We have our reporters and community keeping an eye on Halo 3: ODST for you, and we'll keep you up to date with the latest developments as they happen.

Although Halo ODST caused a hesitant reaction in me, I'd been unenthused by earlier instalments of Halo, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed ODST. Offering a much darker, more sombre affair, Halo ODST felt more intelligent in its approach to storytelling than previous instalments. It might be a very short journey more akin to a movie experience than true gaming challenge, but it left me with a satisfying sense of pride at my accomplishment.

In gaming circles it's a controversial thing to say but I've never been infatuated with the Halo series. I've enjoyed playing through Master Chief's adventures but I've never been very excited by them, simply trudging through the world saving heroics. Much of this was due to Master Chief's seemingly indestructible nature; it was difficult to relate to. Because of this Halo ODST intrigued me with its focus on more relatable everyday characters. When I realised it utilised a sci-fi film noir setting, it intrigued me even further.
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Offering a different take on the war between Humans and The Covenant, I felt that Halo 3: ODST squandered its opportunity to tell a deep and rewarding tale away from the shackles of Master Chief. Using flashbacks as I crept around the ruined streets of New Mombasa felt like a sound concept, but the over familiar mission-style and poor delivery of the story sucked the life out of this Halo game.

My appreciation of the Halo games and their universe has always radically swung between adoration and complete apathy. I wrote not too long ago about what makes the world of Halo so transfixing for its huge number of its fans - me included. What I've come to realise is that I'm fascinated by the fiction of the Halo universe but less so than the actual games. But Halo 3: ODST offered a little twist to the previous releases by taking a hub-world approach to its level design and a narrative that moved back and forth through time.
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Halo: ODST, to quote another time travelling hero, 'oh boy!'. Where to start? After the absolutely phenomenal success of Halo 3, Bungie was always going to be hard pushed to beat the bar they themselves set so high. But wow, have they done it.

Intended as a simple expansion pack, it wasn't long before Bungie turned Halo Recon into a full-blown game we now have as ODST. Interestingly, the game boycotts Master Chef and settles instead for a squad of Orbit Drop Shock Troopers (ODST - I know, cool or what?). Unfortunately, our heroes seem to have left their energy shields at home, which means jumping from high places is gonna hurt, and also that you take a lot more damage than usual and need to use health packs to heal yourself, which just adds to the individual style of the game.
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Halo 3: ODST continues the epic Xbox 360 franchise and tells the story of the infamous Orbital Drop Shock Troopers as they defend New Mombasa from Covenant attack. Leading up to the events in Halo 3, players leave Master Chief for a while as they assume the role of a new character - the Rookie. With a new open-world structure and a story told via flashback, Halo 3: ODST on the Xbox 360 console takes the Halo franchise into darker territory as the Master Chief is nowhere in sight and the Covenant are more dangerous than ever. Add to this the inclusion of three new multiplayer maps as well as the Legendary, Heroic and Mythic map packs and you have a massive package. Prepare to drop.

With the main component of the previous Halo games absent, ODST has the large Master Chief sized hole. These are big boots to fill for this latest instalment of the epic story. But it proves that the Halo universe is more than capable of supporting a different protagonist. The action takes an excellent film-noir style presentation, complete with hidden audio back story, and equally satisfying combat.
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