Some game characters are so deeply part of specific consoles that if you name the one, the other often comes to mind: the PlayStation has Snake, Nintendo has Mario — and the Xbox has Master Chief.

So synonymous is the 'Halo' series with Microsoft's gaming machine that even a friend of mine with no gaming interest worth more than a grunt in passing mentioned "the Hal-lo 3 game" recently.

In fact, so high is its profile that two years after arguably the most hyped game of all time was released, developer Bungie can get away with releasing a standalone expansion pack for it.

They and Microsoft's PR machine will be quick to tell you that it's not just an expansion pack. No siree, it's a full-on game, they blushed ecstatically, that plays out as a side story to Master Chief's last Covenant-bashing adventure.

Which, of course, means no Master Chief.

It's not that big a deal though, because although you don't get to strut around as the Helmeted One, you do get to play as different Orbital Drop Shock Troopers who are all suitably bad-ass, even though you might heave a sigh in lament of the inability to dual-wield guns...

To be fair to Bungie and Microsoft, the PR juggernaut didn't flex its muscles too conspicuously with 'ODST' (they're probably saving their energy for 'Halo Reach') so it wasn't with much anticipation that I sat down to give this masterful chief-less shooter a go. Which is a good thing, because a too high expectation of any 'Halo' game is often why you're left dissatisfied afterwards.

'ODST' is a good example of a game where a restrained marketing hand saved it, because although it's beautiful to look at and full of all the necessary 'Halo' stalwarts, playing it can become boring — especially if you expected 'Halo 4'.

This is naturally in part due to the absence of such a mythical character as Master Chief, but the lack of an engrossing storyline (arguably the sole reason why the 'Halo' franchise deserves to be considered crucial gaming), and the repetitive nature of the gameplay also highlights the cracks in a game that could have been better.

The problem is that, after four 'Halo' first-person shooters and one real-time strategy game, everything is very familiar. Killing a Brute is no longer the thrill it was before; shooting down a Banshee no longer the cause for exchanging high fives with your mates. In fact, it's all just a little too in danger of being... well, boring.

The ability to switch on low-light radar vision is nice, but then you miss out on the gloss of your visual environment — which is not something to be missed. The water effects around the city of New Mombassa (where your ODST adventures take place) is especially well done.

And yet... there's something endearing about playing a 'Halo' game, even if you've seen all of it before. Wading through those little insects (what are they called again? Grunts?) to get at the Brutes and tag them with a plasma grenade is a uniquely enjoyable gaming experience that never gets old.

Of particular interest is the three cast members of the brilliant TV series 'Firefly' who lent their voices to some of the characters. Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin and Alan Tudyk, together with 'Battlestar Galactica's' Tricia Helfer, provide some of the best voice-over acting ever seen in a game.

The single-player campaign isn't particularly long — about 6 hours or so, and the traditional final combat scene where you race to a goal in a vehicle, later and you'll be ready to tackle the multiplayer component, which is where 'ODST' really flexes its muscles.

If you're new to multiplayer 'Halo' combat, then you'll love 'ODST'. The game comes with two discs — one each for the campaign and multiplayer. The latter is filled with serious 'Halo' goodies: 21 'Halo 3' maps, three new maps, the Forge map editor, and a new cooperative game mode that allows you to take on wave upon increasing wave of enemies to see how long you remain standing.

'Halo 3: ODST' is not the type of game that can be confused as being a sequel — but it doesn't attempt to be. As a filler between 'Halo 3' and 'Halo: Reach' it serves a very important purpose: a reminder that the fight hasn't been finished yet after all, in an attempt to keep us interested. And it definitely succeeds in that.

8.8/10

Buy this game: Xbox 360

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