Halo 3: ODST is an expansion to the Halo 3 storyline that doesn’t star the well known Master Chief – instead, you’re an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. Some die-hard fans may not be too happy with the fact that they don’t get to play as Master Chief, but this game is just as fun nonetheless.

One of the popular features of ODST would be Firefight Mode. In this mode, you and three friends get to fight wave after wave of Covenant enemies. The interesting feature in Firefight would be that all four players share seven lives. The up side to this is if you and your team can make it through a round, more lives will be added to your total.

As you progress through Firefight, the enemies get more and more difficult after each round which consists of five waves of enemies. On top of that, your foes gain more abilities at the start of each of these rounds. Some abilities include Tough Luck, which allows enemies to dodge grenades easier, Catch, which equips hostiles with extra grenades, and Tilt, where armored units take less damage from bullets while unarmored units take less damage from plasma rounds. Firefight is a good way for you and three of your friends to have a good time with Halo 3: ODST without diving into the separate multiplayer disc.

Firefight isn’t the only new aspect in this installment of the Halo series. The campaign portion follows the story of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Since you’re playing as a Drop Trooper and not Master Chief, there have been a few changes. One major difference is that you no longer have the ability to jump unnecessarily high in the air. As a Drop Trooper, your jumping ability is fairly modest. Also, you no longer have ultra-powerful armor. If your health gets too low, you’ll need to find one of the med packs that are scattered throughout the board. All-in-all, it’s a pretty entertaining campaign that sheds some light on the role of the ODSTs in humanity’s struggle against the Covenant.

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Do you think Halo 3: ODST lived up to its hype or did it let you down? Also, is it really worth the $60 price tag to you?