“Alright Browncoats: we break atmo in five minutes and we’ve got a whole mess of ruttin’ hostiles lining up to meet us. Get your fancy pants and grab your guns, we don’t want to disappoint our hosts. Stick together, make your shots count and everything will be shiny...”Oh, sorry everybody. I think I’m getting my sci-fi universes mixed up. But if you’ve played Halo 3: ODST, you probably understand. This week, Jorge and I discuss this unique entry in the Halo franchise. Part expansion pack, part sequel, and part spin-off, ODST is an interesting beast. We discuss everything from the mission structure, the gameplay, and the storytelling approach. As always, feel free to drop into the comments with your thoughts.
Some discussion starters:
- For those of you who played it, what did you think? How does ODST compare with the Master Chief trilogy?
- Did the story and its characters draw you into the plot? What are your thoughts on the silent protagonist and the rest of the crew?
- ODST is a rare example of a “spin-off” game: it uses an established mythology and gameplay system as a base from which to branch off into something new. What other franchises would yield enjoyable spin-offs?
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Show notes:
- Run time: 34 min 06 sec
- Music provided by Brad Sucks
Um, guys. You DO meet the entity that's talking to Sadie. It's that squiddy Engineer thing that you escape with at the end of the game. It was manipulating the city's computer system to talk to her and help her. This is also why it was talking in oblique prerecorded snippets instead of fully speaking. The computer system was never designed to speak, the Engineer was just using what was there creatively.
ReplyDeleteLike most cool plot points in Halo games, they failed to play it up and showcase it well. It would have been cool if it jumped in with automated defense systems to save your ass or something, but at least you do meet it and work with it (the shields it gives you are kind of godly, too).
@ Julian
ReplyDeleteDamn! That actually sounds kind of cool. Too bad we missed that completely. But like you said, I don't think we are entirely to blame. This is why I think the novels set in the Halo-verse might actually be pretty good.