Friday, Sep 25, 2009
I'm a big fan of the campaign in the Halo games (well…. Halo 1 and 3) so I followed any announcements about ODST with interest. At first, the game was billed as a budget priced expansion to Halo 3. Later on, however, Microsoft decided that ODST was a full, $60 game. Let's see what we're getting for our $60:
- A 6 hour campaign
- A new game mode, "firefight"
- A bunch of already released multiplayer maps, along with 3 new ones.
If you're a fan of Halo 3's multiplayer, chances are you already have all those already released maps. So you're getting a campaign half as long as Halo 3's, a new game mode, and 3 maps. Sure sounds like an expansion to me.
Speaking of Halo 3, it was nice to hear Jeff Gerstmann advise playing the campaign solo the first time in his GiantBomb review. I've been complaining about co-op ruining immersion in games for years, so it's good to know there are some influential gamers out there who feel the same.
I am still looking forward to playing Scribblenauts, but I must admit this Penny Arcade comic dampened by enthusiasm a bit. I hope that isn't an actual strategy you can use!
So I can end this rambling blog on a positive note... OMG!! Dead Rising's Frank West is in Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom!!. Just when I thought I couldn't be looking forward to this game any more.....
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Posted Sep 25, 2009 3:52 pm PT
I couldn't agree more on ODST. I wonder how the sales are going to be. It seems more like an expansion pack than a whole new game.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 3:57 pm PT
Personally I lost interest in the franchise after Halo 1, but even for hardcore fan of the series ODST seems like a real slap in the face at that price. Then again, how could Gamespot be wrong with a 9.0 for a major advertiser? 
Posted Sep 25, 2009 4:38 pm PT
That was just Penny Arcade's usual sarcastic humor, fortunately.
Back to ODST, I've been hearing some unflattering things about it, and the basic idea seems to be that, if you're a huge fan of Halo, this game is worth it. If not, you can probably find something a lot better for your money. The reason, supposedly, that the game is getting high marks is that people don't care about the campaign and only get it for the multiplayer. Is that fair? I don't know. I'm inclined to say it isn't, but I'm not a professional yet.
Back to ODST, I've been hearing some unflattering things about it, and the basic idea seems to be that, if you're a huge fan of Halo, this game is worth it. If not, you can probably find something a lot better for your money. The reason, supposedly, that the game is getting high marks is that people don't care about the campaign and only get it for the multiplayer. Is that fair? I don't know. I'm inclined to say it isn't, but I'm not a professional yet.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 5:09 pm PT
I've heard good things about ODST's campaign; some folks even feel it offers the best Halo story to date.
As for Scribblenauts, well...if you had fun with Electroplankton, you will likely have fun with Scribblenauts. I think it's compelling as a Zen toy but not necessarily as an actual game.
As for Scribblenauts, well...if you had fun with Electroplankton, you will likely have fun with Scribblenauts. I think it's compelling as a Zen toy but not necessarily as an actual game.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 5:26 pm PT
Exactly my thoughts. If you have a buddy who's a fan of Halo, chances are you'll be able to borrow it from him after he plays through the campaign a few times (which wont take long). I hope they do better with their next project that they've already announced (can you say "milking"?).
Posted Sep 25, 2009 5:35 pm PT
Oh, and here's a real game breaker:
http://gamerlimit.com/2009/09/scribblenauts-vending-machine-handcuffs-win/
http://gamerlimit.com/2009/09/scribblenauts-vending-machine-handcuffs-win/
Posted Sep 25, 2009 5:37 pm PT
haha i saw that comic. i love penny arcade. i doubt you can actually do that though :p
Posted Sep 25, 2009 5:55 pm PT
By all accounts the campaign is terrific... but 6 hours for sixty bucks? Is it worth 10 bucks an hour? The MP is basically Halo 3+... so... *shrug* a rental maybe.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 6:25 pm PT
ODST...should not have been a full price title. I had all the maps and was expecting a lot more than I got. It wasn't that it was short, as much as it simply wasn't worth a full price title. I would have been content with what I played, if I would have paid, 800 microsoft points...but after paying sixty bucks, I expected to get my moneys worth out of Bungie...and I did not. Very disappointing.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 6:39 pm PT
I think Halo games have always been overpriced. They clearly are $0.99 games 
Posted Sep 25, 2009 6:41 pm PT
@luc11044 - like so many other schemes to rob gamers of their money like charging for things in game that you could unlock yourself with a little work or clothing for avatars, the sales of ODST will be very good, prompting Microsoft to continue to screw consumers.
@Frame_Dragger - that's my main problem with game reviewers. I'm sure ODST is a very good game. If I played it I would very likely enjoy myself. While the game is very good, there just isn't enough of it to justify its price. That's not mentioned in any reviews I've read.
In Gamespot's old review system one of the items they assigned a rating to was "value". I appreciated that statistic.
@ScionofEntropy - Sadly between Halo 1 and 2 the series became primarily about multiplayer. My second biggest issue with reviewers these days is that they don't seem to realize that there are gamers out there that don't care about multiplayer.
@korino55 - wow, that's an interesting "cheat".
@MsCortana - that's why I never preorder. You gain nothing by it and the store already has your money if the game turns out to be worse than you expected. I'm sorry you were dissapointed in ODST. I know you were really looking forward to it.
@Frame_Dragger - that's my main problem with game reviewers. I'm sure ODST is a very good game. If I played it I would very likely enjoy myself. While the game is very good, there just isn't enough of it to justify its price. That's not mentioned in any reviews I've read.
In Gamespot's old review system one of the items they assigned a rating to was "value". I appreciated that statistic.
@ScionofEntropy - Sadly between Halo 1 and 2 the series became primarily about multiplayer. My second biggest issue with reviewers these days is that they don't seem to realize that there are gamers out there that don't care about multiplayer.
@korino55 - wow, that's an interesting "cheat".
@MsCortana - that's why I never preorder. You gain nothing by it and the store already has your money if the game turns out to be worse than you expected. I'm sorry you were dissapointed in ODST. I know you were really looking forward to it.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 7:45 pm PT
While because of the reason I bought it, it was worth the money, had it been a game just for me I wouldn't have bothered until the price came down. I knew what I was getting when I got it, but games that I can play with Christopher are few and far between. We are already done. But, we had a great time playing it which was worth every penny.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 7:53 pm PT
Hey, a Penny Arcade comic that was actually somewhat humorous? (Somewhat.)
I'm honestly shocked.
I'm honestly shocked.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 8:09 pm PT
I wasn't planning on buying it anyway, I'm Halo'd out.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 8:57 pm PT
Idk, for someone who never played halo 3, It seems like its worth it. You basicly get the same amount of gamepplay as CoD4, and I paid full price for that.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 8:59 pm PT
Well, at least is pretty cheap around here
Posted Sep 25, 2009 9:39 pm PT
ODST is another perfect example of Microsoft's hunger for money, much like how they refuse to allow most developers to offer free DLC over Live. ODST is, for all intents and purposes, an expansion pack that SHOULD have been significantly cheaper. It should have been about $25-$30, like your average expansion on the PC. However, they KNEW they could get away with charging a full $60 just because it is Halo. It would sell regardless of if it was a good deal or not compared to similar games.
Posted Sep 25, 2009 9:54 pm PT
Halo 3's campaign took me four hours. How did you manage to spend twelve hours on it?
Posted Sep 26, 2009 1:31 am PT
Agreed on ODST. MS is milking people.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 1:34 am PT
Definitely agreed, so are you getting Halo ODST?
Posted Sep 26, 2009 2:00 am PT
@seth10
4 hours? Are you a savant or something? It wasn't the longest game in history, but even speed running on easy that seems like a stretch.
This gets back to my in-the-works-for-over-a-year-blog on value. Sometimes it's not the amount of time it lasts, but the quality of that time. Modern Warfare was only 5 or 6 hours for me (as like you I'm not much into multiplayer) but the time spent was awesome. That said, I didn't buy it, I had it available to me for free. Would I have bought it? I don't know. Maybe I will just rent ODST.
4 hours? Are you a savant or something? It wasn't the longest game in history, but even speed running on easy that seems like a stretch.
This gets back to my in-the-works-for-over-a-year-blog on value. Sometimes it's not the amount of time it lasts, but the quality of that time. Modern Warfare was only 5 or 6 hours for me (as like you I'm not much into multiplayer) but the time spent was awesome. That said, I didn't buy it, I had it available to me for free. Would I have bought it? I don't know. Maybe I will just rent ODST.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 2:21 am PT
Perhaps they put so much time and effort into making ODST that they decided $60 was the only way they'd be able to profit from it?
Posted Sep 26, 2009 2:52 am PT
@Johnsteed7: I remember the old review system well. I appreciate that Gerstmann stood up for his beliefs and got fired for it, but before that he gutted the review system. Under Kasavin, reviews actually gave useful info. Everyone became so worked-up over the .5 point increment issue that they ignored the fact that suddenly the score had become a black box. 
: Ah well... architects of their own destruction... no one can mess with gamespot like gamespot staff
: Ah well... architects of their own destruction... no one can mess with gamespot like gamespot staff
Posted Sep 26, 2009 4:16 am PT
At 6 hours long, $60 is s little steep if you ask me. I sure am stoked for Dead Rising too. 
Posted Sep 26, 2009 5:44 am PT
"Dead Rising's Frank West is in Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom!!" OMG!!! I know. brilliant news huh. All we need now is dante or the god hand guy whos name has totally left me (*shame*)
I wanted the game for sooooooo long. And after the first dissapointment of it not being released in the uk, then it will be, then it will but also we get new fighters.... its really been a great gaming week for me... lol.
I wanted the game for sooooooo long. And after the first dissapointment of it not being released in the uk, then it will be, then it will but also we get new fighters.... its really been a great gaming week for me... lol.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 8:26 am PT
p.s. come to think of it, barry burton would kick ass in the game too.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 8:27 am PT
I played the very first Halo and loved it! I played Halo 3 but found it to be boring after a while and just couldn't get into it. So I will not be getting Halo ODST. I am so very sorry to hear that it is so much for those who like the series. It does sound just like an expantion pack and $60.00 is way to much for that! 
Posted Sep 26, 2009 8:49 am PT
@johnsteed7: I would agree with you there. I seem to remember having a brief conversation about this on an earlier blog of yours. Like I [probably] said back then, I support multiplayer when it's actually good, but a lot of the time we run into the problem of games being rated solely on multiplayer, as if the single player doesn't matter. Unfortunately, a lot of developers seem to think it's okay to shoehorn in multiplayer where it doesn't belong (BioShock 2?), sometimes taking away from the campaign mode (though they did have another developer do it in BioShock 2, to be fair), which seems to be being heavily deemphasized in games these days (story modes getting shorter, replay value dropping or disappearing).
Posted Sep 26, 2009 9:53 am PT
I feel the same about ODST I might try out the campaign when I can get the game for 20 bucks, but I don't even go near the multiplayer (no live). You can summon a starite but it doesn't beat the level for you. And I'm looking forward to Frank West too.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 9:53 am PT
lol that comic is too funny. I wanna play Scribblenauts now. As a Halo hater, I have no interest in ODST. Ive gone through a lot of reviews that were bashing the game though, people sure are pissed.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 12:27 pm PT
I'm actually glad that ODST is so short. I just don't have time for long games anymore, so 6-8 hours is actually my preferred length, even at $60.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 12:30 pm PT
I'm actually glad that ODST is so short. I just don't have time for long games anymore, so 6-8 hours is actually my preferred length, even at $60.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 12:32 pm PT
@bacchus2 - My brother brought it to me for an afternoon. I beat it in the time it took my Mom to go to Macy's and back. So about four hours. I did speed run through it on easy though.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 1:20 pm PT
@Setho10 - there's a reason the hardcore mode is listed as the way Bungie intended the game to be played. Everybody's different of course, but rushing through the game on easy wouldn't bring me any enjoyment at all. If ODST is a 6 hour game on hardcore, it must be a 2 hour game on easy.
@SGTiD1NG0 - Er.... I think I'll pass, thanks. Maybe when it goes down in price to $30.
@sequekhan - It took them 18 months to make, which is about half the time it took to make Halo 3, with a reduced staff. They used the engine they already built for Halo 3 to make ODST. I don't see this game as costing as much money as their last one.
@contentxcontext - Pheonix Wright was original planned for the game, but the developers couldn't figure out what moves to give him. I would have loved to play as Pheonix.
@SGTiD1NG0 - Er.... I think I'll pass, thanks. Maybe when it goes down in price to $30.
@sequekhan - It took them 18 months to make, which is about half the time it took to make Halo 3, with a reduced staff. They used the engine they already built for Halo 3 to make ODST. I don't see this game as costing as much money as their last one.
@contentxcontext - Pheonix Wright was original planned for the game, but the developers couldn't figure out what moves to give him. I would have loved to play as Pheonix.
Posted Sep 26, 2009 1:45 pm PT
oooooh. nice pick. That woulda been cool.
Posted Sep 27, 2009 1:11 am PT
Who knew Frank West could kick so much ass? Just keep him away from any firearms, and he should be quite a formidable combatant 
Posted Sep 27, 2009 4:38 am PT
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