Commodore
A phenomenal addition to the Legend of Zelda series. While it is a bit lacking in the story department, the story still was fantastic for what it had to be in a very open game. A fantastic open-world game with lots to do and explore in a new rendition of a previous iteration of Hyrule.
2009
I am infamously terrible at first-person shooters. I do not know why, but it might have something to do with the fact that I can't quite aim when it comes down to things. My inability to simply point, aim and click a button on a controller however has not stopped me from enjoying the Halo series, and ODST is no different. I will not be discussing gameplay much in this review, because the gameplay and my lack of skill at the genre isn't the reason I love this game whole-heartedly. It is not the reason this is one of my favorite games of all time.
The Halo series has always drawn me in with it's rich atmosphere, worldbuilding and it's music; ODST has all three in spades. The dreary, rainy, nighttime cityscape of New Mombasa is an incredible backdrop for this game, one which feels more reminiscent of a film noir movie than a first-person shooter, or even a Halo game. The music, marked by it's lonely saxophone, driving strings and the ever-present piano only amplifies this more. When I played ODST for the first time, which seems like a long, long time ago, I was enraptured and fell in love with this game's atmosphere. It was unlike anything I had ever played before, and I haven't found a game since that meets it.
I said I wouldn't talk about gameplay, but that was a lie. The sections where you play as the Rookie are devastatingly lonely, which the games music, backdrop and the lone patrols of Brutes, Grunts and Jackals add too. I always found myself waiting in nervous anticipation, looking at my mini-map or peeking around corners to see what would be waiting for me.
The Audio Logs also make this game special for me. The Audio Logs serve as the game's B-Plot and act in a manner similar to Breath of the Wild's memories, in that it tells a different, yet connected story to the one you are currently playing through. I found myself endeared to Sadie the more I learned of her story, and it all culminated in a satisfying ending when I had collected all of the Audio Logs and got to the end of the game, where the A and B-Plots met and connected with each other in such a satisfying way.
There is no game out there quite like ODST, and if there is, I have yet to play it. But I certainly look forward to it all the same.
The Halo series has always drawn me in with it's rich atmosphere, worldbuilding and it's music; ODST has all three in spades. The dreary, rainy, nighttime cityscape of New Mombasa is an incredible backdrop for this game, one which feels more reminiscent of a film noir movie than a first-person shooter, or even a Halo game. The music, marked by it's lonely saxophone, driving strings and the ever-present piano only amplifies this more. When I played ODST for the first time, which seems like a long, long time ago, I was enraptured and fell in love with this game's atmosphere. It was unlike anything I had ever played before, and I haven't found a game since that meets it.
I said I wouldn't talk about gameplay, but that was a lie. The sections where you play as the Rookie are devastatingly lonely, which the games music, backdrop and the lone patrols of Brutes, Grunts and Jackals add too. I always found myself waiting in nervous anticipation, looking at my mini-map or peeking around corners to see what would be waiting for me.
The Audio Logs also make this game special for me. The Audio Logs serve as the game's B-Plot and act in a manner similar to Breath of the Wild's memories, in that it tells a different, yet connected story to the one you are currently playing through. I found myself endeared to Sadie the more I learned of her story, and it all culminated in a satisfying ending when I had collected all of the Audio Logs and got to the end of the game, where the A and B-Plots met and connected with each other in such a satisfying way.
There is no game out there quite like ODST, and if there is, I have yet to play it. But I certainly look forward to it all the same.