Halo 3: ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) takes place somewhere during the second and third installments it appears. You take on the roles of sever ODST member, Buck, "The Rookie", etc. During the drop in the beginning you all get separated. The game's story revolves around Rookie find assorted objects from his squad mates. Everything from helmets, beat up rifles, to spent biofoam canisters. Each time a new item is found you experience a "flashback" to see how it got there. During this time you will take on the roles of the other ODSTs.
Firefight mode is probably the only reason why most people would even buy this title. I can see why. Think Gears of War 2' Horde Mode but with covenant. It is a lot of fun especially when you get to the point where all of the skulls are turned on. However you can get to the higher levels easily by jumping on a "Brute Chopper" and running down everyone. See a Wraith? No problem, drive over, jump out, blow it up, get back in and proceed. Rinse, lather, repeat. Don't misunderstand. It is fun, and it does have an element of challenge but I think there could have been more.
It is interesting to play as a character with more vulnerabilties as the cheif, but the story was lackluster. A friend and I completed it in only 4 hours. The graphics were OK but it was missing some high resolutions. After awhile it got rather reptitive and the lack of challenge made it rather boring. It had an element of a rushed project. Like Bungie said, "We need something to preoccupy Halo fans until Reach is finished. Make this!" With that being said the amount of disappointment in the failed promise of a Reach multiplayer beta is high. I opened the case hoping to get some beta action but all that was inside was a slip of card stock with a pretty picture on it saying I was invited to the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta. Also the lack of a matchmaking-esque multiplayer was surprising to me.
