The missions themselves with the different members of the ODST squad play out like a continuation of Halo 3, encounters usually consist of seeing a group of enemies, taking down the weaker ones and then going crazy with the SMG until you manage to kill the larger ones. If you enjoyed Halo 3’s campaign, there’s plenty more of that to be found in the ODST campaign.
However, things take an interesting turn for the franchise with the Rookie’s part of the campaign. While the encounters are essentially the same, playing through the game alone, you’ll find a certain level of creepy tension while you’re traversing the city in the dark with only your two weapons to depend on.
I really tried to get behind the premise of the Rookie being more sneaky than his flashback counterparts, but ultimately, the game wasn’t made as a sneaking franchise. You can try (and I use this word loosely because 999 times out of 1000, you’ll fail) to sneak around and hit a brute or grunt from behind. I succeeded at eliminating a whole squadron of enemies by sneaking and assassinating them one by one, but this was a single time, all the other times, an enemy will alert the other ones of your presence, and then the cycle I described in the above paragraph ensues.
Fundamentally, ODST is an FPS, but it doesn’t really innovate. The new silenced SMG is a welcome addition as it finally addresses the need for a zoom-able automatic rifle without sacrificing power. The new pistol however, is only good for dispatching grunts from a distance or eliminating an enemy that’s almost down for the count already. The rest of the game’s weapons come from the ones found in Halo 3, so you’ll find the rocket launcher, energy sword, and so on here. However, if you’re anything like me, chances are you’ll stick to the SMG and a larger weapon (AKA fuel rod, sniper, or rockets) for the whole game, as anything else is just for when you’re out of ammo.
One last point to address is the inclusion of the new Firefight mode, which is a lot of fun assuming you have a buddy to play with you on the couch or over XB Live. This mode is essentially Gears of War 2’s horde mode, only done with a game that people will actually be playing in about 6 months. Endless waves of enemies assault you and your goal is to stay alive as long as possible. My brother and I had a blast playing through a game of Firefight that lasted over an hour. Again though, just to stress this point, the Firefight mode is only fun with more than one person – if you play it alone, chances are you’ll only play it once.
