thanatos
New Member
ODST PREVIEW.
Received my copy through the post yesterday so I thought I'd share my initial impressions just for you lovely folks.
How it plays
When I first bought my original XBox it came with Halo 1 in the pack, after five minutes play I vowed never to pick it up again since it was like the developers had got stoned, watched Aliens and Star Wars back to back and couldn't decide amongst them which one to rip off. Fortunately I later gave it another chance and realised something plenty of people before me already knew, IT. WAS. FUN. A LOT of fun.
Since then I have become a fanatic, thanks in no small part to an intriguing universe and some excellent choices in who they got to expand the story with the novels. In the end though it always comes back to the fun factor for me, and ODST doesn't disappoint. In fact, despite Bungie making a song and dance about how the ODST are no Spartans and the gameplay will be adjusted to show this (the original trailer had a strong stealth-to-survive feel) this still feels very much like Halo 3, the same tactics you used there apply here. Thankfully there are some changes that keep this from being just some new levels tacked onto the Master chief's "final" adventure, the major one being the absence of recharging health which make some of the larger battles a lot more panic inducing since just hiding is no longer enough to keep you safe, you'll have to scope out some medi-kits and work out how you're going to get to them. Other changes include the lack of dual-wielding and a visor mode which is a a glorified torch with the handy ability of surrounding enemies with a red outline, essential for the 'hub' levels as they take place at night and so usefull you'll want to carry on using during the bright daytime sections, despite it making the screen look like someone left granny in charge of the flash on the family photos again.
All of these changes don't make it play like a new game, in fact they make it play like an old game, Halo 1 to be precise, which is sure to delight many an ardent fan.
The looks department
It will surprise no one that ODST's main draw isn't its stunning graphics, still running on the Halo 3 engine, which wasn't exactly a stunner to start with, it looks more than a little dated. Unfortunatly this isn't the game's only issue, the art design is uninspired with the city reminiscient of Deus Ex or Fear 2. Worse still it becomes far too easy to get lost with each part of the city identical to the last. Perhaps further into the game the city will open up and the diversity Halo is known for will shine through, but so far I'm already bored with the only variety being the time of day.
Story
So far this is where ODST really shines, thanks in no small part to the wonderful cast Bungie have assembled (this is where you finally get to laugh at those filthy pirates who downloaded the french leak, I don't know how good the French dubbing is but come on, we've got Firefly and BSG alumni fighting for our affection here!)
Whereas the previous Halo games, especially the first, have been populated by a fair few stereotypes, cliches and straight up rip-offs but with this game we get fleshed out, interesting characters that it's easy to care about. With the mystery of Dare and Buck's past, along with Dare's last minute reprogramming of the squads destination during the opening moments, the plot draws you in nicely with the flashback structure giving it excellent pacing. Whether this will continue throughout is yet to be seen but I'm certainly eager to learn more.
As a side note I think it's worth mentioning that continuity does take a slight hit with the Brutes turning on the Elites far earlier than do in Halo 2, but this is obviously due to the lack of Elite enemy AI present in the engine, although I was disapointed not to be up against some HD elites which may have added a little extra variety.
So, to sum up ...
If your a long standing fan of the franchise or only joined with the hype surrounding Halo 3 there will be plenty to enjoy here and I'm happy to recommend a day one purchase, but the lack of anything substantially new dulls the enjoyment which isn't helped by stale art design.
Check back to see how my opinion changes once I've completed the game and for my views on the firefight mode.
(In other news I have finally had a chance to resin and glass my Iron Man helmet and will be starting my ODST helm very soon so plenty of photos are incoming.)
