When game studio Bungie originally announced Halo 3 ODST, it was meant to be a small campaign expansion pack. Over time, the game grew to a whole new level into a full game. In ODST, you play as a regular foot soldier instead of a super soldier. Players are now less of a walking tank and take damage much more easily, and this new health system brings a new style to the traditional Halo gameplay by forcing players to be more cautious. Players feel much more vulnerable to the hail of plasma bolts coming their way, though the overall feel for the game is generally the same.

Halo 3 ODST comes fully packaged with an expanded single player campaign and a new multiplayer mode called Firefight. The campaign definitely runs on the short side, but is definitely worth at least a few play-throughs. Players will be drawn into the mystifying atmosphere provided by the night-time sequences in the vast city that the artists created, and the music is both moving and beautiful. While these night-time sequences do feel a bit slow and monotonous at times, they are broken up by explosive, high-action day-time sequences. The entire experience feels wholly satisfying and well-balanced.

Firefight mode pits players against wave after wave of increasingly difficult computer controlled enemies. This is cooperative play at its best, and while the enemy wave formula is not a new concept, the Halo take on it is especially dynamic in that each wave is randomly generated so players don’t always know what to expect.

It is disappointing that Firefight does not include online matchmaking for you to team up with players online, but most Xbox 360 gamers are accustomed to partying up with friends over Xbox Live anyway. It would simply have been a nice, convenient addition.

My final verdict is that the game is definitely worth buying. The single player campaign is short but sweet with a well-written story and an incredible atmosphere, and Firefight is terribly addicting once you get a full team together. Halo 3 ODST builds upon an old tried-and-true formula, which isn’t a bad thing considering how strong and balanced the long-running series has been. If you didn’t like Halo before, then ODST isn’t going to change your mind. Both long-time fans and those new to the Halo games will find something refreshingly new to enjoy here.