Lovelocke said:
Question mark at the end reinforces my confusion. See, I've been told by a couple of people that "ODST" is "better" than Halo 3, but in my mind I can't imagine how that could be... my understanding of it is that it's basically an over-glorified expansion pack, but they claim enough of the core mechanics of ODST has been changed that make it more of an "actual" FPS than Halo 3 was.
My main gripe about the Halo franchise, aside from the screamingly generic protagonist was that the game looked like a "lol we can do nightclub lighting EVERYWHERE" sci-fi shooter with unimaginative enemies and level design that you would often have to double and triple-back through to complete: Objectives were vague, multiplayer was floaty and dominated by children screaming into microphones because you can't rocket jump and throw 10 sticky bombs that kill 30 enemies, and everything... EVERYTHING... felt like a carbon copy of failed elements in other FPSes that, when combined, came out "in time" to satiate starving Xbox owners during the original console's underfed run.
But, that's what makes Halo a bad game *for me*... you might love it more than traditional FPSes like Doom or Quake, but that may be because Halo was the first FPS you played as a child (which, no offense, is just the difference in our age groups).
People have told me that ODST is about as different from Halo as Fallout 3 was from Oblivion: And where I loved Fallout but couldn't get into Oblivion, people believe I'll get the same type of enjoyment from ODST.
Thoughts? If its worth a shot, I'll go and buy it *tonight*. If its not, then... well, I guess I'll install the Zeno Clash thing I bought during the Steam sale this week.
Now hold up here. Every one of your problems looks like ones of someone who hates Halo because Halo is something to be hated in their mind. Backtracking was a problem in the FIRST Halo, but the other games really don't have that problem.
As for the lighting issue of yours, I much preferred that over the Brown and Grey vomit that inhabits most other FPS games. This game has no pretensions of being realistic, taking its cartoony atmosphere and somehow serious storyline in stride.
Then there's the enemies. Why are they unimaginative? Giant armored, 8-foot lizards that speak backwards and wield guns that shoot the sun? Tiny swarms of cannon fodder that to survive rely on a rather explosive gas to breathe, stored up in ample qualities on their back? Massive carnivorous gorilla-men that get a jolly out of bashing you into dust, and take care to remind you of it constantly while you fight them? The enemies with shields NOT being annoying and requiring a specific combo/weapon to beat?
Then there's your whole "feeding the hungry" theory. In short, it's wrong. In long, Halo was a launch title for the Xbox. It contains elements that are not found in many games. Equipment is a fun addition, but not game breaking like the perks of a game that shall not be mentioned here. Forge, a map editor for a console game, is actually rather novel. Many games have done it, and the only one off the top of my head that's done it on consoles is the Far Cry games, and those always felt clunky and unintuitive to me. Theater mode isn't exactly a flop either.
While I'm at it, your comment that it was probably my first FPS is wrong, too. My first was Timesplitters 2. But, I preferred Halo. Why? Because when you are playing Halo, you do not require 4 friends to play with you who all have an intense hatred for monkeys with chainguns.
Rant over, on to the question.
ODST is very, very good. Nice atmosphere, interesting storytelling elements, the characters are more 3-dimensional than previous games', though none of them are Sergeant Johnson, sadly. The combat is fun, the recharging shield element is gone. You still have a shield that recharges, but you need a health pack to get your actual Health Bar back to full. Introduces new variations on old enemies, and gives mention to a couple of Expanded Universe elements of the Halo series. Worth picking up for a rent. If you have friends that play it online, I recommend buying.
