Halo 3: ODST

I'll start this review with a very minor spoiler. Remember back in the day when this game was still going to be called Halo 3: Recon, and Bungie said that Master Chief 'might' be seen at some point during the storyline? It's a lie. The old hero of the Halo franchise is neither present nor spoken of. Disappointment. It would have given ODST the kick up the backside that it needs.

I think it's a harsh but fair statement to say that Halo fans and newcomers alike will be disappointed in the storyline. Judging by Bungie's past reputation for a strong central story, and by the fact that the game has Halo 3's tag in the name, one might have expected perhaps not a blistering epic tale, but at least an exciting military campaign intertwined with some character development on the part of the Rookie, the silent ODST soldier you play as, and maybe some involvement with the Halo 3 storyline. However, the most part of the game is spent trudging around the desolate city of New Mombasa, now in wreckage, to find clues of your squad's location - which will then trigger a flashback mission which is more likely to see you some action. While these help build a sense of loneliness and desertion, you can't help but feel you have to walk around in the dark killing the odd brute simply as filler between the real missions. Because the Rookie never talks, it's very difficult for the storyline to get anywhere without being on an actual mission, and perhaps Bungie should have taken this into consideration. However not much can be said for other characters either; while other ODSTs act in the light-hearted way that marines always have in the Halo series, and it is a comforting sound, what usually plagues them is that your contact with them is always limited. A few ODSTs in the squad you will see not much more than twice, and when you do, you haven't seen them enough to tell them apart.

So while Halo has fallen down in one of the things it has done best, there are some things it still has to be credited for. Graphics haven't improved as such (though there were already rich in great textures, character models and a VERY steady framerate) but visuals on the whole are sometimes incredible during the campaign, such as looking over a 2-mile stretch of burning city and wreckage, or seeing a giant Covenant cruiser approaching the heights of New Mombasa preparing to raze it to the ground. The soundtrack, of course, has also to be noted as Marty O'Donnell returns for another piano-led accompaniment which still blows most other game music out of the water. It's not as bouncy as that of Halo 3's, and don't expect to hear any signature tunes from the previous games, but nonetheless this is still a soundtrack that will beat most movies' and games' scores outright. 

Multiplayer is what kept Halo 3 flying off the shelves for years after its release, so naturally it is to be expected that ODST makes it just as addictive yet 'all in good fun' as 3. Unfortunately, there is very little new in terms of multiplayer and I think it is right for many to question the full price for the game because of this. On the multiplayer disc it will include normal Halo 3 matchmaking with all maps, but now with an extra 3 Mythic maps. Good stuff, but no new weapons or vehicles? No matchmaking playing as an ODST? A lowly addition of 3 maps makes the 'Halo 3' in the title seems an excuse to add very little indeed. On the main campaign disc is the other multiplayer type: Firefight. This is the wave mode that a lot of games are latching onto these days, and there are some good maps to be playing on with Firefight against the classic hierarchy of Halo enemies with a bunch of friends, but it seems to be flawed in some basic areas. For example, you'd expect the first few waves to be easy and get harder as you progress with tougher and bigger enemies, but instead they seem to throw everything at you in a fairly random order. 

Apart from that, a very general problem with the game is a lack of weaponry. This isn't to say there are no new weapons (though there are only two...), but the range of guns you'll be using is minute. A silenced SMG which does a pathetic amount of damage and a surprisingly powerful and accurate pistol is what you spawn with, but it's an uncommon occurance to be able to find anything better. You can carry three grenades of each type which is an improvement, but you'd expect shock troopers to be a lot more well-equipped, and at least carry some shock weapons. 

It's a shame that Bungie have lost some momentum here. We can hope good things for Halo: Reach and perhaps for good reason, but Halo 3:ODST at the moment seems to be the runt of the pack. A disappointingly mediocre campaign and a few feeble additions to multiplayer isn't the standard we should expect from the makers of one of the great FPSs of our time. 6/10.

GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

A year and a half from Grand Theft Auto IV's huge release, and expansion numero deux comes out for Xbox 360, downloadable or on an 'Episodes from Liberty City' disk. And despite the title and surface-level looks at the game, it's not just about nightclubs and dripping homosexuality. In this you'll be getting not just more great GTA:IV action, but everything else they SHOULD have put in.

The story starts with a very clever intro that describes how the new protagonist Luis Lopez is not actually someone new; but someone you've been staring at the whole time. He was not just a bystander at the Liberty Bank robbery as the opening cutscene directly shows, but the man in white who ambushes the Museum of History-Jewish Mafia diamonds deal, and the one accompanying Gay Tony when Gracie is handed back. Accompanying Gay Tony is, not surprisingly, what you are doing for most of the game as you are his assistant manager - and NOTHING MORE as it never fails to emphasise - in his nightclub businesses, however his drug addiction and dangerous friends lead him down a dangerous blood-fueled path that you have no choice but to follow him through. Make no mistake as I do not understate 'blood-fueled' path; there are around ten new weapons to add to the armoury including a M249 light machine gun, a .50 calibre sniper rifle and a grenade launcher, brutally over-the-top vehicles with the golden Little Bird military helicopter mainly in mind (not so much the frankly disappointing APC) and some satirically silly yet exhilarating missions which often make you laugh as much as your heart pound. 

So while the storyline and general missions are definitely set for a whole lot of city-rampaging fun, Rockstar have kindly thrown into the melting-pot a lot of extra things which will both please older GTA fans and take the action up a notch. For instance, you may remember in GTA:IV that the fabled Infernus or, as it is meant to be, Lamborghini, will almost never be seen out of multiplayer. It is given to you by Bernie as a gift, but should you lose it, it's likely to be lost for the rest of the game. Well as if as a reward to shelling out 1600msp on the Ballad, Rockstar have kindly given players the ability to find a growling supercar roaming the streets a lot more frequently, and you're almost certain to find an Infernus in particular from 5 minutes searching in the right areas. In addition to this, there are two new supercars up for grabs, an Aston Martin Vanquish (though very similar to the DB9 in the original game) and a Bullet GT making a comeback from previous GTAs. However don't just expect new cars, as the highlight of 'awesome extras' is undoubtedly the parachute, used to make a lot of adrenaline-pumped missions as well as Base Jumping side missions and some brilliantly ridiculous messing around. 

While the character of Luis could have been improved and given depth of Niko Bellic standard, this has to be one of the only small areas in which the Ballad falters. Rockstar have made mistakes and success in many of their previous games, but it seems in this 10-hour-or-so story they've encapsulated everything they do well. I would strongly recommend any owner of Grand Theft Auto IV to purchase this as soon as possible, as this is arguably the 'true' experience. Easily worth the 1600msp or the money paid for the disk, and definitely one of the best things on the Marketplace. 10/10.