Halo 3: ODST

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1697 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,112 out of 1697
  2. Mixed: 354 out of 1697
  3. Negative: 231 out of 1697
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  1. kloborgg
    Mar 1, 2011
    4
    One of the biggest disappointments I've ever had to suffer. I'm a long time Halo fan, and while I don't exactly love Bungie, I trusted them to deliver a great experience. I'd already given up hope for a great campaign since Halo 2, and all I really cared about was playing survival Halo. I was initially taken aback that a game Bungie themselves had dubbed an "expansion to Halo 3", with anOne of the biggest disappointments I've ever had to suffer. I'm a long time Halo fan, and while I don't exactly love Bungie, I trusted them to deliver a great experience. I'd already given up hope for a great campaign since Halo 2, and all I really cared about was playing survival Halo. I was initially taken aback that a game Bungie themselves had dubbed an "expansion to Halo 3", with an estimated price for $40 was now being marketed as a full game (thankfully Amazon gave me $10 back soon afterwards). Loading up into the campaign, I was almost immediately struck at how.. well.. bad it was. The cutscene animations are laughably poor, and the characters are all bland stereotypes. The storytelling was rather annoying, as between levels you'd have to "explore" an extremely repetitive New Mombasa while fighting outposts of Brutes (more like driving past them with a ghost you steal) and then searching for 10 minutes to find the next "clue". Somehow this piece of garbage reveals an extremely complicated story to your "rookie". Honestly, this is probably the worst Halo campaign in existence. Besides that, two things stuck out to me:
    1. Where in the hell are the elites? I personally hate fighting brutes; they're dumb, slow, and boring. Obviously since this game takes place about 2 seconds after the Master Chief fights with about a MILLION elites, you'd think there would be.. I don't know.. some elites left over. Well you'd be wrong. I'm not sure what the canon explanation is, but basically the H3 engine didn't have enemy AI coded into the elite characters, so we're stuck fighting Halo 3 elites before they even existed.
    2. You're supposed to feel different. You're supposed to feel like a smaller soldier, without super shields, who can't take on 50 brutes by himself. You don't. You still feel like a spartan, but you can see your hands this time. You still run and gun as you kill dozens of grunts and elites with superior firepower to your own. Yeah, you have to find healthpacks from time to time. Big woop. You definitely do NOT feel like a small fragile soldier, and there is no more strategy than previous Halo games offer.

    On to firefight.. boy what a disappointment. There is no defense strategy, there is no teamwork involved. Playing with 4 friends, we just got into a game and found the best strategy was to run our separate ways and kill as many enemies as possible. What makes this incoherent mess even worse is that you're forced to deal with these stupid skulls that turn on after a couple waves. These skulls force you to melee enemies to regain shields, to constantly dodge enemy grenades while yours are rendered ineffective, to deal with a terribly low supply of ammo. Do any of these things sound fun to you? They sure aren't. I knew they would offer the skulls for those looking for additional challenge, but to force them on you? Ridiculous. It ends up playing like a 4-player co-op campaign, except there's only one tiny level, and there's no story... and it's not even remotely fun.

    Some people loved the "storytelling" and "style" of this game, but ultimately, as a Halo fan, it was a huge disappointment. I played ODST for about a week before stopping altogether. Do I regret buying it? Not entirely. For one, I now have all the H3 maps on a single disk and my HDD has much more space. Two, I was able to complete the achievements towards getting Recon armor in H3. And finally, I was able to participate in the Reach beta. All that aside, I found this game terrible. I'm a HUGE Halo CE to Halo Reach fan, and I found this game TERRIBLE. Take from this what you will.    … Expand
  2. chrisanderson36
    Oct 9, 2010
    0
    SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring its exactly the same as every single other halo and its just a overrated piece of rubbish, i cant actually believe i pre ordrered it. Biggest waste of money in my life !
  3. MikeW
    Jan 2, 2010
    4
    The story is very non flowing, even if it is good I couldn't tell because it's so choppy. The ruined Mombasa that you play for most of the game as the rookie is very dull and lifeless. It has it's moments and I was entertained but it really doesn't hold a candle to what the halo name has set itself to be.
  4. ArkonBlade
    Aug 13, 2010
    1
    wow if by deffinition you mean a game company crapping out a turd into a box marketing it for $60 then this is the true deffinition of that . so first this was suppose to be a expansion pack which probubly woulda went for 1600 points if marked reasonably ... yeah right like bunjie would do that they have to rape you for every thing you are worth because they are greedy and know halo fanswow if by deffinition you mean a game company crapping out a turd into a box marketing it for $60 then this is the true deffinition of that . so first this was suppose to be a expansion pack which probubly woulda went for 1600 points if marked reasonably ... yeah right like bunjie would do that they have to rape you for every thing you are worth because they are greedy and know halo fans will pay any thing to get it no matter how bad it is. if this was atleast a 1600 point expansion like it was intended to be i could atleast give it a 6/10 . as is its a $60 overpriced expansion that took me all if 4 hours to beat and i didnt enjoy any of it . outdated graphics ... oh and you dont get to play as the master chief you get to play as some bozoo who just runs around living out what other people have done. then theres the gears 2 horde mode rip off fire fight which wasvately fun for a hour . playing this game felt like i was banished to hell . The halo series is beyond repair in my book . only positive note is i only borowed this game and didnt pay for it . if i did pay for it man id have been really pissed.… Expand
  5. JayC.
    Sep 22, 2009
    0
    I pretty much paid $60 for a worthless expansion for the multiplayer maps... waste of my time Just another Halo from desperate Micro$oft.
  6. esp
    Sep 6, 2010
    4
    Perhaps Halo just isn't my thing, but this game is just dumb. The annoying childlike aliens, the (very) weak attempts at humor, the vague and contradictory mission objectives -- I played the first two missions and sold it back to the shop where I'd gotten it. There are many ways to get one's FPS fix, and this just didn't do it for me.
  7. MySt1
    Oct 16, 2010
    4
    Halo 3 ODST is by far the worst Halo game. The story is boring, there isnt really anything new about the game, exept the firefight mode,the game is short, the characters are stupid and the campaign totally sucks.This game should have been just a DLC for Halo 3, nothing more.
  8. samtheham56
    Oct 27, 2010
    2
    The storyline was very short and ruined mombasa was a dissapointment. As well as that the storyline wasnt that good. If you want a better game at half the price just buy halo 3. dont buy this game
  9. matroycem
    Apr 30, 2013
    4
    This review in a word AWFUL
    Okay so Halo fans are likely to love this game but it really is nothing new. there is no new ground covered in this game and it simply feels like a cash in. The Game is a side story to the plot of Halo 3. This time instead of being the Master Chief you are a band of UNSC soldiers who crash and lose one another. The game is then about finding one another. Often    This review in a word AWFUL
    Okay so Halo fans are likely to love this game but it really is nothing new. there is no new ground covered in this game and it simply feels like a cash in. The Game is a side story to the plot of Halo 3. This time instead of being the Master Chief you are a band of UNSC soldiers who crash and lose one another. The game is then about finding one another. Often you end a story arch by finding something of a team mates at the end of the level. Then you switch to that person and play their story. the thing is that I did not care. I never felt any form of bond with the characters or really care what they are going through. There was just nothing that made me feel this was worthy of a retail release. If this had been an expansion of Halo 3 it may just have been passable. Bungie just feel lazy. They have the same enemies in the same linear environments where you walk from A to B and then back to A. I breezed through the game on Legendary mainly due to indestructible team mates (AI) who are unbelievably good on turrets. I kept seeing my team mate run into a horde of Elites and be battered to hell and still be there 5 minutes later taking the beating. It was incredible and not in a good way. If you are a fan of the series then you will play this for that reason. If you are not that much of a fan and really still want to look at it then get it VERY VERY cheap else you will feel ripped off.    … Expand
  10. Super_Cloud
    Jan 1, 2016
    2
    I can't believe how they sold this 69,99$ when it first came out, me and my friend finished the campaign in 4 hours in legendary, this is ridiculous, to me this is the worst halo in the series and it was a complete rip off...It should have stayed a DLC like it was planned at first! I'm giving 1 more point because it had the Halo 3 multiplayer with everymap... 1 + 1 = 2.
  11. AllenLord
    Jun 27, 2011
    3
    when i was in the store with my money at hand just enough for a new game i was at walmart at the time when i saw halo 3 the game i always wanted after halo 2 came out i wanted more but somthing else caught my eye halo 3 odst i immedietly bought it today i regret that descicion for poor story line and even worse gameplay it is not a good choice at all
  12. TiptoeTurtle
    Aug 9, 2011
    1
    Avoid this game at all cost total wast of time and money. If you've already bought this game I'm very sorry. Game play was terrible campaing was full of glitches and bugs. This game was a waste of time and money.
  13. sinadoom
    Sep 28, 2011
    1
    Story is awful. I still couldn't complete the game because to unlock data hive (seond to last level) I had to do all the levels again. Not worth it- especially since it's not exciting, the gameplay is terrible, health system sucks compared to Reach and it's really dark. It's a badly made game.
  14. Delta_Assault
    Sep 28, 2011
    4
    Halo ODST was a massive missed opportunity for Bungie. They could've actually crafted a game that broke from their previous efforts. They could've actually shown us what combat was like from a vulnerable human's point of view, instead of from a power armored supersoldier's point of view. Instead of walking around like some sort of shielded tank, maybe we'd be able to go prone and takeHalo ODST was a massive missed opportunity for Bungie. They could've actually crafted a game that broke from their previous efforts. They could've actually shown us what combat was like from a vulnerable human's point of view, instead of from a power armored supersoldier's point of view. Instead of walking around like some sort of shielded tank, maybe we'd be able to go prone and take cover and do interesting stuff. But they squandered it all, they just didn't give a damn.

    So you're an ODST. Well, I guess that means you're really vulnerable, right? You can't rely on shields to save your bacon, this gameplay's probably going to be a lot more like Rainbow Six, and even grunts will pose a considerable challenge... oh wait. No, no they didn't do that. There's still a shield, it's just now called stamina and it's hidden from the HUD.

    Well, you're just a human. I guess that means you can't break off machine gun turrets and lug them around and... oh wait. Yeah, I guess you can still break off turrets and walk around with them. You've still got superhuman strength. You can still carry Spartan lasers as if they weighed nothing, even though they're huge weapons that would probably strain a normal human.

    But hey, you're way way weaker than a Spartan II, you've probably got a much much weaker melee attack now, right? You probably can't deliver a couple of punches to kill grunts and Brutes and stuff, right? After all, regular humans don't have the superhuman strength to do that. Oh wait... yeah, I guess your melee attacks still kill them quickly. Your punches are still superhuman for some reason.

    But without the finely tuned motor reflexes and stabilizers of the Mjolnir armor, your aim is probably going to be really bad when you move a lot, right? I mean, your reticle is probably going to expand if you're running or strafing a lot, right? That's what happens when a human being moves rapidly while carrying a gun, their aim suffers. So that's surely... oh wait. Oh wait, that's not... that not what we get. The crosshair just remains static and perfectly accurate. Boy, that's not right is it?

    If you just expected more of the same, I guess ODST might've been just peachy-keen for you.    … Expand
  15. usrevenge
    Jul 11, 2013
    3
    a $20 game sold for $60

    very mediocre and short single player, not worth replaying at all. Firefight is a new mode where you basically play horde mode, but you litterally play the same waves of enemies in the same order and getting the achievements takes forever. it's mind numbing an tedious. doesn't have it's own multiplayer vs mode, just gives you halo 3 again, wow thanks I    a $20 game sold for $60

    very mediocre and short single player, not worth replaying at all.

    Firefight is a new mode where you basically play horde mode, but you litterally play the same waves of enemies in the same order and getting the achievements takes forever. it's mind numbing an tedious.

    doesn't have it's own multiplayer vs mode, just gives you halo 3 again, wow thanks I have halo 3 and it's DLC like every other fan of the series.

    I know this review is years late but people are talking about it again since halo 4 was bad and considered the worst in the series, but many forget how bad ODST was. worst in the series, WORSE than halo 4.    … Expand
  16. iAMsoBEAST1
    May 14, 2012
    1
    Oh wow, $60 for this 5 hr campaign with dick for replay ability and a **** horde mode rip off. **** you Bungie. You managed to ruin the Halo name without help from anyone else
  17. Pivot1022
    Dec 26, 2011
    4
    AWFUL campaing, Just **** garbage. Why people would like to see a story in mixed order is beyond me, Yeah it's not gonna make no sense if you do the second last mission then the second, but it just feels like a way to pad the game play, "Oh we have a 4-5 hour campaing, but instead of just telling a story, were gonna force you to walk around for 10 mins before you get to the next part ofAWFUL campaing, Just **** garbage. Why people would like to see a story in mixed order is beyond me, Yeah it's not gonna make no sense if you do the second last mission then the second, but it just feels like a way to pad the game play, "Oh we have a 4-5 hour campaing, but instead of just telling a story, were gonna force you to walk around for 10 mins before you get to the next part of the story" Firefight isn't online and the multiplayer is halo 3. Do not buy unless you don't have halo 3 anymore. even then halo 3 is dead sooooooo… Expand
  18. PrimalHunter70
    Apr 22, 2012
    4
    Give your Halo character little health and change absolutely NOTHING else, and you have ODST. The gameplay mechanics are exactly the same, except you have bugger all health (jumping from fairly low heights can hurt you), the story is boring and forgettable, levels are repetitive (I HATED the night time level in the city) and this game is obviously just a cash ploy made by Bungie. We canGive your Halo character little health and change absolutely NOTHING else, and you have ODST. The gameplay mechanics are exactly the same, except you have bugger all health (jumping from fairly low heights can hurt you), the story is boring and forgettable, levels are repetitive (I HATED the night time level in the city) and this game is obviously just a cash ploy made by Bungie. We can wait for Halo Reach without crappy sequels to fill the gap.… Expand
  19. DemKin
    Jun 27, 2015
    3
    Out of all the Halo games I've played, this one has been the worst. Couldn't play it for more than 20 minutes unfortunately. Running and gunning through uninspired areas full of ennemies not necessarily fun to fight with minimalist controls and gameplay really didn't do it for me.
  20. BruceC
    Oct 15, 2009
    4
    I have all of the Halo series games and have been a Halo fan from day one. I was really excited when I heard this game was going to be released in September. I got the game and finished the game in a few hours. When I got to the end, I said to myself, "Huh? What happened? Did I miss something?" I don't care about the price of the game, It's the content and playability of the I have all of the Halo series games and have been a Halo fan from day one. I was really excited when I heard this game was going to be released in September. I got the game and finished the game in a few hours. When I got to the end, I said to myself, "Huh? What happened? Did I miss something?" I don't care about the price of the game, It's the content and playability of the game that matters. As others have said previously, the play in the dark, then play in blinding light was just unacceptable. I thought the music score was excellent. I hated the side story that was presented in the kiosks about the human inhabitants of Mombassa, third and fourth graders would like it. And what the heck happened to the humans? Were you suppossed to find them somewhere in the city? This game had sooo much potential with multi-level capabilitiy within the buildings, and street levels. Too many doors that could have been explored were locked, There was too much time spent wandering through empty streets. The overall maps were huge, but they were not used to their fullest capability. ODST was a big disappointment.… Expand
  21. DavidM
    Mar 4, 2010
    3
    Halo 3 odst really had my hopes up i thought it was going to be a fantastic game! But i was one stupid person for thinking this game will be good. I can go on and on and on about ranting this game. But first let me start with the cost when the game came out. 60$ for a crap campaign that i beat in one night, the firefight gamemode and the Halo 3 multiplayer expierience. I mean when i got Halo 3 odst really had my hopes up i thought it was going to be a fantastic game! But i was one stupid person for thinking this game will be good. I can go on and on and on about ranting this game. But first let me start with the cost when the game came out. 60$ for a crap campaign that i beat in one night, the firefight gamemode and the Halo 3 multiplayer expierience. I mean when i got the game I was woah cool a halo 3 multi disc sence my halo 3 game disc broke. But for me the game is stupid unpolished and super boring to me. I barley even touch the game the only reason why i am keeping it is because the multiplayer disc. Reason 2 The campaign: The campaign is a kind of open world thing when your the rookie but all he does (said in gameinformer) is that he just finds out about his squad mates awesome moments. the campaign was about 5 hours to me and the legendary difficulty is 1 whole clip to kill one brute! I beat legendary on the orginal but the legendary on halo 3 odst is just down right ridiculous. It just seems like bungie is bribeing the famous game companys to vote high on there game. Reason 3 Plays like original halo 3: Ok so you think there will be some cool new feature to the gameplay like lets say like sprinting? no its the exact same thing from halo 3 i know most of you will be like why is he whining about that... Well first of all halo 3 has been out forever! and you think if you play halo 3 alot it will get boring and yes it did. There is only 2 new weapons as well i mean a 60$ expansion with no new gameplay features besides the VISR... Come on bungie so greedy. Reason 4 Firefight: For me on halo 3 odst firefight was the best thing in there (Besides the multiplayer expierience) But i have a few proplems with it. What if i want to play with my friends at my house? No i cant i can only play with one of them sence its only 2 player Split-screen so no 3 or 4 player matches. Pretty stupid a 4 player survivor mode that 2 people can only play locally... And the last proplem in firefight there is no good maps. My favorite map on the campaign to hold off was the rooftops but that map was not on there.… Expand
  22. EdmárcioS.
    Sep 22, 2009
    4
    It's not a new Halo game.
  23. Matthew
    Sep 23, 2009
    0
    I Cant Believe Bungie Made This. It part 3 Just wit a Shorter Story Mode It has All The Same maps of part 3 it only has 3new maps so Bungie charge everyone 60dollars for 3maps and a Pathetic 4hour story mode they should be arrested for robbing us i wud not give this game away. yet again Microsoft mess up another game just like Gears Of War 2 by forcing bungie making this that why haloI Cant Believe Bungie Made This. It part 3 Just wit a Shorter Story Mode It has All The Same maps of part 3 it only has 3new maps so Bungie charge everyone 60dollars for 3maps and a Pathetic 4hour story mode they should be arrested for robbing us i wud not give this game away. yet again Microsoft mess up another game just like Gears Of War 2 by forcing bungie making this that why halo reach will suck cuz bungie wont make it cause they didnt want to make this crap… Expand
  24. SamM.
    Sep 26, 2009
    4
    Well it has a decent five hour campaign that fizzles out towards the end. Recycled Halo 3 multiplayer with the only new addition being Firefight. Sadly Firefight doesn't include matchmaking, which was one of the stupidest decisions Bungie could have made in my opinion. If you own Halo 3, and have already downloaded the new maps when they were released months ago, this game is not Well it has a decent five hour campaign that fizzles out towards the end. Recycled Halo 3 multiplayer with the only new addition being Firefight. Sadly Firefight doesn't include matchmaking, which was one of the stupidest decisions Bungie could have made in my opinion. If you own Halo 3, and have already downloaded the new maps when they were released months ago, this game is not worth buying. Had this game been $30 cheaper it would almost certainly have been a day one buy. Instead, I can only recommend renting it, or try your very hardest to find it under $35.… Expand
  25. CraigT.
    Sep 26, 2009
    4
    Basically v.poor DLC for halo 3. A short and forgettable 5 hour long single player campaign and no new multiplayer content. The AI is rediculously inept at any sort of simple task and should not be allowed to drive at any time. Halo is the new cash cow in town and its already dry on milk. Developers like Bungie and publishers like MS just make Valve look even more like the idillic Basically v.poor DLC for halo 3. A short and forgettable 5 hour long single player campaign and no new multiplayer content. The AI is rediculously inept at any sort of simple task and should not be allowed to drive at any time. Halo is the new cash cow in town and its already dry on milk. Developers like Bungie and publishers like MS just make Valve look even more like the idillic buisness model and the saviours of gaming.… Expand
  26. TroyL.
    Sep 29, 2009
    0
    This game was a huge disappointment and let down considering all the hype. the campaign needed a huge twist which it just doesn't have, and the campaign also gets hard to understand. the multiplayer the only reason to get this. oh and you will need to pay $100 AUD for the privilege of this EXPANSION.
  27. TiaV
    Jan 7, 2010
    0
    Let's say that you are on the far left corner of the map....your objective would be on the farthest possible point away from you. The first 5 minutes were captivating. It involved fighting aliens at night. I said 'that was fun' and the game said, 'really? then let's do it another 5000 times for the rest of the game.' Apparently, if most of the gameplay is Let's say that you are on the far left corner of the map....your objective would be on the farthest possible point away from you. The first 5 minutes were captivating. It involved fighting aliens at night. I said 'that was fun' and the game said, 'really? then let's do it another 5000 times for the rest of the game.' Apparently, if most of the gameplay is done at night, then not too much effort will be needed on the graphics. And one more thing, my favorite. HARDER difficulties does not mean SMARTER enemies. It means healthier and faster ones. Meaning, the bad guys are just as stupid, but on steroids. What a waste of time. It's a fricking expansion pack that costs 6 times as much as it should. And after you're finally done with that pain-in-the-ass legendary difficulty, you put the game aside, and NEVER play it again. Seriously. There are better things in life to play with, and ODST is far from one of them.… Expand
  28. SamD
    Nov 15, 2009
    0
    Terrible addition to the Halo series, the campaign is terribly boring and the new roaming around mombasa feels tedious and just adds extra play time to an already stale experience, I think the biggest joke was the no matchmaking in firefight mode a ridiculous move on bungies part and they have no plans to add it in the future. The graphics are poor especially on the characters faces and Terrible addition to the Halo series, the campaign is terribly boring and the new roaming around mombasa feels tedious and just adds extra play time to an already stale experience, I think the biggest joke was the no matchmaking in firefight mode a ridiculous move on bungies part and they have no plans to add it in the future. The graphics are poor especially on the characters faces and background scenery and uses the same old engine from Halo 3. Let's hope Reach is actually half decent.… Expand
  29. LuckyWolf
    Nov 5, 2009
    0
    Halo fanboy since day 1. I can't believe I wasted $60 on this garbage. It doesn't even compare to past Halo games. Bungie is so fond of the number 7, here are 7 reasons this is overpriced garbage... 1. Terribly short campaign 2. Copy and pasted levels 3. No matchmaking for firefight 4. Same theater but with less options (can't record movie clips anymore) 5. Only 2 player Halo fanboy since day 1. I can't believe I wasted $60 on this garbage. It doesn't even compare to past Halo games. Bungie is so fond of the number 7, here are 7 reasons this is overpriced garbage... 1. Terribly short campaign 2. Copy and pasted levels 3. No matchmaking for firefight 4. Same theater but with less options (can't record movie clips anymore) 5. Only 2 player split screen vs 4 player 6. Repackaged halo 3 disc I've already paid for. 7. Easy achievements which lack replayability. You can easily get 1000/1000g in less than a day.… Expand
  30. MichaelC
    Oct 20, 2009
    4
    Some of my friends bought this, a couple of whom are halo fan boys. At first they said it was awesome but after a few days one of them changed their mind. I decided I would try it myself and paid £35 for it. Waist of money if you ask me. I found the new campaign, in one word: poor. The missions where you are the rookie are brainlessly unchallenging and boring to a sleeping level. Some of my friends bought this, a couple of whom are halo fan boys. At first they said it was awesome but after a few days one of them changed their mind. I decided I would try it myself and paid £35 for it. Waist of money if you ask me. I found the new campaign, in one word: poor. The missions where you are the rookie are brainlessly unchallenging and boring to a sleeping level. When you are in a flashback mission it is usually difficult to see where you are supposed to go next and cut scenes are dull and unintreging. Overall you can't get to grips with the characters or really the storyline as a new character is thrown at you over and over again. Firefight adds a great element to Halo as it now has a defensive game mode like the other main shooters. It introduces intelligent game play that you could go on for hours at a time. The only thing it lacks is a host system that doesn't end the game if a person disconnects or a search for other random players to play with. The new multiplayer maps are also very good.… Expand
  31. SamJ.
    Oct 5, 2009
    4
    Okay while it lasts but its a bit short, I'd say rent it, you can finish in about 6 hours and the online is basically the same as halo 3 feels like the ODST should have just been a downloadable add on like lost and damned.
  32. Rayo
    Sep 22, 2009
    3
    I can not believe the consumer is being charged 65 dollars for what should have been a 20 dollar expansion pack. There are no new multiplayer weapons. It is next to impossible to play a new map online because all 8 or 10 players need to be using ODST. People buy Halo for online play, not for just a campaign mode that has taken baby steps since Halo 2.
  33. GioG.
    Sep 22, 2009
    4
    Worst package ever. The game is great in terms of the look and feel of it. And firefight should be loads of FUN if you have friends who have it. But overall it was a sloppy package and bungie put no effort into making this a FUN game.. They give you a 2nd disc thats for online play.. Its all Halo 3.. I own halo 3 already, owww i get 3 maps i didn't have thats it.. You get the Worst package ever. The game is great in terms of the look and feel of it. And firefight should be loads of FUN if you have friends who have it. But overall it was a sloppy package and bungie put no effort into making this a FUN game.. They give you a 2nd disc thats for online play.. Its all Halo 3.. I own halo 3 already, owww i get 3 maps i didn't have thats it.. You get the campaign which is 6-8 hours most, and firefight which has no match making.. Worst Games of the year, worst hype EVER for a game. I was let down… Expand
  34. KrisDeSha
    Sep 22, 2009
    4
    I cannot believe i paid 60 bucks for this, it is worth 40 at max, it is more of an Add on then a full blown game, i was at midnight launch to come home and play to realize i was playing Halo 3, just a little different, not enought o shell out 60 bucks :( Disappointed
  35. Neurosludge()()
    Sep 23, 2009
    0
    The game is a total rip-off, should have been available as dlc. It's not a full game, nor at any point does it actually feel like anything but halo3 with finger gloves and health koisks. While firefight is a great addition, it's significance is lost to the overall underwhelming experience.
  36. petera.
    Sep 24, 2009
    0
    I went to the midnite launch for this game, picked it up went home played for about two and a half hours and then preceded to turn the game off and I have yet to turn it back on. OMG, this game is complete utter garbage. Where do I begin, they try and take a stealth approach to this game and it's complete failure, the new visor is horrible, the graphics are dated, the guns have no I went to the midnite launch for this game, picked it up went home played for about two and a half hours and then preceded to turn the game off and I have yet to turn it back on. OMG, this game is complete utter garbage. Where do I begin, they try and take a stealth approach to this game and it's complete failure, the new visor is horrible, the graphics are dated, the guns have no kick to them which makes the battles boring as hell, friendly A.I. is dumb as dirt, characters are detached from reality, corny dialogue, I can go on and on. I still do not understand why reviewers gave this game such a high score, one thing is for certain though and that one thing is that Bungie and MS made a killing taking Halo Fanboys money with this garbage, they should rename the game Halo 3 ODLC because that's what this game is, an expansion pack.… Expand
  37. joes.
    Sep 24, 2009
    3
    Campaign was too short and nothing really spectacular. Bungie and MS teaming up to take our money, that's about it! You can have Halo brand toilet paper and halo fanboys will buy it. Complete utter garbage.
  38. mescovica.
    Sep 24, 2009
    2
    Terrible, terrible game, rehashing old game play and boring level design to fans who will eat it up like it crack without any intelligent thought.
  39. KrisK
    Sep 24, 2009
    1
    1 for Firefight, although it is not an original thought since GOW did it first. Problems: No new weapons in multiplayer No new vehicles in multiplayer No new anything in multiplayer 3 new multiplayer maps that will be free in 2 to 3 months or at least offered for sale on Xbox live at that time for $15.00 All the previous Halo 3 Multiplayer maps which isn't that helpful if you are 1 for Firefight, although it is not an original thought since GOW did it first. Problems: No new weapons in multiplayer No new vehicles in multiplayer No new anything in multiplayer 3 new multiplayer maps that will be free in 2 to 3 months or at least offered for sale on Xbox live at that time for $15.00 All the previous Halo 3 Multiplayer maps which isn't that helpful if you are like me and have already purchased all of them. Visor on the playable character in the campaign that obscures your vision. Dark (entirely too dark) levels in the campaign. Short campaign - about 5 hours on Legendary. The ODST character dies about every 4 seconds when an enemy looks at him funny. The AI enemy characters are consistently stupid, oftentimes running into walls while driving vehicles. Night vision on your goggles puts an annoying outline on everything. This I believe is an attempt to hide the fact that bungie did nothing to improve the graphics in this game over Halo 3. Additionally they didn't do enough work on the design of enemies. Everything either looks too dark, or has an outline with the middle completely dark, or is ultra shiny. The Supervisor guy is hard to navigate while in menus and I found myself stuck more than a couple of times, just trying to get my visor to be clear again. Save yourself some money and don't buy this game!… Expand
  40. MiikaK
    Nov 1, 2009
    1
    Totally one peace on crap. Half of the game u are wasting walking neon-lighted city back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, copy/paste, copy/paste like the game itself. And the other half u are wasting with halo 3 ripped deserts with same pattern (kill all, wait drop ship to bring more turtles and kill them too) every time. I played the hole game with my friend and we have to stop Totally one peace on crap. Half of the game u are wasting walking neon-lighted city back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, copy/paste, copy/paste like the game itself. And the other half u are wasting with halo 3 ripped deserts with same pattern (kill all, wait drop ship to bring more turtles and kill them too) every time. I played the hole game with my friend and we have to stop playing in just 1 hour of play because it just was too boring. The only thing that keep us going was the money spend this peace of crap that some magazines give good points. I wont by any of those magazines anymore. Because reliability is the key thing for critic and without it, u are not a critic at all. There are many many better FPS games to choose like: Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, Borderlands, Killzone 2, Resistance 1-2, COD 4...… Expand
  41. AD
    Nov 23, 2009
    4
    I have never been a Halo fan, but gave this a try after seeing the awesome live action teaser "We are ODST". This game is crap! Every time I tried to play it, I fell asleep, so I never even finished the game. Ugly graphics, badly animated cutscenes, boring........
  42. Tahoe
    Dec 10, 2009
    3
    This game should've been an expansion to Halo 3 instead of being a standalone game. There's not enough in this game to make it a $60 game. A short campaign, and the same versus mode, except a new firefight mode, which is essentially the same thing as Gears of War 2's Horde mode. Firefight isn't very innovative, yet it is argued to be the most amazing part of Halo 3: This game should've been an expansion to Halo 3 instead of being a standalone game. There's not enough in this game to make it a $60 game. A short campaign, and the same versus mode, except a new firefight mode, which is essentially the same thing as Gears of War 2's Horde mode. Firefight isn't very innovative, yet it is argued to be the most amazing part of Halo 3: ODST. Aside from these, the game is put into two discs, one for campaign and one for multiplayer? What was the point of this? The campaign isn't so long that it's like Lost Odyssey where it has to be on multiple discs. Halo 3 was a longer and interesting game and shipped in one disc. Why should this game be any different? Disappointment.… Expand
  43. TomoH
    Oct 27, 2009
    3
    If this game didn't have HALO in the title, people wouldn't be interested. Played through about half the campaign now, and the story is about as deep as a puddle. Some of the review scores are incredible. There is no new multiplayer, only a couple new maps and a survival mode. Neither of which I'm interested in. Honestly the dialogue takes clichéd military tough guy If this game didn't have HALO in the title, people wouldn't be interested. Played through about half the campaign now, and the story is about as deep as a puddle. Some of the review scores are incredible. There is no new multiplayer, only a couple new maps and a survival mode. Neither of which I'm interested in. Honestly the dialogue takes clichéd military tough guy talk to a new level. It's retarded really. I've served and I'm telling you it's ridiculous. Artistically, it's a darker HALO 3 with a broad cast of nobodies you don't really care about because the game doesn't bother introducing them on a personal level. It's never been more obvious that Microsoft buy their review scores. Really I think this deserves a 70 or a 3 out of 5 stars. There's so little thats new and yet it is being put out there as a stand alone game. If you've played HALO 3 and are desperate for more, go ahead. But if you're looking for a decent shooter, I'd pass on this.… Expand
  44. CoreyF.
    Sep 22, 2009
    3
    I'm PISSED! I bought this game for full price and completed the campaign in under 4 hours, what the hell is that. I decided i would try the multiplayer out but was sad to discover that it was essentially the same from Halo 3. 60 dollars for this?!?! Pathetic Bungie, Pathetic.
  45. charlesc
    Sep 22, 2009
    3
    I have been a loving fan of the Halo franchise since the first game released and I enjoyed every minute of it. That is up until now. This game is utter and complete garbage and I am very dissapointed with myself for having wasted 60 dollars on this crap. I am guessing alot of the creative talent behind the first three games must have left Bungie because playing this game seems like it I have been a loving fan of the Halo franchise since the first game released and I enjoyed every minute of it. That is up until now. This game is utter and complete garbage and I am very dissapointed with myself for having wasted 60 dollars on this crap. I am guessing alot of the creative talent behind the first three games must have left Bungie because playing this game seems like it came from an entry level programmer. Even the opening screen with the backstory behind the current conflict stutters and clips, they couldn't even get that right. sad sad day for me.… Expand
  46. MikeS.
    Sep 22, 2009
    0
    Oh man, what a waste of money! This isn't a game! The single player is terrible. I payed $60 for a couple o' multiplayer maps. What the hell!!!

    Honestly, some of these reviews are absolutely hilarious. How do you give this "game" a 9.0 or higher? Shame on IGN and Gamespot especially.
  47. DaveR
    Sep 23, 2009
    4
    I simply can not believe this game is $60. Anyone paying full price for this is not playing w/ a full deck. Do not let blind fanboyism keep you from calling BS. When will the community learn, do not pay fro over hyped, over priced games. That is the only way to get it to stop.
  48. donalm
    Sep 23, 2009
    2
    Expansion pack worth 20 dollars unless you dont have halo 3. this looses lots of marks for that. also no graphic improvement over last 2 years. music is decent and gets it a mark. gameplay is bland and introduces nothing new compared to halo 3 let alone gaming in general. online is halo 3 online. big disappointment.
  49. JohnP.
    Sep 24, 2009
    1
    Delicately rich, balanced but gracefully intense. High-toned aroma with nut and a hint of pungent cedar. Richly tart, opulent acidity; full, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Disappointingly brilliant!
  50. matthewt
    Sep 26, 2009
    0
    This game is horrible . 2007 graphics , online is exacly the same as halo 3. 2 new weapons, 3 new maps and a new mode (firefight) for 60 buck. very dissapointing. if anyone is thinking of buying this may god have mercy on your soul. in conclusion halo 3 odst is halo 3 with 2 new weapons,3 new maps and a new mode AMEN
  51. GaryL
    Dec 21, 2009
    3
    $60 game, 5 hours of campaign, new Gears of War rip-off multiplayer mode you can only play with your friends, and the same multiplayer you probably have because chances are if you are buying this game you already have Halo 3. This doesn't add up to a good game to me. The new campaign is barely different from other Halo games in terms of gameplay and the story seemed to be written by $60 game, 5 hours of campaign, new Gears of War rip-off multiplayer mode you can only play with your friends, and the same multiplayer you probably have because chances are if you are buying this game you already have Halo 3. This doesn't add up to a good game to me. The new campaign is barely different from other Halo games in terms of gameplay and the story seemed to be written by a 7th grader. The audio logs you can go collect around the city have the most nonsensical and embarrassing dialogue I have ever heard in a game series of this caliber. This is a bad game at a high price.… Expand
  52. DrEggman
    Nov 17, 2011
    1
    I hate the fact that this game exists. You play as a weak ODST, who dies too easily making the game very difficult even on normal difficulty. The storyline does not flow smoothly and I find no likeable characters in the game. This is not how Halo is supposed to be, the only time you will have fun is in a vehicle where you can run down the covenant forces with ease. The visuals are ok, butI hate the fact that this game exists. You play as a weak ODST, who dies too easily making the game very difficult even on normal difficulty. The storyline does not flow smoothly and I find no likeable characters in the game. This is not how Halo is supposed to be, the only time you will have fun is in a vehicle where you can run down the covenant forces with ease. The visuals are ok, but good graphics does not mean a good game, they only compliment one.… Expand
  53. 7dogguy
    Feb 16, 2012
    4
    ive been a fan of halo ever since the 2nd one came out and i have to say this is the worst halo ive ever played the story is the worst in the series you are random solders in the unsc army that get lost in there drop pods and get scattered around this city and you have to find out what happened to your squadmates and do random missions this halo has the worst plot line out of the seriesive been a fan of halo ever since the 2nd one came out and i have to say this is the worst halo ive ever played the story is the worst in the series you are random solders in the unsc army that get lost in there drop pods and get scattered around this city and you have to find out what happened to your squadmates and do random missions this halo has the worst plot line out of the series although they did bring in this mode called firefight which is amazing its like horde mode from gears of war and zombies from cod and you have fend off waves of the covenant but that is the only good thing about the game and they completely scraped competitive multiplayer if it wasnt for firefight i would give this a zero… Expand
  54. Pickle
    Sep 12, 2013
    3
    I never been too much of a fan of the "Halo" franchise, mainly because of it's ignoring simplicity of issues that are constantly represented in the game always, and, well, also because of the constant monotony in between the several games of the franchise itself.
    Even then i decided to jump into "Halo" with, "Halo Reach", (which i loved). But this game, could possibly be one of the worst,    I never been too much of a fan of the "Halo" franchise, mainly because of it's ignoring simplicity of issues that are constantly represented in the game always, and, well, also because of the constant monotony in between the several games of the franchise itself.
    Even then i decided to jump into "Halo" with, "Halo Reach", (which i loved). But this game, could possibly be one of the worst, most boring, dull, first person shooters out there, forget about the repetitive scenarios, that just end up being bland, and boring, forget about the awful, graphical quality of the overall game.
    No, the real problem begins with the gameplay, every single "new game mechanic", that's being add into this game doesn't work, why? Because at it's entirety it's the exact same replica of another game mechanic showed in past entries, with a re-skin.

    The entire game you go throughout the exact same scenarios, over, and over, and over again, and i'm talking about exactly the same, there is not even one difference in between them, and when there finally is, it's just another lifeless, empty, wide open area, with nothing to do more than to shoot the exact same enemy model until you finally finish the game.

    The story it's completely irrelevant, i really think that you can play throughout the game and get an even better experience while skipping such soulless, unenjoyable, dull, mediocre, cutscenes, it's that bad, aside from that the game manages to overcome all of this obstacles an give a couple of bursts of fun and enjoyment for a couple of minutes, sadly, after a while, it falls into the exact same endless cycle of monotony
    that every other aspect of this game falls down into.

    It's the worst "Halo" game in all the franchise, but it can be fun and enjoyable at times, even if it doesn't last to long, nor it's interesting, while your forcing yourself to play it.    … Expand
  55. EremitaJ
    Aug 4, 2014
    1
    "Hey guys, let's take an average franchise like Halo and we go all Cristopher Nolan on it making it super greedy and mature and patriotic and **** just like a Michael Bay movie without boobs" -What I think they said at Bungie before the creation of this... let's call it game because you use a controller on it.
  56. Jerricho_N
    Dec 28, 2021
    4
    Самая слабая часть в серии. Унылые и однообразные локации, гнетущая музыка, депрессивная атмосфера в самом худшем понимании . Первый Halo выглядит и играется куда бодрее и интереснее.
  57. Antonette_87
    Dec 22, 2021
    4
    Halo 3: ODST sufre una crisis de identidad, al principio, cuando controlamos al novato vemos que el mapa y el ambiente es sombrío y solemne, y joder te metes en el personaje, no eres el Jefe Maestro, no puedes ir andando como si esto fuese tu casa, entonces es vital rodear e interceptar enemigos en este mundo semi-abierto, pero después de unas misiones sigue siendo lo mismo de siempre, esHalo 3: ODST sufre una crisis de identidad, al principio, cuando controlamos al novato vemos que el mapa y el ambiente es sombrío y solemne, y joder te metes en el personaje, no eres el Jefe Maestro, no puedes ir andando como si esto fuese tu casa, entonces es vital rodear e interceptar enemigos en este mundo semi-abierto, pero después de unas misiones sigue siendo lo mismo de siempre, es decir acción y disparos a bocajarro y no es algo que me moleste un juego de Halo, pero SI me molesta en ESTE HALO, no tenía porq ser así y es una cagada que vayan a por lo fácil, ahora que he hablado de eso me toca hablar de, ah si el mundo semi-abierto, aunque es cierto que la ambientación la hace bien cuando estamos con el novato, hay que admitir que al mundo semi abierto no te incita en lo mas mínimo a explorar, entonces para que coño haces una nueva mecánica si no es solamente que no sepas usarla, si no que también ni te esfuerzas a (por lo menos) mostrar algo de empeño. Ahora que he acabado con el pésimo mundo semi-abierto, hablemos de la historia... es la peor historia de Halo, y no porq sea mala, si no porq es muy simple, no te encariñas con los personajes y la trama empieza bien pero va decayendo. Hablemos del gameplay que también tiene tela, Halo 3: Odst no solo no añade nada de gameplay a la saga, si no que quita mas gameplay, me explico Halo 3 añadió las habilidades especiales estas, ya sabes, el escudo burbuja, invencibilidad etc. Bien no solamente quita eso, si no que también quita las armas duales, sin ningún sentido, en fin, lo bueno es la banda sonora que es la hostia y la ambientación en el primer nivel, aunque después se va, este Halo no solamente no añade nada si no que también quita cosas un claro bajón de la saga con este título, buenas intenciones, mala ejecución.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2009
2
#2 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2009
12
#12 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 94 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 94
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 94
  3. Negative: 1 out of 94
  1. Game Over Online
    85
    The bottom line here is that this is a nice little piece of Halo, and that anyone who has ever enjoyed Halo will probably enjoy this too. The only question is how much it is worth to you. As a full priced stand-alone game, its value is somewhat dubious.
    Read full review
  2. GamingXP
    88
    Not only an add-on! This is better than many of the main games! Next to the single player, you also get a great multiplayer mode. You just cannot do wrong if you buy this game!
    Read full review
  3. Extreme Gamer
    90
    Halo 3: ODST is an excellent add-on campaign for Halo 3, and one which all Halo fans should own.
    Read full review
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