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- First reviewAugust 31, 2009
- Last reviewOctober 29, 2009
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infestedandy's Reviews
Learn more about Halo 3: ODST - Xbox 360. (Flash demo) The city of New Mombasa lies in ruins, the result of a catastrophic attack by the Covenant. Now the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or ODSTs, must drop into the city to search for clues. Known for courage, valor and a touch of insanity, the ODST "Hell Jumpers" are neither as large nor as supernaturally gifted as their Spartan comrades, but they more than make up for it with unwavering nerve and ferocious attitudes. Join these legendarily fierce soldiers on a daring mission as they prepare to drop into a war-torn world.Return to the gripping world of Halo for a new perspective on the enduring Human-Covenant struggle in Halo 3: ODST. Embark on a vital, top-secret mission with the ODSTs, who pride themselves on being the first unit deployed into hostile situations, and delve even deeper into the ongoing conflict. A gripping story, cooperative campaign and new multiplayer content immerse you in the game world for a stunning new action-fueled adventure.
Posted by: infestedandy
from Chandler, AZ
Halo has always been about up front, in your face action and ODST attempts to shake up the formula a bit. It’s more or less an expansion off of Halo 3, but it does add some unique components like Firefight that make it stand out.
It may retain the Halo name but once you kick-off the campaign you’ll notice some major changes to the gameplay. For one, you control an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) who isn’t nearly as durable or strong as the Master Chief. As a matter of fact, you’re slower, can’t dual-wield weapons, take damage if you fall from high places, and don’t regenerate health by simply staying out of harm’s way. It may feel strange and it should since the typical run-and-gun style you might be so familiar with is going to change a bit.
The story this time around takes place after a cataclysmic event in the Halo 2 storyline. New Mombasa, a mega-city on Earth, is completely leveled after a Covenant ship jumps into slipspace within the atmosphere. You and your squad were attempting to hit the cruiser and just so happen to be caught in the massive explosion which has strewn everyone about the city. This is where you take control of the Rookie - a speechless, standard ODST who runs about New Mombasa playing the role of detective as he tries to find out what happened to his squad.
ODST’s premise sounds intriguing and it certainly is setup nicely; you’re alone and against the world as the mystery of your team’s whereabouts is slowly unveiled. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help but question the way the game was put together throughout my play sessions. You see, the Rookie acts as a catalyst to initiate the story. Whenever he finds certain item locations scattered around the deadend city, it starts a flashback. Depending on whose flashback it is, you’ll play that particular ODST squad member. These scenarios are pretty short, but they tend to be action packed and are pretty standard when it comes to Halo combat.
The problem I have is how you get to these scenarios. As the Rookie you’re traveling in a pitch-black city with absolutely nothing going on around you. There’s the occasional Covenant patrol, but you literally walk from one end of the city to the other just to get to the blip on your map. It’s like an overworld for Halo and that’s an issue. Halo may have always been a linear game, but each area you passed through was laden with entertainment. In ODST it’s just corridors of darkness and debris. I understand that this adds more to the tense atmosphere, but you aren’t rewarded for exploring the far and away places. You can collect random audio logs, but along with the rest of present day games that incorporate this, it feels extremely contrived. The logs usually are nothing but gunfire, noise, and desperate attempts to make it seem like there’s more going on than you think; there’s not.
It’s obvious that there’s much more of a stealth element in this game and, believe it or not, you can sneak up behind Brutes and assassinate them quite efficiently. This all goes back to the new/old play style as a normal human and it’s pretty refreshing. You’ll have to watch your flanks, choose your shots wisely, and really harbor those grenades. ODSTs come equipped with a VISR mode and two sorta new weapons, the revamped, now scoped pistol and a silenced, two-handed SMG. The VISR can be activated at any time and serves as a night-vision device. It even color-codes everything on your screen, highlighting inanimate objects and ammo as well. It’s a neat addition but I couldn’t help but feel like I was playing lite-brite with guns. I also found that the specific ODST weapon set is pretty ineffective against anything that has shields. The new pistol is definitely nice, but like the silenced SMG, unless you’re willing to pump all your ammo into a few opponents it’s not very reliable. Actually, you’ll be running out of ammo all the time, so expect to be fighting with Covenant weapons constantly. Shields also don’t exist, instead it’s a system called stamina. Once this stamina runs out you’ll start taking permanent health damage which can only be replenished by a med-kit, just like in the first Halo. So while you don’t have a shield like the Master Chief, your pure physical constitution absorbs bullets, doubling as a shield. Yeah, that makes sense.
Firefight is the completely new mode ODST brings to the forefront. You and three friends are thrown into a stage against waves of relentless opponents. At this point you can definitely see what Gears of War 2’s Horde mode has done to inspire developers. Firefight, however, is actually better than Horde on many different levels. For one, you’ll be fighting against practically the entire Covenant species and it’s random who will come out and how they’ll hit you. Even vehicles like Ghosts and Wraiths make appearances, ramping up the challenge factor tenfold. You also share lives and are awarded ammunition and extra lives depending on how well you do. Unfortunately, the game with one of the best matchmaking systems available decided not to include any matchmaking with Firefight thus forcing you to play with friends. And if no one is on? Well, you could jump into Halo 3 games and ask if people want to play.
I guess that’s my biggest argument about ODST – it just doesn’t feel like a full game and what we got is lackluster at best. Hell, you’re given a separate disc that includes Halo 3’s multiplayer. Granted, it does come with some new maps, but the campaign can be completed in just about four to five hours. Cut that time in half if you’re doing it with friends. ODST is more of the same with some differences. Unless you’re a Halo fanatic, or you just like buying games twice, there’s nothing to see here.
What's great about it: Standard Halo gunplay
What's not so great: Running everywhere in a dark, bland city
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Learn more about Red Faction: Guerrilla - Xbox 360. (Flash demo) SynopsisIn a vast and unforgiving Martian landscape, a new conflict is about to erupt. Fifty years after the events of the original Red Faction, the Earth Defense Force (EDF) holds the planet in its sway. As an insurgent fighter with the newly re-established Red Faction movement, you are igniting a battle for liberation against these oppressive overlords. In a war that will take you from the desolate mining outpost of Parker to the gleaming EDF capital city of Eos, you must utilize all the destructive power at your command to bring down the sinister EDF and achieve freedom at any cost.Red Faction: Guerilla thrusts you into a gritty open world ripe for destruction. Employ fast-paced guerilla-style tactics, improvised weaponry and modified vehicles to take down your EDF opponents. Destroy the world around you with tactical maneuvers, attacking enemy strongholds or changing the game environment to your advantage, and watch as walls, staircases and more crumble with realistic physics. Battle against other players in brutal online multiplayer combat as you put your powers of destruction to the ultimate test.
Posted by: infestedandy
from Chandler, AZ
REVIEW FROM: www.infestedandy.com
When you think of interstellar tyranny and galactic civil war, Red Faction isn’t the first game that comes to mind. But when you replace those two things with Mars and unprecedented destruction, you have a different story entirely. Red Faction: Guerrilla is Volition’s third entry in the series and brings with it the most unmeasured, gratuitous destruction this generation has seen.
The story isn’t going to win any awards, but it does what it needs to do. For what it’s worth it follows Alec Mason as he arrives on Mars to work with his brother. Shortly after, the Earth Defense Force (EDF) kills his brother and targets Alec for being part of the resistance, part of the Red Faction. From here Alec is assimilated into the rebel ranks and must help them push the oppressive EDF back. The only problem is, well, the EDF has an entire army. Guerrilla warfare anyone?
Unlike its predecessors, Guerrilla deviates from the conventional first-person viewpoint by going third-person. Along with this change comes the shift to a free-roaming, mission based environment ala Grand Theft Auto. If that sounds strange – you’re not alone. But surprisingly, the change works incredibly well and, if anything, infuses the game with explosive variety that many open-ended games lack.
Mars is setup into six distinct zones that must be liberated from EDF control. Each activity you undertake will earn you salvage (the game’s currency and means of purchasing new equipment) and/or lower the gauge of control for the EDF. Lowering control allows you to gain access to the story-based Red Faction missions that will progress the game and unlock other zones. These missions are all very fun and in case you misstep, the checkpoint system is very forgiving. This setup works extremely well as you’re given the choice of just running rampant, destroying EDF structures or partaking in the various activities around Mars.
It wouldn’t be a Red Faction game unless it put a tremendous amount of effort into destruction and Guerrilla is no different. Every single building on Mars can be brought to the ground in glorious fashion. It looks great, feels satisfying, and simply never gets old. The only problem I have is when you’re trying to destroy a building it sometimes is kept standing by just one or two supports. In that regard, the destruction physics can be a bit off, but for the majority of the time it’s a blast to swing through obstacles and watch the debris fly.
If you’re not one to constantly follow activities, Guerrilla rewards for taking out important EDF structures. These targets range from small, less important buildings to heavily fortified, high importance structures. Destroying targets is a quick way to unlock Red Faction missions and is quite fun at that. There’s nothing like collapsing a power planet surrounded by EDF troops and making a quick getaway. If running off the beaten-path doesn’t appeal to you as much, activities like Demolitions Master, Heavy Metal, and the rail-shooting rides with Jenkins are among the greatest in the entire game. Demolitions Master is probably the best activity since it’s so unique. It’s basically a puzzle that requires the annihilation of a building in a certain way.
There are also a couple different multiplayer components worth noting. One is called Wrecking Crew which is more of a pass the controller, party mode. It has various modes such as limited ammo or simply blowing up barrels, but they all deal with blowing buildings apart. It’s a good time with multiple people but not something you’ll be spending most of your time on. The other component deals with the competitive side of things. You’d think meshing destructibility with the diverse range of weaponry available would be something unbelievable. And it is - it’s unbelievably ridiculous and broken. It’s setup like Halo and in that respect it works well. It also uses various unique backpacks, like the Rhino which can charge a short distance through buildings. But it all goes to hell once the games begin. For instance, on certain maps teams can spawn-kill the entire time. Weapons are completely unbalanced and make otherwise close matches into blow-outs. While I found the different gametypes very unique, the gameplay online was simply too chaotic and unrefined to be anything worthwhile.
The destruction and campaign in Red Faction: Guerrilla is unquestionable great and something definitely worth experiencing. Unfortunately, full retail price isn’t justifiable as once you’re 15 hour romp is done, there’s little reason to revisit Mars.
What's great about it: Incredible destruction, fun side-missions, fast-paced
What's not so great: Low replayability, can be repetitive, forgettable competitive multiplayer
I would recommend this to a friend!
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