Review by: Jason McMaster

The Master Chief has been, up until now, synonymous with the Halo series. That’s the first point in which ODST varies from the earlier games but it’s far from the last. ODST is a new concept in the Halo line – we don’t follow the Master Chief this time - in fact, we follow several different troopers, all members of the ODST. ODST stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper and is the UNSC equivalent of our Airborne, which makes them some hard ass SOBs. So, what’s it like to play Halo and NOT be the Chief?

Different.

As the game starts, you’re preparing to make a drop to assault a Covenant carrier and find out why it’s so interested in the city of New Mombasa. Everything is fine until the drop begins, when the Covenant carrier ‘jumps’ and scatters the pods all over the city and surrounding areas. Here’s where you get to control the first character in the game – the rookie – and get your first glimpse of the city.

In ODST, you don’t follow just one guy. In fact, you follow the entire group of troopers with which you dropped, tied together via a city hub. As you wander around the city, alone, you come across different items that your squad-mates have used throughout the day, and when you pick them up it leads to another chapter of the game. There’s very little “choosing which path you take,” mind you, and it’s more than a bit disjointed.

So, you’re lost in the besieged city of New Mombasa and are looking for your squad. Luckily, you have your VISR! The VISR is the ODST HUD, and one of the more interesting additions to the Halo franchise. You connect to the city’s camera network to help spot enemies and find your way around. However, that’s not its only purpose: it also makes firefights at night very, very advantageous.