I said it. despite all the flak that halo gets (likely because of its extreme popularity) I love it to death. in the first halo, I was devastated when I realized that I had inadvertently released the flood. I felt betrayed when I found out that guilty spark had manipulated me to destroy all of humanity and the covenant by leading me to believe that halo would solve the problem of the flood. but despite all of the ingenuity of halo, I think halo 3 is a masterpiece all its own. in terms of narrative, the game is well done but relatively traditional and conventional, and as such, it isn't necessarily what I admire. I admire its execution. even though halo 3 didn't really do anything other sci-fi mediums hadn't done before, what it did do was execute those elements to the point of perfection. the integration of a tremendously composed score, filmic construction of its cinematic sequences, and the character development (with cortana and master chief specifically) are all uniquely done, with great attention paid to every detail. and that is before the multiplayer.

thus, I am super excited for halo 3: odst even though I don't know much about it. I've seen the trailers, I've read the articles, but I'm still unclear if its supposed to be an entirely new game meant to replace halo 3 or if its supposed to just build upon what halo 3 has already established. for instance, I imagine the campaign in odst will be entirely new. but the multiplayer has similarities with halo 3's current state of play. half the mythic map pack came out a while ago in halo 3, but the other half is coming out with odst. the achievements for recon armor overlap. but....odst isn't supposed to have spartans, which are the basis of multiplayer in halo 3. so the question remains for me whether or not odst's multiplayer is going to replace the multiplayer of halo 3. I'm so confused.