Halo 3 ODST is worth every cent: don't believe the haters

For the past few weeks, Halo 3 ODST has been under the gun -- unfairly, in our opinion.

Sometimes, you really are a bunch of whining, hatemongering kill-joys.

In the weeks leading up to the launch of Bungie’s hotly anticipated Halo 3 ODST, a bleak and cynical trend manifested itself on the Web. ”Is Halo 3: ODST Really Worth $60?” asked GamingUnion.net, with clear rhetorical bias. ”$60 for an expansion pack? Halo 3 ODST underwhelms” claimed Ars Technica — their minds presumably made up before even seeing the game. ”Worst Halo Yet!” stormed TechUnion.us (er, since when did Comic Book Guy review video games?)

For the past few days, every other headline on N4G.com seemed to be a whiny protest letter directed at Microsoft Games Studios and Bungie. According to the vitriol, Halo 3 ODST is nothing but a DLC rush-job masquerading as a full-priced game. Oh ye of little faith… OF COURSE Halo 3 ODST is worth the money! It’s an AAA+ game from Microsoft and Bungie! Did you really think they were going to drop the ball on this one? Compared to 90 per cent of console shooters, ODST is a work of genius.

Okay, okay; so it’s true that the game was initially conceived as an expansion pack, which is where most of the anger seems to be coming from. Granted, if Microsoft had stuck to the original RRP, Halo 3 ODST would be insanely good value for money — but that doesn’t mean it’s a rip-off at full price. From the polished and plentiful CGI cut scenes to the endlessly playable four-player Firefight mode, there is more than enough content here to justify your 60 smackaroos. In terms of new and original content, it certainly trumps most of EA’s annual sports titles.

In fact, ODST might just be the most original Halo game since Combat Evolved (we’re not including Halo Wars as it was produced by a different developer). It’s obvious that Bungie has gone to great pains to offer gamers something new, instead of just refitting the same game in slightly different body armor. The eerie open-world cityscapes, the shifting in-game timeline, the hunt for hidden items — this is unlike any other game in the Halo canon.

The fact that these anti-ODST stories gained traction on the Net proves that most of you are sheep who will click on anything inflammatory. We can’t just blame the Sony fanboys for this one; we’re all as guilty as each other. Once Halo Reach hits, there will be no more Halo games from Bungie, ever. It’s kind of sad that the team has been treated this way on its penultimate offering.

So in conclusion, stop whining about Halo 3 ODST. Take it from us: it’s awesome. Read our review of Halo 3 ODST here — which we’re calling ‘the best Halo yet'.

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