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Every action hero faces the same dilemma: the sequel. In their first appearances, the audience is never truly expecting the character's demise, but the freshman title always provides some level of danger and vulnerability. Since the hero inevitably bounces back to save the day just when the scenario is most dire, saving the day again isn't enough to keep audiences coming back for more. After John McClane dodges the nth bullet or Neo simply freezes them in midair, there's not a scenario in the world that poses any real comparable threat. And so, Master Chief, having been marketed harder than televangelists market Jesus, had come close to rivaling him in messianic symbolism by the close of Halo 3. There was literally nowhere for the Spartan to go -- he had even beat Jason into space by 8 releases.

So when many fans were disappointed by the announcement that the next Halo title had turned into a 60 dollar retail release sans Master Chief, I thought it was the best possible move Bungie could have made -- but that didn't mean I planned to buy it. Since Halo 3: ODST was born as a DLC pack for Halo 3, bloggers' cries matched my own trepidation when the company announced it was no longer an addon; the press releases wreaked of 'money-grab'. However, when I actually put time into the title, it became clear: Halo 3: ODST is the best entry in the series since the original.

Take a moment for that to sink in. Yes, the campaign is shorter than the previous installments and the multiplayer offers little for those who already own Halo 3. But what's there is pure quality. For the first time, Bungie made a Halo game that wasn't Halo: Now With More Shit To Blow Up. Instead, the game almost plays as a film noir comprised of characters who can be injured and even killed. Furthermore, the game's tone was drastically adjusted to match this scenario. There's simplistic, brooding piano solos expressing the despair your character, simply known as 'the rookie', feels as he/she comes across old battlefields; scenes where the echoes of gunfire may have faded, but the bodies are still warm.

ODST opens as soldiers are rushing to meet the invading covenant fleet as they begin their assualt on New Mombasa. The team's air drop gets pummeled by the energy blast from High Charity entering slipspace (as seen in Halo 2) forcing everybody to crash land. Your character, the rookie, subsequently wakes up six hours later to find that he/she missed the battle. In an attempt to piece together what happened, the ever silent ODST soldier walks New Mombasa's streets: fighting patches of Covenant infantry while piecing together clues. When the rookie happens to find such a clue, the game initiates a flashback. Taking place between the initial drop and the rookie waking up, each flashback, played as a different team member, acts as a full length level. They not only shed light on what happened, but also provide the perfect excuse for Bungie to cue up the Phil Collins and Joe Satriani mix tape.