You sure won't be able to accuse our review of being long-winded, but here it is. Quick, in your face and sorta running counter to most the other reviews that are out there. And this from a guy who pretty much hated the Halo 3 campaign.
I got the game a little earlier than advertised so me and 3 friends were able to Co-op campaign on Legendary and 6.5 hours later we finished the fight. I've slept for all of about five hours so here are my quick thoughts on the game.
Tips for Co Op Campaign:
- Don't wander off by yourself too far. There is a lot of walking in this game and you don't want to get lost and you certainly can if you don't pay attention.
- Don't go through any green doors until all your buddies are ready. You can miss some of the story if you happen to go through it before your buddies are also ready to go through the door with you.
- Pay attention to the Nav points. Might seem like a no brainer but it can save you some time.
CAMPAIGN:
The Good:
- The Pistol. Its as good as advertised and maybe even better. Some sick head shots were had last night. Its rapid fire, its accurate and its got some serious range. I hate that we cant play with this MM. Like really hate it.
- Good pace to the story. This Halo is much more character driven and there is A LOT more exploring in ODST than any other previous version of Halo.
- Mood matters. From the somber music to the over exposed sky, you get the sense that some real crazy shit went down here.
- This is NO expansion pack. If you'd never heard of Halo 1, 2, or 3, you would be fully satisfied by the size and the scope of the ODST campaign. They packed some HUGE maps and some incredible massive fights into this game. Bigger vehicle battles, bigger terrain and more aggressive AI. Did I mention it took us 6.5 hours on Legendary to finish the game. That was longer than how long it took us on Halo 3.
- This ain't your daddy's Legendary. It felt like to me at least that ODST Legendary was more difficult than Halo 3 Legendary. The Brutes took more damage, the grunts seemed to duck for cover more and in general, we just died more. I enjoyed the increased challenge
- No flood. Nuff said.
- Did I mention the awesomeness that is the Pistol? You are going to fall in love all over again. Just dont tell the BR cause she's gonna get jealous.
The Bad:
- My feet hurt. Seriously, there is a lot of walking in this game. I mean a lot. Exploring is great but damn most of the exploring is done through walking. I feel like I need to eat some carbs to make up for the excess cardio.
- Love Story. I realize it's more of a character driven story but I thought we could've done without the constant reminder of the love story. You are supposed to be the baddest Marine alive but you end up chasing tail for half the game. And she wasn't even that hot.
- I've seen this before. Some of the maps, you end up walking through more than once which isn't new for Halo but is still annoying. I'd almost prefer a shorter game if I didn't have to walk through the same area twice or three times.
The Ugly:
- I really can't believe I'm saying this about a Halo game but the music was really off at times. Certain big battles still had its testosterone driven beats and drums which was great but the Kenny G inspired sax and the cheesy As the World turns theme music really took away from the somber atmosphere of the game at times. When the players are chuckling at the bad mood music, you know its time for some change. The piano worked at certain spots and really irritated me at other spots.
Overall, I'm glad I bought the game because the campaign had a more emotional connection to the character than previous Halo games and the ability to play as some one else rather than MC really added depth to the game. I didn't miss being Master Chief for one second. Personally, I enjoyed this campaign more than Halo 2 and a lot more than Halo 3 but not as much as Halo CE. I would definitely not define this as an expansion pack.
9.0 from me.
Time for some Firefight.
