The pendulum swings create a wonderful narrative pace and structure that’s alien to the linear experiences of the other Halo shooters to date, even if the story is rushed into with an un-sexy wall of text. And because you’re not a biologically and mechanically enhanced super soldier, that pace of the action is decidedly slower. The action and world benefits from a boost to 1080p and 60 frames per second, but I couldn’t help but notice disappointing framerate dips during larger battles and the comically exaggerated and antiquated animations of the marine grunts.You’re free to wander New Mombasa, which affords the opportunity to discover secrets like supply caches from the mysterious Superintendent AI as well as the fascinating Sadie’s Story: a series of audio logs hidden around the city that follow a young woman as she navigates the city freshly in the wake of the Covenant invasion. It adds weight and relevant context to what happened in the game world. It’s easy to get lost in the big open city though, even with waypoints popping up in the HUD.
Almost all of ODST is spent alone, and that isolation helps create fear and tension – feelings aided by the fact that your distinct lack of superhuman skills makes your Covenant foes much scarier than they are when you’re inside Master Chief’s MJOLNIR armor. The VISR – a sort of night vision mode that also helps identify key items like weapons, enemies, and waypoints – adds to ODST’s dark and moody vibe in a positive way. This simply feels different and distinct from Master Chief’s Halo gameplay.