Heading into this year's E3, I totally underestimated Bungie. While their reputation should have preceded them based solely on their three excellent, albeit overrated, Master Chief-starring titles, I still wasn't convinced their latest entry, the Chief-less spin-off Halo 3: ODST would be much more than an expansion pack disguised as a high-priced retail release. Shame on me for not giving the guys who defined FPS console gaming more credit, as their engaging E3 demo not only proved ODST a worthy standalone title, but also one that steers the popular series in a brand new direction. Bungie easily could've phoned in a “Halo 3.5” and pocketed a big fat paycheck, but their oddly named new entry (ODST stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) actually holds the potential to teach Master Chief a thing or two.
Set as a prequel to Halo 3, ODST opens powerfully in the series' expected cinematic fashion. As “The Rookie”, you're enclosed in a one-man pod that's blasted from its intended course and lands on Covenant-occupied New Mombasa on Earth. After being in a state of unconsciousness for several hours, you exit your drop ship and enter a beautiful, yet haunting setting that immediately hints at a graphical upgrade over Halo 3; it's nighttime, the streets are empty—save for the symbols of a city ravaged by war—and the evening sky is filled with black smoke and lit by fire. It's a stunning sight, and no doubt a mere tease of what's to come in this artistically ambitious new entry.
As with any Halo game, though, you'll want to keep the sightseeing to a minimum, lest you wind up a statistic. Although, death won't find you very easily, as ODSTs can hold their own in the face of seemingly unbeatable odds. For starters, they're equipped with two silenced weapons from the get-go, an SMG and pistol. The latter will no doubt please longtime fans, as it's essentially the handgun that saw Chief finish many a cackling Grunt in the original Halo. While the Rookie will have plenty of opportunities to use his suppressed guns on the streets of New Mombasa, much of his quest actually involves open-world exploration. Yes, in a first for the previously linear mission-structured series, players will now choose their own path in a hub-like open world. A helpful 3D map and a high-tech night vision-like visor that makes Samus Aran's eyewear look like a pair of BluBlockers, ensure you're given some integral information such as enemy locations and story-progressing objectives.
Using these new tools, and subsequently reaching specific areas on the map, opens flashback missions that put you in the boots of other ODST members. These segments comprise much of the action-oriented gameplay, and are closer to the type of first-person shooting the series is famous for. These missions also take place during the day, providing a nice narrative and visual contrast to the Rookie's quest on the quiet, dark streets of New Mombasa. Bungie showed just a bit of one of these flashbacks and, while they didn't go into it as deeply as The Rookie's gameplay section, it certainly hinted at the Halo we're more familiar with; Covenant forces were out in full force, gunfire pierced the air, and the ODST in the player's control was tasked with setting charges to blow a bridge to smithereens.
Despite this familiar taste of the franchise's traditional FPS action, it was The Rookie's exploration-based play that got me most excited for ODST. The ability to trigger these playable flashback missions in the order of your choosing is a nice freedom-expanding touch that's new to the series. And, being able to play as different ODSTs at various points in the story adds a nice narrative twist to a genre that's generally a slave to linear story progression. Couple this fresh direction with new gear, like the Rookie's visor, and the return of the classic Halo handgun, and you're already looking at a fan-pleasing package. But, add a second disc with all previously released Halo 3 multiplayer maps, three brand new ones, and access to Halo: Reach's beta, and you've got a release that'll finally allow me to forgive the Halo-tied marketing stunt that gave us Mountain Dew Game Fuel.
