"Fast, accurate diagnosis..."

Popular as it was, back in the day fans felt a bit duped by Halo 2. See, all of the trailers and hype for 2004's biggest Xbox game suggested the campaign would be full of bombastic future-city FPS combat; duking it out with Covenant amidst a frenzy of plasma bolts, sticky grenades and skyscrapers; commandeering human and alien vehicles like some kinda hi-tech John Rambo.

As we all know now, it wasn't. The first few levels were like that, and they were Made Of Win. But all too soon the Master Chief's urban Earth outing detoured to another Halo ring, and things went downhill from there.

In that respect, Halo 3: ODST's free-roaming New Mombasa scenario feels like a fulfilment of a long-held promise. But is it too little, too late?

Six in the city

In a certain sense, yes; it's too late for the Master Chief. And that's because here you get to play not as the Mjolnir-armoured Spartan, but as an ordinary grunt with extra-special training. The titular Orbital Drop Shock Troopers aint got the Chief's strength, speed, resilience or agility, so they won't be hijacking ghosts or walking through entire volleys of shrapnel, but they're still more than a match for the invading aliens - if you use them right.

In ODST, the Chief's recharging energy shield has been replaced by Killzone / CoD style stamina, seeing the screen turn redder the more damage you take. If it turns too red, you'll start losing health, and you'll need to find a medikit. The upshot (sorry) is that you need to move with more care than in previous Halos, playing to preserve your life, striving to always put cover between you and the enemy, and planning your assaults more tactically, as opposed to going guns-blazing. Don't get me wrong, it still plays like Halo - just a more methodical version. After 6 years as the Master Chief (and Arbiter), that's actually rather refreshing.

So too is the breakdown of gameplay styles, which is inherently tied to the story. Without giving too much away, you start off as The Rookie - the newest member of the ODSTs, and wake up in night time New Mombasa six hours after your outer space drop-in went horribly wrong.

Controlling The Rookie, ODST plays like a free-roaming game with Halo shooting combat. On the plus side it's the most immersive world Bungie has ever created, and there's huge satisfaction to be had as you set about ambushing Covie patrols, unlocking weapons caches and finding the side-story filled audio files dotted around the sizable city. The catch is that because all of this sandboxy stuff is relatively leisurely, it lacks the set-piece focused, fast-paced intensity that's become synonymous with Halo. In that respect, ODST takes some getting used to.

We are ODST

Persevere though and you'll start to find clues, highlighted by waypoints on the map screen, which trigger Flashback sequences. These tell the story of the last six hours, seeing you play as the other ODST squad members whilst the rookie was unconscious.

The great news is that these Flashbacks are typical Halo. No - better! The combo of debris-strewn, multi-tiered urban level design and the panicked feeling you get from being a vulnerable human in the midst of a firefight actually elevates the experience.

Not only that, but Bungie has done an astounding job of mixing in Halo's varied gameplay dynamics. As The Rookie's ODST teammates you'll get to drive UNSC vehicles, take out wraiths with rockets, jump on turrets, provide sniper cover, fly banshees, and experience the pinnacle in videogame siege warfare as you dart about entrenched positions, salvaging ammo, hurling grenades like wedding confetti, sniping the heads clean off Brutes and legging it when your stamina hits critical. Without trying to overhype it, I'd honestly say that Halo 3: ODST boasts the best, most balanced Halo campaign since the acclaimed Xbox original.

The best while it lasts, anyway. At roughly 6 hours in length (in my case, playing solo on Heroic difficulty), ODST is not as long as many full priced releases, including its immediate predecessor. But then you have to bear in mind that this is a game which was first intended to be a piece of download content, and then grew outside of its own scope. Consider that, and criticising Bungie seems a little harsh - especially when they were working on Halo: Reach at the same time. Could Microsoft have slapped a lower RRP on it? Sure - but for my money, it's so good that it's still worth it. Besides, Call of Duty 4 wasn't a whole lot longer.

Essential experience

ODST also has a mode Modern Warfare didn't; Firefight. The big joy of Halo's campaign has always lain in using the superbly balanced arsenal to outwit and annihilate the A.I. within spectacularly designed levels, and Firefight gives the option to enjoy that gameplay with no end, online, and alongside three friends. It gets increasingly harder too as more skulls become activated, modifying the game dynamics, and with more characters and levels unlocked as you go through the campaign, there's a direct incentive to get your Firefight team together once the main story is over. When you do, you'll be hooked.

Of course, being hooked on Halo is nothing new, but neither the familiarity nor the short campaign can make the ODST experience any less essential.

So get ready to drop; we promise you won't be disappointed.

Halo:
+ Future-city warfare proves the best Halo combat since the original.
+ The film noir ambience is incredibly evocative.
+ Get a four-man team together and Firefight will entertain for hours.

Falio:
- Undeniably short campaign - you will be left wanting more.
- The free-roaming Rookie sections might put off fans of more traditional FPS action.
- There's gonna be an awful long wait for Halo: Reach...