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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.

The continual shift from overworld to flashback works beautifully to serve up the perfect balance of loneliness and traditional Halo combat -- which, by the way, is much closer to Halo 1 then the sequels. The ODST's are premier marines, but not demigods and the combat has been scaled back appropriately. Health is a combination of a non-regenerative bar and a regenerative shield much like the original; no longer can hiding behind a rock for a few seconds get you back to tip top shape. Furthermore, dual wielding and hijacking enemy vehicles are gone, and thankfully, the ability to float in a Banshee is back. These changes, plus incredibly strengthened enemy shields result in even a lone brute demanding your full attention -- which becomes especially difficult when being graced by one of the most interesting features of the game: the side-story.

Computer terminals around the New Mobasa provide a log of recordings which, upon discovery, are played back in-game. Their snippets tell the story of a woman's struggle to make it into the city's center during the attack. More importantly however, are the events serving as interruptions in her quest. The cacophony in the audio files juxtaposed against the The desolated remnants of New Mombasa spurred my imagination to construct visions of the chaos. What would seem like a tacked-on afterthought does a fantastic job at making the Halo universe, for the first time, actually feel like a fleshed-out world. These segments show people in a panic, or in other words, at their worst. Players are given front row seats to unabashed greed, murder -- even attempted rape. Clearly, these recordings are not what one would likely expect in a Halo game. And that's why it works.

As you can see from this review, the campaign takes center stage in ODST. That's because unlike it's better half, the multiplayer, comprised of PvP and co-op, feels much like the expansion pack it was originally intended to be. For players who don't own Halo 3, its PvP offerings are a bargain. ODST comes with a Halo 3 multiplayer disc containing every map pack, the full version of the 'Forge' level editor, and three new maps. Unfortunately for those that already play Halo 3, this can probably be interpretted as "just three new multiplayer maps."

Serving as a new addition to the series, the 1-4 player 'Firefight' mode can best be described as Bungie's take on non-story driven co-op. In the same vein as Gears of War's 'Hoard' and Call of Duty's 'Nazi Zombie' modes, players face virtually endless waves of enemies. But unlike the aforementioned titles, each onslaught is randomly generated. Because of this, the waves don't become increasingly harder in and of themselves. Rather, the random implementation of skulls (disabilities) force players to adapt to their ever shifting weaknesses. Teams shares 7 lives and when those run out, the game ends. It's well implemented and fun, but at the end of the day, Firefight is simply a pleasant distraction. I'd be surprised to see a large number of people playing it a year or two out. The AI component lacks the lasting appeal found in Halo PvP.

ODST is a new take on the genre. It controls like c, has an art style like Halo, but its presentation is anything but Halo. If the only draw for an FPS to you is multiplayer, then you're better off sticking with your copy of Halo 3. While the multiplayer components are of the highest caliber, there just isn't enough new content to satisfy multiplayer veterans. Rather, this title is heavily focused on the campaign. As a single player or co-op experience, ODST is among the best in its class. While its length is between 6 and 12 hours depending on skill and difficulty setting, the campaign alone is worth every penny. Having Halo 3 multiplayer and Firefight are just icing on the cake.