very hard to do in the first place), and plenty of cinematic campaign moments for you to sink your teeth into. If you can stomach paying $60 for a new campaign, co-op game mode, and 3 new maps, you have a total blast with ODST. But if you're just waiting for the campaign and firefight and couldn't care less about the older multiplayer component, you may want to wait for a discount offer.

Positives:
+ Completely different approach to Halo's campaign
+ FIREFIGHT MODE!!
+ A bunch of slight improvements (like the graphics, new nightvision, making weaker guns in Halo 3 useful) that add up after awhile
+ My personal favorite soundtrack in the whole Halo series
+ LOTS of content for your $60...

Negatives:
- ...that some people may get frustrated with if they already own Halo 3 or the previous DLC packs.
- Why wasn't the new ODST format taken advantage in more multiplayer modes than Firefight?
- Graphics are definately improved, but they probably could've done better.
- Occasionally corny dialogue
- Some may get annoyed with finding the items they need to get to advance in the open world sections of the campaign.

Verdict:
- If you don't have Halo 3 already, buy this NOW. It will consume your life.
- If you own Halo 3, but not the DLC, this is still worth the money, as it saves you $20 in DLC maps, plus adds 3 exclusive maps to play.
- If you own Halo 3 already with all the DLC, you might want to wait for a price drop, as you'll only really be getting the campaign, FIREFIGHT!!, and 3 new maps.


Hope this review helped you out!