Halo 3 Map Pack

Halo 3: ODST | Gaming and games shop

It’s Halo 3, with a couple new guns and a slight improvement to the health system. Your character sounds ‘in pain’ when your health is low, reminding you to stay behind cover. There’s also a night vision visor that you can toggle on and off. Unfortunately, the game seems too dark if you don’t have your night vision on, and if you use it in areas that are fairly well lit, you’re almost blinded. In the end, the night vision seems extraneous. The game would have been better if the dark areas were just a bit brighter, but still cloaked in shadows.

Level Designs: 6/10 There is an open ended city area where you can explore and Convenant troops are being dropped in to battle. This is new to the Halo Universe and it works quite well. Most of the game takes place in New Mobasa, a futuristic African City that is being invaded by the Covenant. The look and feel of the city is pretty impressive, but overall, the levels feel redundant. Fight in corridors, defend an area… You know you’ve got problems when the Campaign is only 5 hours long, and the Missions feel repetitive.

Sound: 9/10 There is a Firefight Mode which is like Gears of War 2′s Horde Mode, but ODST features an additional challenge where each wave of enemies has a special behavior like “Dodges Grenades.” This mode is for friends and invites only. I understand that Bungie is trying to prevent the Leroy Jenkins of the world from ruining the fun, but it really sucks to not be able to play a pickup game. This is fun. It’s far more tactical than any Halo game before it, and allows for so many new opportunities. Once in Heroic, you find yourself planning assaults, sneaking, factoring in how many grenades you have. Ammo is so sparse that you’re constantly forced to re-adapt and pick up new weapons, rather than keeping with the same two weapons (As was much the case with the first three halo’s). The characters are new, which again, is interesting. The Visor?…Man, probably my favorite addition. It’s so cool to able to switch around views, to get tactical or go all out. Wonderful. Not to mention the addition of engineers, which do nothing but add to the depth of game play and emphasize strategy.

Fire Fight: Let’s be honest. Mention Gears 2? You hear about horde. Mention Call of Duty WaW? Nazi zombies. Now halo has it’s own, and it is beautiful. Fuller maps, with each offering their own advantages and disadvantages. The new call-sign features allow for quicker identification, and the new drop-off system (The enemies come in on Phantoms, rather than just spawning) allow, again, for strategy. Ammo shortages are common here, so know your weapons. The skulls always add a bit of flair and make each and every round a new experience. My only complaint? When I play with my Australian friends, the game is pretty laggy.

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