Halo: ODST

Title- Halo 3 ODST

ISBN- Not applicable

Publication Information- Bungie Games and Microsoft Games, Washington, 2009

 

Plot Summary- Players are introduced to the team- the Rookie (the player character), Dare, Romeo, Dutch, and Mickey. All four men are Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST), elite members of the United Nations Space Command which exists in the 26^th century and are at war with the Covenent, and alliance of alien races. During their drop to Earth, their HEV is hit by a shockwave from an escaping ship and they collide and crash. They are diverted from their original mission and must regroup. The rookie meets up with Dare and must discover what the Covenent is looking for before they find it and use it to control the Halo superweapon, which they believe would serve to destroy the human race.

Critical Evaluation- I have a hard time playing any console video game because they make me dizzy, but the overwhelming popularity of the Halo series make it a virtual requirement to understand. It was not initially meant to be a fully developed game; it is titled to look more like an expansion to the previously released Halo 3. However, the developing team for the now cancelled movie was reassigned to this game and the result is a nearly fully developed game in and of itself. Players are given several hours of narrative game play and lots of upgrades in Xbox LIVE play. Many were initially concerned that playing the main character, the Master Chief, was consigning the game to virtual nothingness, but the play of the unnamed Rookie turns out to be intriguing. Unlike previous games, players are alone through most of the narrative. Instead of interaction with other characters, the designers created and nicely used a musical score alone. The player, like the Rookie, is alone with only your thoughts about what is going to happen. The setting is also unique because while it is set on Earth, the world has been overrun by the Covenent and appears as foreign as any of the previous Halo games that take place in the far-reaches of space. Overall, adding a new character gives the series new depth and interest as they work on the next game in the storyline.

Reader's Annotation- It's the 26^th century and you are a member of the Elite ODST. Your mission is to discover what the Covenent is really after in New Mombassa and to stop them at any and all costs. Along the way, can you find your friends and stay alive?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IklqPx3unjs

 

Author Information- Not an author per se, but Bungie games has made their fame and fortune entirely off of this series. It has taken on a level of interest similar to Star Wars and Star Trek

Curricular Ties None

Genre- First-person shooter, Science Fiction

Book talking ideas- not applicable

Challenge issues- not applicable

Interest Age- 13 and above (my husband is 39 and loves these games)

Why I selected this piece- If you teach boys, you've heard about Halo. I also happen to live with a larger version of one (a boy) who is a game fanatic. I've sat through all the Halo series with them. I find the stories interesting and just as compelling as many novels. The interactive nature of the game make it interesting for teenagers in particular since they can compete with others across the nation.