HALO 3: ODST - Xbox 360 (2009)
Formerly a spin-off of Halo 3, this entry Bungie's interstellar saga grew over the last two years of development into a fully-fledged game in its own right. ODST sees players control of one of the titular Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, fighting the covenant on Earth in the time period between Halo 2 and Halo 3, while also presenting an all-new co-op mode as part of the package.
Story: You are The Rookie, the newest recruit to humanity's second most elite force after the Spartans; the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Dropped into a ruined and Covenant-inhabited New Mombassa, you'll explore the city, discover the fates of your fellow ODSTs via flashback sequences, and battle the Covenant on humanity's homeworld.
Gameplay: Unlike the seven-foot tall super-armoured Spartans, ODSTs are just ordinary men with high level training and a few powerful gadgets that give them the edge over bog-standard UNSC soldiers. The Rookie and his fellow troopers boast silenced weapons, a visor that outlines targets and objects of interest, and must count on cunning, stealth, surprise attacks and health packs, rather than the high-jumping prowess and recharging shield afforded to the Master Chief.
ODST is a more free-roaming game, set in the ruins of New Mombasa, and plays out like a mystery story with a distinctly film noir atmosphere. In addition, Firefight mode lets four players join together to take on waves of Covenant in a mode similar to Gears 2's Horde, or CoD's Nazi Zombies. And with three additional Halo 3 multiplayer maps in the package too, ODST was justifiably one of the biggest Xbox 360 games of 2009.
Feature by: Mark "Drop Shock" Scott.
Published: 18.09.2009
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