Halo 3: ODST is the newest release in the blockbuster Halo game series. The applause of gamers all over the world has been heard since the first installment of Halo came our way nearly 8 years ago. ODST will only continue to bring more of the same. As ODST adds a new and dynamic dimension to the universe across the board. .

In Halo 3: ODST the spotlight is shone on a new hero prior to the events of Halo 3. You will play as one of the ODSTs (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) on a mission that begins in New Mombasa which was leveled by the Covenant's attack. These ODSTs are called "Hell Jumpers". Being they are the first to hit hostile hot zones, they use more stealth tactics than their fellow citizens, the Spartans.

Disc one has the Halo saga along with a new campaign and co-op gameplay option of the Firefight Mode giving you the opportunity to earn glory, high scores, and achievements. ODST has packed the existing Halo 3 maps plus three new multiplayer Halo 3 maps: Heretic, Longshore, and Citadel making them playable from one standalone disc.

Complete new challenges and exciting achievements to add greatly your total ODST experience.

Available: Xbox 360

Let me help you understand the mood and tone of Halo 3:ODST, imagine you are forced to wake up from a crash landing some six hours after all your allies have reached the ground. You find yourself in a darkness filled city littered with burned out cars, and clusters of enemies just waiting in the corners of the pitch-black environment to attack anyone who comes near them. And to make your situation even more unsettling, you cannot find any allies. Welcome to Halo 3: ODST.

Unlike past Halo games, in the opening moments of Halo 3: ODST, you are feeling vulnerable and aimless. Even though these nerve-racking scenes end quickly and are followed by action packed battles the series of games is known for, this feeling of being deserted never fully leaves you. By entering as an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), you are not only exposed to the elements that have made the previous games in this series full of action packed fun, but you are also exposed to ideas that put a new spin on the usual game structure. Of all the new features, the most exciting is the Firefight mode.

This is a cooperative, intense, and rewarding battle against a continuous swarm of covenant soldiers. With Halo 3: ODST you will be able to enjoy the excitement of the single-player campaign, the camraderie of cooperative Firefight, or the blood filled action of multiplayer competition.

ODST takes place prior to Halo 3, you are not able to play as Master Chief. Instead, you have to take on the role of an ODST called "The Rookie." Your mission is to locate and extract information that is located beneath the city ruins of New Mombasa before the Covenant can get to it.

As The Rookie, in Halo 3, you'll have to scour the city for clues in order to learn what happened to Buck, Dare, Dutch, Mickey, and Romeo. You will also experience a series of flashbacks that put you in the combat boots of your various squad mates.

It's a really clever storytelling manner that binds several stories together through the Rookie's investigation efforts, and drops you into a series of different areas and situations without feeling forced or contrived. As The Rookie you'll find yourself alone -- and primarily on foot -- while your teammates' missions are filled with big battles and tons of vehicles.

The gameplay is quite different from what you experienced in any other Halo game. Its pace is slow and filled with forced silence. The only thing you can be associate with as you work your way through the maze of streets in this ruined city, is the symphonic music that only adds to the loneliness of your situation.

Finding the audio logs scattered throughout the ruined city allows you to piece together the events that happened from the perspective of an innocent bystander. This element helps to add even more emotional depth to an already emotional experience.

You have to watch out for the enemies which are hiding and waiting to attack by putting on your night-vision goggles. The high-contrast light that the city is now displayed in can be daunting at first. Due to the over dependence on the night-vision goggles, the mood is lightened a little.

Most of the game is played in the memories of your compatriots and resemble the action found in the other Halo games. You can play the entire game with up to three friends. You get to experience the explosive weaponry and industrious vehicles included in the other Halo games. With your abilities decreased, the action is similar to that of Halo: Combat Evolved.

In Halo 3:ODST, you are not able to jump as high, wield two weapons at once, and you get injured if you jump from too high. Your health system has also gone through a huge change. Each time you are attacked, you shield begins to weaken. Once it has completely dissipated, you start to lose your health.

You can recharge your shield by going outside of the combat area for a few seconds, but if you want your health restored, you have to find medical packs. Dying in ODST is much easier than it was in Halo 3, which requires you to go about combat in a different manner.

After you are able to contend with the city streets, you will experience wide-open plains that allow you the time to test the highly industrious vehicles of the game. One of the early stages allows you to hop on a Ghost and rip through the Covenant that is alongside the ocean.

The challenges found in this sequence will definitely keep you wide eyed and on your toes. You will be able to thrust down straightaways and crash through anyone who dares to stand in your way. However, there is so much more to come. Later in the game, you will experience the most intense vehicle sequence when you get aboard a fleet of Banshees.

Each of the 10 Firefight levels makes you change your tactics, keeping the game continuously fresh and exciting. In one level, the lights have been knocked out, which forces you to not only fight the enemies that endlessly trying to kill you, but also have to be on guard for the assaults that come out of the darkness.

Another level forces you to fight your enemies on narrow pathways, so when you are attacked from above, you have no where to hide. Even so, another level is a long outdoor one that goes on far into the distance.

Players are forced to work together in each of the levels in the game. Your ammunition is limited and all player share lives, so it is important to defend your companions at all costs. As intoxicating as this is, you are drawn back to the game continuously to try to beat your best score.
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When you purchased Halo 3 it included 11 maps, and provided the option to download an additional 10. The original 21 maps are included with ODST. Plus, you get three new ones, Heretic, Longshore, and Citadel. Halo 3 multiplayer maps, are all packed and playable from one standalone disc.

Giving you a whopping 24 maps in all including: the Heroic, Legendary, Cold Storage, and Mythic Map Packs. Collectively, they make for an amazing multiplayer experience, near limitless content creation, customization via the Forge and Sandbox, and a slew of new multiplayer elements including film sharing.

For the first time, Recon Armor for use in Halo 3 multiplayer will be made available to players who complete the "Road to Recon" challenge. Earn all seven of the Vidmasters, a series of Xbox LIVE achievements that span Halo 3's Campaign and Multiplayer and Halo 3: ODST, and then visit your Bungie.net Service Record with a linked gamertag to enable your sweet new set of digital duds.

Also, if you've purchased Halo 3, you can quickly begin to collect the "Annual" campaign achievement and the "7 on the 7th" and "Lightswitch" multiplayer achievements in matchmaking. If you haven't already done so,go ahead and download the Mythic Map Pack, then you can move on to collecting the hidden skulls on Assembly, Orbital, and Sandbox.

As an added benefit of buying Halo 3: ODST players receive an invitation to participate in the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta due to hit Xbox LIVE in 2010. Halo: Reach is Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie's upcoming prequel to the events of the original Halo: Combat Evolved.

Based on Eric Nylund's novel "The Fall of Reach," it is packed with details surrounding the origins of the Sparten II soldiers, of which Master Chief was only one of many and the beginnings of the conflict with the Covenant and the Flood.

You will quickly agree that Halo 3: ODST is a great game with intense battles and surprising encounters all wrapped in a fun, clever storyline. One of the best additions is the Firefight mode which has addictive cooperative battles. .

While the competitive multiplayer gameplay has no changes from the Halo 3 version, it is just as enjoyable as ever, and definitely well worth the time you will invest to explore the many fascinating downloadable maps.

If you crave a truly action packed game, Halo 3: ODST will make a superb addition to your collection.

I'd like to know your thoughts, so after you check it out, stop by and leave me a comment.

Enjoy!