Just called to say Halo

Halo 3 is exactly what you'd expect. It's the look and feel of Halo 2 with better graphics, a few new weapons and improved enemy AI. It's the spectacle and the joy of being a superhuman, supercyborg and laying waste to entire armies of alien invaders or zombie-like members of the Flood.

But it's two years old, which is—surprisingly—a longer time in video games than you would imagine. And the best sections of the game are still intermixed with the lame, irritating-long Flood sequences. (The Flood have always ruined Halo. Even accepting that The Flood are what make the story of the Halo trilogy happen—I have never understood why you'd replace the intelligent, challenging Covenant with the cheap, brainless Flood.)

Ultimately, though, still fun.


Halo 3: ODST, on the other hand, takes the best advancements in gaming over the last few years (with nods to Bioshock and GTA) and produces something that is unique but still feels like Halo. Without the trappings of the "epic" story and superhuman Master Chief, ODST is a spare, focused game with a refreshingly intriguing narrative.

ODST is cohesive in a way that few video games are. I really loved how the game's riff-on-a-detective-novel story not only makes the limited open world feel full, but uses narrative flashbacks to add variety to the gameplay and move the plot along. Plus, I don't think any intelligent, rational or respectable person (no friend of mine for sure) can dislike a game that features not one or two, but three actors from Firefly.

Finally, and best of all, there's no Flood.

Halo 3, B
Halo 3: ODST, A+