21 replies to this topic

[TheGingerWriter]

I personally believe ODST was a bit of a letdown for the Halo fans. It seemed a bit forced out, as something to keep the fans happy while they continued working on Reach. The storyline was okay, and the graphics were okay, but the levels were crap and some portions of the levels are actually on Halo: Reach's campaign.

What do you guys think? I'd be interested to hear other people's opinions as I don't know any other die-hard Halo fans.

[BigBigFan]

I love all of the Halo games but my time spent on ODST was probably shorter than on other titles in the series. I ended up making a lot of fun videos in ODST though so I don't know. A letdown? Probably not but definitely not the title that has excited me the most in the series.

How do you think Halo 4 will stack up?

[TorchuVadergear]

I personally believe ODST was a bit of a letdown...It seemed a bit forced out...The storyline was okay, and the graphics were okay, but the levels were crap and some portions of the levels are actually on Halo: Reach's campaign.

What do you guys think? I'd be interested to hear other people's opinions as I don't know any other die-hard Halo fans.

First, to what portions of levels do you refer to being present in the Reach campaign that were from ODST?

Second, ODST was a very very fun game. I enjoy the free-realm story mode to no end, and its firefight will forever be emboldened in my eyes as a classic game for the X-Box 360. I don't feel like it was pushed out at all, maybe it was a side project, but it doesn't feel pushed. If anything, it seems to be one of the games with the most well-peiced-together graphics and details. Yes, Reach is clean and highly detailed, but the designers had experience with the Halo 3 engine already and this let them do better work with ODST. Something about ODST really sets it apart as a great game both in and out of the Halo franchise, and I would really look forward to more ODST titles being released as side-projects to the Halo trilogy titles.

-Torch

[iitz james]

I agree completely

[crossunitedfate]

I don't think it was a let down.

Sure, there were better Halo games. And for that matter, games period. But I still enjoyed it. I think the problem with gaming today in part is that the fanbases are spoiled.

Everyone is so used to everything being over the top that when you get a "calmer" game, it feel sub standard.

[TheGingerWriter]

I don't think it was a 'calmer' game - I just didn't enjoy the game as a complete whole. It was okay, but it for the hype that Bungie gave the game, it let me down personally.

There is one of the levels, I don't recall which, but you have to drive a warthog through an area that looks VERY similar to 'ONI: Sword Base' on the campaign of Reach. I don't know if this was intentional, but it does seem a bit strange to me that it plays out pretty much the same.

I do have to say though, if they released a Halo: ODST 2, I'd probably buy it, simply to play the game because I love Halo. :')

[crossunitedfate]

That might be the real issue. You just mentioned it. The hype factor. I don't totally blame Bungie for that though. Even though yes they sure enough gave it hype, the fans would have done that anyone just because it's a Halo game.

And it speaks volumes that even though you admitted not being the biggest fan of ODST in the world, because of the Halo name, you'd still buy ODST 2 if it ever came to be.

[TheGingerWriter]

Of course I will buy it, I support Halo and 343 in everything they do now, and probably always will. They're phenomenal games.

[crossunitedfate]

Of course I will buy it, I support Halo and 343 in everything they do now, and probably always will. They're phenomenal games.

Will you do that even if the games slowly degrade?

Don't be one of those people that keep buying into something just because you were a fan of previous games.

[TorchuVadergear]

I think the problem with gaming today in part is that the fanbases are spoiled.
Everyone is so used to everything being over the top that when you get a "calmer" game, it feel sub standard.

I don't think it was a 'calmer' game - I just didn't enjoy the game as a complete whole. It was okay, but it for the hype that Bungie gave the game, it let me down personally.

I do have to say though, if they released a Halo: ODST 2, I'd probably buy it, simply to play the game because I love Halo. :')

Gamers are spoiled? Definately! Name one game in which you purchase and get many mini games doubled with it? Halo. If you buy any big hame release, you get an epic campaign, great multiplayer action, plenty of easter eggs, huge multiplayer arenas, a gigantic fanbase, file shares, statistics, and most importantly... Forge mode. Forge offers still more, in that building and designing things, making forms of art, racing, shooting, fighting, stalking, on and on and on... it never stops.

When you can do the same thing in a subdivision of any Halo game that you can do in a 20$ indie game or similar title, which one looks like a better choice with more replayability?

On another note, I'd definately get an ODST2 game if it were announced. I'd really hope they stick to the roots as well, offering no major multiplayer updates, but rather its unique firefight classic mode.

-Torch

[Pergatory]

I loved ODST and it passed my expectation

[BigBigFan]

Fun fact: did you know that Halo 3 ODST was originally names Halo 3 Recon but they changed it in part because of the nature of the in game shoulders with the same name? Players have always wanted to own a "fire helm" because they believed it was the recon helm that had flames on it but in reality it was the shoulders and Bungee didn't want to make them widely available, yet. Of course they made them widely available in the next expansion.

[Pergatory]

Fun fact: did you know that Halo 3 ODST was originally names Halo 3 Recon but they changed it in part because of the nature of the in game shoulders with the same name? Players have always wanted to own a "fire helm" because they believed it was the recon helm that had flames on it but in reality it was the shoulders and Bungee didn't want to make them widely available, yet. Of course they made them widely available in the next expansion.

An the last Bungie day they unlocked the armor for a day and it was a EOD chest that caused the flames

[LoyalServant]

I don't believe it was a letdown, however it didn't really follow the Halo trend. I enjoyed playing it but like others said I probably spent the least amount of time on it compared to other Halo games.

 

The point is that I, like many others bought the game and I think that was what Bungie was ultimately looking for...

[BitesizeCrayons]

I have to agree, with my main reason being the price. There simply wasn't enough content to justify the $60 price tag, and it didn't help that the second disc had Halo 3 multiplayer maps that could only be obtained by buying it. These maps eventually made their way to the marketplace, but that's not something Bungie confirmed would happen, (which makes sense, you wouldn't want to make a selling point for one of your games have diminished value) so many had the conception that it was the only way to complete their Halo 3 map selection.

Had ODST been $40-50 at launch, I would have thought it to be a stellar package. The campaign was short, yet good, with an amazing soundtrack. Firefight was a lot of fun, and I may have enjoyed it more than Reach's despite it having fewer options. The multiplayer maps that were temporarily exclusive to disc 2 are quite good, although not the best Halo 3 has to offer. The best part of the disc was that I could remove the other DLC maps from my HDD to make more room. 

Bottom line, ODST was practically an expansion, and it should have been priced as such.

[Joker99352]

I really liked ODST in general, but it felt a bit incomplete. Parts of it were really difficult, but I think that's because I'm used to playing as Master Chief and being borderline invincible because of it. I liked the characters a lot, and the story was generally good as well. If they made a sequel to ODST, I would most likely play it.

[Zandril]

ODST was definitely not a letdown for me. It had an awesome storyline and it made me play differently compared to how I would in other Halo games. It made me think twice about all actions I did in the campaign because I'm not a superhuman with shields there.

[Joker99352]

ODST was definitely not a letdown for me. It had an awesome storyline and it made me play differently compared to how I would in other Halo games. It made me think twice about all actions I did in the campaign because I'm not a superhuman with shields there.

True; I got killed a lot when I started playing ODST because I was stuck in the mindset of being a nearly-invincible Spartan soldier. I find that the limitations of being human makes the game more challenging. I really liked the storyline, too, but in the end it really felt like an entirely different franchise.

[Shimus]

First, to what portions of levels do you refer to being present in the Reach campaign that were from ODST?

Second, ODST was a very very fun game. I enjoy the free-realm story mode to no end, and its firefight will forever be emboldened in my eyes as a classic game for the X-Box 360. I don't feel like it was pushed out at all, maybe it was a side project, but it doesn't feel pushed. If anything, it seems to be one of the games with the most well-peiced-together graphics and details. Yes, Reach is clean and highly detailed, but the designers had experience with the Halo 3 engine already and this let them do better work with ODST. Something about ODST really sets it apart as a great game both in and out of the Halo franchise, and I would really look forward to more ODST titles being released as side-projects to the Halo trilogy titles.

-Torch

Torch said it better than I ever could have. Exactly this.

[cash_tuesday]

ODST to me wasn't a let down. I felt like it was a fantastic change of pacing and was on point for delivering the experience Halo 2 promised but never expanded upon.