[Chuckit]

I always liked the gay super-jump just because it reinforced that feeling of "Wow, I'm a superhero!" that Halo is designed to give. But yeah, it doesn't make any sense in ODST.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I was really hoping the gay super jump would be gone, but in the horde mode videos I saw it looked like it was intact. Apparently jumping 20 ft into the air is easy for normal marines –– but holding two weapons, one in each hand –– too difficult!

(insert rollseyes here)

Agreed, you'd think you'd be back to a normal marine's jump.

Remind me, in ODST how are we gonna recover health, by finding health packs? I mean are we just gonna keep on losin' health until we die or what?

[sek929]

I'd imagine they'd implement a similar system to the original Halo minus the shield.

[Chuckit]

Yep, a lot of people forget that the Master Chief was a mere mortal until Halo 2.

[The Final Dakar]

Yeah, I have no clue what you're talking about. (Forget? I never knew)

[Leonard]

Man, I've got to reinstall the Mac version of Halo 1 again... I've forgotten what happens with his health in Halo 1...

I remember warthogs were fun to run around in and were invincible.

[Chuckit]

In Halo 1, you have a health bar that takes damage if you get hit while your shields are down and can only be replenished by grabbing healthpacks. So if your shields go down enough times, you're probably going to die. In the later games, your health refills when your shield does.

[sek929]

Don't forget the ridiculous falling damage in H1. Silly for an 8-foot tall robot.

[Leonard]

Just pre-ordered my copy of Halo:ODST. For the heck of it, I pre-ordered the Special Edition. I can always use another controller.

[klb5090]

Halo 3 _ ODST Live Action Commerical

Awesome.

[Stogieman]

...and Fatty doesn't want to buy it. Pffft.

[The Final Dakar]

I'm unintentionally busting stogie's balls here, but reading this thread has cooled me off significantly on the game.

So the store near me screwed up and put ODST on the shelves today which I thought was pretty sweet till I played it. It is not worth the money at all. The campaign is ridiculously short. My friends and I beat the campaign in 2.5 hours.

...

Firefight is awesome but only with 4 people - No matchmaking (good luck if xbox live goes down any time soon)

What makes this extra laughable is Joystiq and kotaku have done some dick-sucking about "How did Bungie do the impossible and make a game in 13 months?!"

They made game in 13 months because its 5x shorter than anything else you'll buy for $60.

[sek929]

How about we all dust off Halo 3 and play some matches until MW2 comes out instead of wasting 60 dollars?

[The Final Dakar]

Sure, all I need is the maps from the ODST second disc – oh....

[The Final Dakar]

I'm not saying I won't buy it, but it screams "worth no more than $40" (only because I'm counting the map packs). So, see you as an Amazon deal, ODST.

I want Kevin "I like XBLA" Bogues to weigh in on the subject.

[The Final Dakar]

Well, here's the reason:

Bungie: Why Halo 3: ODST Firefight Doesn’t Support Matchmaking | Kotaku Australia

"With this game we wanted to make sure everyone knew this was built off the Halo 3 engine, which is why we left Halo 3 in the title of it,” says Creamer. “That was basically one of the limitations we had, that we couldn’t just add matchmaking for Firefight because it was based upon the cooperative Campaign gameplay.

“It would’ve been a massive technical rewrite of code, and we didn’t think it would have been the right thing to invest in anyway because it’s meant to be a cooperative experience you have with friends."

[The Final Dakar]

Posting in triplicate, ODST also includes the Reach beta... but does the Reach beta open September 24th?

Edit: Looks like its actually quadruplicate

[Stogieman]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I'm unintentionally busting stogie's balls here, but reading this thread has cooled me off significantly on the game.

So the store near me screwed up and put ODST on the shelves today which I thought was pretty sweet till I played it. It is not worth the money at all. The campaign is ridiculously short. My friends and I beat the campaign in 2.5 hours.

...

Firefight is awesome but only with 4 people - No matchmaking (good luck if xbox live goes down any time soon)

What makes this extra laughable is Joystiq and kotaku have done some dick-sucking about "How did Bungie do the impossible and make a game in 13 months?!"

They made game in 13 months because its 5x shorter than anything else you'll buy for $60.

Can you post the source of that quote? I highly doubt this dude beat the campaign in 2.5hrs. If he did, it was probably on easy difficulty with 4 player co-op and no achievement hunting. Bungie themselves said the campaign is about 7-8 hours (the same length as Halo 3). I'll take Bungie's word over some dude (possible troll) on the internet.

[klb5090]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I want Kevin "I like XBLA" Bogues to weigh in on the subject.

true true... anyway
I think i'm purchasing ODST
NHL 10 is getting decent reviews as is Need for Speed: Shift. I definitely need something to hold me off until MW2 but my ODST purchase will depend on you geeks.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

Can you post the source of that quote? I highly doubt this dude beat the campaign in 2.5hrs. If he did, it was probably on easy difficulty with 4 player co-op and no achievement hunting. Bungie themselves said the campaign is about 7-8 hours (the same length as Halo 3). I'll take Bungie's word over some dude (possible troll) on the internet.

A thread on xbox360achievments, but you make a good point, I'll be waiting for info from the reviews before any solid decisions. If I do give-in, it'll be more likely from boredom than thinking its worth it.

Originally Posted by klb5090 

true true... anyway
I think i'm purchasing ODST
NHL 10 is getting decent reviews as is Need for Speed: Shift. I definitely need something to hold me off until MW2 but my ODST purchase will depend on you geeks.

Shift... bleh. I would like to see a demo to confirm that feeling, though.

[The Final Dakar]

The reviews are in:

Halo 3: ODST Review: The More Vulnerable Edition - Halo 3: odst - Kotaku

The unusual collection of features that comes on the two-disc ODST set ensures that the value of ODST will vary among consumers more than most new releases do. Single-player fans will find a little less to do in this game than they did in 2007's Halo 3. If multiplayer is the attraction, buyer beware that those who have already purchased any Halo 3 maps will find less new content for their dollar here. That, among other factors, may sway some consumers to consider purchasing Modern Warfare 2 instead, the season's other big shooter. Two years ago, the last Modern Warfare proved the stiffest competition in terms of acclaim and online popularity to that season's Halo. Having not played Modern Warfare 2, we can't compare the games for you.

If you want to judge ODST for its fun without worrying about its price and the contents of its case, then know that its campaign hits the peaks of Halo 3 less often due both to its relative brevity and its uneven, experimental hubworld. The campaign can mostly be a joy. Firefight with a group of players is a blast. The main hero may be a bore, but the fiction is at least as interesting as it was in prior Halo games. Bungie's done good this time. That's a victory, even if that's a departure from a series which has often seen Bungie do great.

Review: Halo 3: ODST

So how's your money being spent?

$30 + $10 + $10 + The Remainder = Halo 3: ODST

ODST is better summed up as a two-disc, variety pack, though -- it's more than just a side campaign built from recycled parts (not to discount the many new assets that make up ODST's environments, which are subtly enhanced by updates to the game engine). But as a variety pack, ODST lacks that one surprise hit à la The Orange Box's Portal -- and no, Reach beta, a play-testing opportunity down the road, doesn't count in my book; regardless of how mind-blowing it might be.

So, did Bungie put its heart into ODST? There's a pulse, definitely. Should we knock 'em because development was easier than expected and birthed a bigger game? Of course not. Yeah, but do we pay $60 for it? Are we still asking that? It's Halo. You're gonna buy it.

$60 for an expansion pack? Halo 3: ODST underwhelms - Ars Technica

oes anyone play Halo to wander around an empty city, searching for items to move the story forward? Of course not, but the hub concept is used in Halo 3: ODST, and while it doesn't add to the game, it does give the campaign an extra hour or so. That's great, because if players weren't forced to root around the city to find out where to go next or look for audio files that tell a side story, the campaign mode from the game would be around four hours long. In fact, on normal mode a friend and I beat the game in around four hours, meaning that without the tacked-on hub concept there would have only been around three hours of play time.

There seemed to have been a kitchen-sink approach to making ODST look like a game that was worth $60. You get all the multiplayer maps from Halo 3 plus all the for-pay add-ons, as well as three brand-new maps. That's good if you didn't keep up with Halo 3 content, but somewhat redundant if you did. The three new Halo 3 maps—Citadel, Heretic, and Longshore—add to the experience, and right now this is the only way to get those maps. We're guessing that's not going to change. Like the entrance to the Halo: Reach beta the disc will give you, Bungie and Microsoft added as many little bonuses to the package as possible to try to entice fans of the game. So many appetizers, not enough entrees.

With so little in terms of new content and ideas, the $60 price point and the complete re-packaging of an earlier game's multiplayer would mean that gamers would scream bloody murder if this were anything but a Halo title. But I'm afraid soon we'll be treated to Gears of War 2: Let's Go Kill Those Guys Over There once the sales numbers for this game come in.

Emphasis mine. I'll wait til I can pick it up for $40. sek wins.

[sek929]

I'll pick it up for 40 bucks as well.

One of my friends got it illegally (modded 360) yesterday and already beat the story. Talking to him today he was underwhelmed in general by it, saying there are some cool new weapons and other assorted swag, but then saying he is glad he didn't have to buy it.

MW2 is my next game, by far.

[Chuckit]

Just for everyone's reference: I'm still buying it. I'll just have to skip Starbucks for a week or something.

[Andy8]

Halo 3 question - If I bought ODST - can I use those maps for the regular H3 Multiplayer?

[Leonard]

I pick up my copy of Halo ODST this afternoon - I didn't have the insanity to pick it up at midnight. I'd rather get my sleep than go to a store at midnight.

Am I going to be first to put the disk in my Xbox and get the Icon or will one of my "friends" have the Icon in their game list first.

[The Final Dakar]

I don't think I've mentioned this to any of my friends lately and I already got two texts asking if I got it.

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Just for everyone's reference: I'm still buying it. I'll just have to skip Starbucks for a week or something.

Jesus, I feel guilty enough wasting $5 on the vending machines at work each week, let alone a games worth of starbucks coffee.

[Stogieman]

I'll be on tonight as soon as AT&T finishes installing U-Verse in my place. I should be on around 8pm Pacific time.

Leonard & Chuckit - You guys want to meet-up for some firefight tonight?

Andy - ODST comes with a second disk that contains all the DLC maps. You can install these maps on the hard drive and use them with your Halo 3 disk.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by sek929 

MW2 is my next game, by far.

I have an extra copy of MechWarrior 2 if you need it.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

You can install these maps on the hard drive and use them with your Halo 3 disk.

No, don't do that. It screws up Halo's loading.

[Stogieman]

Copying the entire game...yes.
Copying the map packs (Herotic, Legendary, Mythic #1 & 2)... No.

[The Final Dakar]

Has there been anything to even hint that that's possible?

[Stogieman]

I'll have a definite answer tonight when I get home. I don't see why it wouldn't allow you to. I already have Heroic, Legendary and Mythic #1 on my hard drive. Why wouldn't it let me put Mythic #2 on there?

[The Final Dakar]

I'm not saying it won't let you. I'm saying it screws up the way it loads the maps during gameplay. Not in an unplayable manner, in a geez this is taking forever manner.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

I'll be on tonight as soon as AT&T finishes installing U-Verse in my place. I should be on around 8pm Pacific time.

Leonard & Chuckit - You guys want to meet-up for some firefight tonight?

Andy - ODST comes with a second disk that contains all the DLC maps. You can install these maps on the hard drive and use them with your Halo 3 disk.

8pm Pacific is 11pm my (Eastern) time so that's a bit late for me. I'll probably check it out around 6:45pm my time which is 3:45 Pacific time.

[Stogieman]

You can blame that on your NetZero.

DLC maps on the hard drive load just as fast as the original maps on the disc. At least for me it does.

[Stogieman]

Originally Posted by Leonard 

8pm Pacific is 11pm my (Eastern) time so that's a bit late for me. I'll probably check it out around 6:45pm my time which is 3:45 Pacific time.

That sucks. I'll still be at work.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

You can blame that on your NetZero.

DLC maps on the hard drive load just as fast as the original maps on the disc. At least for me it does.

Jesus Christ, don't be a dumbass.

Bungie addresses Halo 3 NXE install performance

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

Leonard & Chuckit - You guys want to meet-up for some firefight tonight?

Would, but my copy hasn't arrived yet.

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Jesus, I feel guilty enough wasting $5 on the vending machines at work each week, let alone a games worth of starbucks coffee.

Whoa, I meant the difference between you and sek's "ideal" price and what it will actually cost me. $11, not $60.

[Stogieman]

Alright, you win this time Dakar you bastard. I was mistaken, I thought the second disk only contained the map packs. It appears it contains the original Halo 3 game (without the campaign) as well. That's cool, this should free up quite a bit of disk space.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Whoa, I meant the difference between you and sek's "ideal" price and what it will actually cost me. $11, not $60.

Oh. Where'd you pick up that deal?

Anyway, it's both principle and practicality. Very few games are worth the full $60 this gen, and the $10 or $20 I save ends up getting spent in DLC half the time, anyway.

Also, thanks to amazon I now wait for their sometimes inevitable deals.

[Chuckit]

Picked up that deal on Amazon, actually — it's $50.99 there. (Strangely, people there are offering used copies for $5 more.)

[The Final Dakar]

I swear that it wasn't going for $50 the past few times i checked amazon last couple weeks.

The $10 VG credit is also intriguing, though it seems to imply its a pre-order bonus, even though ODST is now officially out.

Edit: Nevermind, it seems that the promotion just occurred and they're giving it to preorders that occurred.

See, now this might be worth picking up, factoring in the credit (though I wonder what I might use it on).

[Stogieman]

Left 4 Dead 2?

[The Final Dakar]

Over my dead body.

I'm thinking BioShock 2. It doesn't mention if it expires, however.

[Stogieman]

The achievements are finally up for ODST. Something tells me Classic is going to be a bitch to get.

Vidmaster Challenge: Classic
Finished any level solo on Legendary, on LIVE, with no shots fired or grenades thrown.

TrueAchievements - Xbox 360 Achievement Tracking

[Andy8]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

Alright, you win this time Dakar you bastard. I was mistaken, I thought the second disk only contained the map packs. It appears it contains the original Halo 3 game (without the campaign) as well. That's cool, this should free up quite a bit of disk space.

Thanks Stogie - so I can get ODST and use the 2nd disk for regular flavour H3 with all the map packs.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

The achievements are finally up for ODST. Something tells me Classic is going to be a bitch to get.

Vidmaster Challenge: Classic
Finished any level solo on Legendary, on LIVE, with no shots fired or grenades thrown.

TrueAchievements - Xbox 360 Achievement Tracking

It would have to be a vehicle-heavy level, I suppose.

[Leonard]

Played a quick half-a-game of Firefight all by myself. Got my first achievement in under 4 minutes - the first time you pick a health pack you get an achievement. Man, this firefight mode is going to be popular and fun.

Took me a while to figure out you automatically pick up health packs, no button press require, after going through all the buttons.

I'll have to meet up with a couple of you at some time, maybe the weekend, 3-4 on firefight ought to be fun.

[klb5090]

Well i broke down and bought ODST, i'm a sucker.

impressions coming later... stay tuned.

[Andy8]

Originally Posted by klb5090 

Well i broke down and bought ODST, i'm a sucker.

impressions coming later... stay tuned.

Ditto - costs here HKD$309. Finally have all the H3 maps to play in multiplayer