Rank the ODST missions bellow.
I don’t have the human functionality right now to make a full tier list, but Tayari Plaza (the first Buck mission) is an absolutely hellish first mission.
Kizingo Boulevard, the Scorpion mission, on the other hand is a brilliant and almost claustrophobic vehicle mission. It’s one of my favourite levels in Halo.
S:
Mombasa Streets
A:
-
B:
Data Hive
Coastal Highway
C:
Tayari Placa
NMPD HQ
D:
Prepare To Drop
Uplift Reserve
Kizingo Boulevard
ONI Alpha Site**Kikowani Station
Epilogue
E:
I can’t remember any of them lol…but my fav is probably the one…Data Hive
All I know is Coastal Highway on Legendary is a hellish experience. Solid S for me.
> 2535440275755392;5:
> All I know is Coastal Highway on Legendary is a hellish experience. Solid S for me.
That was such a pain, the banshees kept tearing me up
I don’t want to list them all, but my top three are
1: Mombasa streets
2: Coastal Highway
3: ONI alpha site
I lack the brainpower to answer this but coastal highway is super fun
S: Mombasa Streets
A: Data Hive
B: Kizingo Boulevard, NMPD HQ (It would be lower if not for the epic holdout section at the end of the mission), Kikowani Station, Coastal Highway
C: Tayari Plaza, Uplift Reserve, Oni Alpha Site
D: -
ODST’s missions don’t really blow me away like some of the missions in other Halo games, but at the same time none of them really reach the same low point in quality that missions like The Library or Cortana do. It’s the textbook example of middle of the road as far as gameplay and level design is concerned. The best parts of this game will always be the music, atmosphere, and unique cast of characters more than anything else.
> 2533274844890742;8:
> ODST’s missions don’t really blow me away like some of the missions in other Halo games, but at the same time none of them really reach the same low point in quality that missions like The Library or Cortana do. It’s the textbook example of middle of the road as far as gameplay and level design is concerned. The best parts of this game will always be the music, atmosphere, and unique cast of characters more than anything else.
I agree there are no lows and also less super-highs.
I would actually rate a lot of the missions higher if they weren’t so short
In my opinion, Halo 3 ODST was and still is far below my expectations. Coastal Highway is essentially following a dump truck and nearly every mission uses identical rooms or long defense battles to increase mission length. However, like with my previous posts, S is highest, F is lowest and D and C is average.
C-: Tayari Plaza, Uplift Reserve, Kizingo Blvd
D+: NMPD HQ
D: ONI Alpha Site, Kikowani Station, Data Hive, Coastal Highway
D-: Mombasa Streets
> 2533274947805189;9:
> > 2533274844890742;8:
> > ODST’s missions don’t really blow me away like some of the missions in other Halo games, but at the same time none of them really reach the same low point in quality that missions like The Library or Cortana do. It’s the textbook example of middle of the road as far as gameplay and level design is concerned. The best parts of this game will always be the music, atmosphere, and unique cast of characters more than anything else.
>
> I agree there are no lows and also less super-highs.
> I would actually rate a lot of the missions higher if they weren’t so short
Mission length is definitely a problem in ODST. You can get through missions like Tayari Plaza and Uplift Reserve in only a few minutes without too much effort.
> 2533274844890742;11:
> > 2533274947805189;9:
> > > 2533274844890742;8:
> > > ODST’s missions don’t really blow me away like some of the missions in other Halo games, but at the same time none of them really reach the same low point in quality that missions like The Library or Cortana do. It’s the textbook example of middle of the road as far as gameplay and level design is concerned. The best parts of this game will always be the music, atmosphere, and unique cast of characters more than anything else.
> >
> > I agree there are no lows and also less super-highs.
> > I would actually rate a lot of the missions higher if they weren’t so short
>
> Mission length is definitely a problem in ODST. You can get through missions like Tayari Plaza and Uplift Reserve in only a few minutes without too much effort.
The length of the mission do also depend on strategy and other factors. Uplift Reserve is a perfect example of a mission that becomes much longer if you wish to take down a large portion of the enemies. Halo 3: ODST do also have some of the longest missions in the Halo franchise like Coastal Highway and Data Hive.
> 2535469120778295;12:
> > 2533274844890742;11:
> > > 2533274947805189;9:
> > > > 2533274844890742;8:
> > > > ODST’s missions don’t really blow me away like some of the missions in other Halo games, but at the same time none of them really reach the same low point in quality that missions like The Library or Cortana do. It’s the textbook example of middle of the road as far as gameplay and level design is concerned. The best parts of this game will always be the music, atmosphere, and unique cast of characters more than anything else.
> > >
> > > I agree there are no lows and also less super-highs.
> > > I would actually rate a lot of the missions higher if they weren’t so short
> >
> > Mission length is definitely a problem in ODST. You can get through missions like Tayari Plaza and Uplift Reserve in only a few minutes without too much effort.
>
> The length of the mission do also depend on strategy and other factors. Uplift Reserve is a perfect example of a mission that becomes much longer if you wish to take down a large portion of the enemies. Halo 3: ODST do also have some of the longest missions in the Halo franchise like Coastal Highway and Data Hive.
Strategy plays a role, sure, but for the most part I think the missions in this game are just really freaking short regardless of what you do. Uplift reserve might be the exception, but even then it feels like a waste of time to go out of your way to fight every enemy in that level when nothing is really making it difficult to drive straight through to the end. It’s not like Tsavo Highway in Halo 3, a similarly light-vehicle focused mission, where there are several moments where you need to slow down to deal with some kind of blockade or even get out of your vehicle entirely. There’s a reason why the Par Time challenges for ODST in MCC are so short compared to the ones in the other Halo games. I used to think 343 (I’m not sure if the par time in the original 360 version was the same) was insane asking people to beat Tayari Plaza in under 3 minutes but it turns out you really can just run through the level without any fancy speedrunning tricks or level skips and beat it in that time limit because there is simply so little ground to cover. I also don’t think Coastal Highway and Data Hive, while certainly being some of the longer missions in ODST, compare to missions like Truth and Reconciliation, Two Betrayals, or Quarantine Zone (these are just the first examples that pop into my head) in terms of sheer length.
> 2533274844890742;13:
> > 2535469120778295;12:
> > > 2533274844890742;11:
> > > > 2533274947805189;9:
> > > > > 2533274844890742;8:
> > > > > ODST’s missions don’t really blow me away like some of the missions in other Halo games, but at the same time none of them really reach the same low point in quality that missions like The Library or Cortana do. It’s the textbook example of middle of the road as far as gameplay and level design is concerned. The best parts of this game will always be the music, atmosphere, and unique cast of characters more than anything else.
> > > >
> > > > I agree there are no lows and also less super-highs.
> > > > I would actually rate a lot of the missions higher if they weren’t so short
> > >
> > > Mission length is definitely a problem in ODST. You can get through missions like Tayari Plaza and Uplift Reserve in only a few minutes without too much effort.
> >
> > The length of the mission do also depend on strategy and other factors. Uplift Reserve is a perfect example of a mission that becomes much longer if you wish to take down a large portion of the enemies. Halo 3: ODST do also have some of the longest missions in the Halo franchise like Coastal Highway and Data Hive.
>
> Strategy plays a role, sure, but for the most part I think the missions in this game are just really freaking short regardless of what you do. Uplift reserve might be the exception, but even then it feels like a waste of time to go out of your way to fight every enemy in that level when nothing is really making it difficult to drive straight through to the end. It’s not like Tsavo Highway in Halo 3, a similarly light-vehicle focused mission, where there are several moments where you need to slow down to deal with some kind of blockade or even get out of your vehicle entirely. There’s a reason why the Par Time challenges for ODST in MCC are so short compared to the ones in the other Halo games. I used to think 343 (I’m not sure if the par time in the original 360 version was the same) was insane asking people to beat Tayari Plaza in under 3 minutes but it turns out you really can just run through the level without any fancy speedrunning tricks or level skips and beat it in that time limit because there is simply so little ground to cover. I also don’t think Coastal Highway and Data Hive, while certainly being some of the longer missions in ODST, compare to missions like Truth and Reconciliation, Two Betrayals, or Quarantine Zone (these are just the first examples that pop into my head) in terms of sheer length.
A common denominator with all of these missions are that they contain few sections that are just designed to drag out the mission. Truth and Reconciliation has for instance 4 defense sections (grav lift, belly, room between hangar and belly and the hangar), Two Betrayals has a lot of enemies in the path and and a half of Quarantine Zone is a 5 minute long gandola ride.
> 2535469120778295;14:
> > 2533274844890742;13:
> > > 2535469120778295;12:
> > > > 2533274844890742;11:
> > > > > 2533274947805189;9:
> > > > > > 2533274844890742;8:
> > > > > > ODST’s missions don’t really blow me away like some of the missions in other Halo games, but at the same time none of them really reach the same low point in quality that missions like The Library or Cortana do. It’s the textbook example of middle of the road as far as gameplay and level design is concerned. The best parts of this game will always be the music, atmosphere, and unique cast of characters more than anything else.
> > > > >
> > > > > I agree there are no lows and also less super-highs.
> > > > > I would actually rate a lot of the missions higher if they weren’t so short
> > > >
> > > > Mission length is definitely a problem in ODST. You can get through missions like Tayari Plaza and Uplift Reserve in only a few minutes without too much effort.
> > >
> > > The length of the mission do also depend on strategy and other factors. Uplift Reserve is a perfect example of a mission that becomes much longer if you wish to take down a large portion of the enemies. Halo 3: ODST do also have some of the longest missions in the Halo franchise like Coastal Highway and Data Hive.
> >
> > Strategy plays a role, sure, but for the most part I think the missions in this game are just really freaking short regardless of what you do. Uplift reserve might be the exception, but even then it feels like a waste of time to go out of your way to fight every enemy in that level when nothing is really making it difficult to drive straight through to the end. It’s not like Tsavo Highway in Halo 3, a similarly light-vehicle focused mission, where there are several moments where you need to slow down to deal with some kind of blockade or even get out of your vehicle entirely. There’s a reason why the Par Time challenges for ODST in MCC are so short compared to the ones in the other Halo games. I used to think 343 (I’m not sure if the par time in the original 360 version was the same) was insane asking people to beat Tayari Plaza in under 3 minutes but it turns out you really can just run through the level without any fancy speedrunning tricks or level skips and beat it in that time limit because there is simply so little ground to cover. I also don’t think Coastal Highway and Data Hive, while certainly being some of the longer missions in ODST, compare to missions like Truth and Reconciliation, Two Betrayals, or Quarantine Zone (these are just the first examples that pop into my head) in terms of sheer length.
>
> A common denominator with all of these missions are that they contain few sections that are just designed to drag out the mission. Truth and Reconciliation has for instance 4 defense sections (grav lift, belly, room between hangar and belly and the hangar), Two Betrayals has a lot of enemies in the path and and a half of Quarantine Zone is a 5 minute long gandola ride.
That’s beside the point. I was never arguing that those specific missions were great (Truth and Reconciliation is decent but really should have been split into two missions imo, Two Betrayals is an overrated slog, and the gondola section in Quarantine Zone is lame), merely that nothing in ODST is long enough to warrant being considered among the longest missions in the Halo franchise outside of maybe Coastal Highway. Besides, Coastal Highway is just as guilty as being drawn out given that it’s an escort mission that forces you to wait for the Olifant at every checkpoint on top of the fact that there is a defense section at the end of the level.
S: Coastal Highway
A: Tayari Plaza, NMPD HQ, ONI Alpha Site, Epilogue
B: Uplift Reserve, Kizingo Boulevard
C: Mombasa Streets, Kikowani Station, Data Hive
D: Prepare to Drop
I’m not so sure about including Epilogue and Prepare to Drop on there, but oh well. This one was a lot shorter than I thought it would be.
S:
Uplift Reserve
A:
Tayari Plaza
Kizingo Boulevard
ONI Alpha Site
NMPD HQ
Data Hive
Coastal Highway
B:
Kikowani Station
Mombasa Streets
C:
-
D:
-
E:
-
F:
-
I really like this levels in Halo 3: ODST:
-
Tayari Plaza
-
Uplift Reserve
-
ONI Alpha Site
-
Coastal Highway
My TOP 3 would be
1: Data Hive
2: Coastal Highway
3: Mombasa Streets (Just to be able to have that semi-open world feel)
S Tier: Mombassa Streets
A Tier: Coastal Highway
B Tier: Uplift Reserve, NMPD HQ, Kikowani Station
C Tier: Tayari Plaza, Kizingo Boulevard
D Tier: ONI Alpha Site
E Tier: Data Hive
F TIer:
Data Hive is one mission I won’t ever understand the appeal of. It’s repetitive, it’s claustrophobic, it’s just… bleh. And you’re listening to Dare the whole time. No thanks. Only saving grace is the nice surprise you get for finding all 29 audio logs while in the streets. But that feels more like a pay off for a different level entirely.
I feel like ONI Alpha Site just doesn’t have any mystery to it at all. Compared to most other levels, where you find an object or something, and you’re left to ponder what led to that being the way it is or being where it is. We already know the Alpha Site was destroyed, so we start the level off knowing we’re successful. Plus the level itself is rather bland after the beginning. Fall back, defend, fall back, defend, etc.
Tayari Plaza and Kizingo Boulevard are just okay. TP is short, but the dialogue and general confusion of the Covenant’s schism, and how it’s being interpreted by the UNSC is interesting. KB is nice with vehicle combat, but it doesn’t match the comparable parts of Halo 3. Plus Mickey as a character is just the worst.
Uplift Reserve is fun since it can be either a really short mission, or a long one depending on how you take it. NMPD HQ is also pretty interesting, with the back and forth of Romeo and Buck, and the defense section at the end actually being a lot of fun with all the explosives you’re given. Kikowani Station is a nice Banshee-oriented level that we hadn’t really gotten before. Plus, listening to how the whole ODST squad operates when together is nice.
Coastal Highway on the surface isn’t all that great. Following an Elephant and occasionally stopping, it can interrupt the flow of gameplay. But, it is a nice change of pace. For most of the game you’ve been in hallways, on streets, keeping a low profile, or defending your position. Here, it’s all out warfare which feels much closer to what we’re used to in Halo. Besides, the Deja Vu vidmaster challenge is one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had.
I’m not sure I consider Mombassa Streets a traditional level, but to me it’s the highlight of the game. The environment, the exploration, the scenery, the music, this feels like a game that Bungie wasn’t forced to make, but just really wanted to. Seeing the Covenant take over the city is a very somber sight, and looks a lot more like what I think people were expecting with Halo 2 five years earlier. That eerie feeling of defeat you feel as you drop from your pod and search for any signs of hope is a feeling I won’t forget.