What some gamers thought would be a quick fix to satisfy them until Halo: Reach hit stores in late 2010 has evolved into a superior Halo experience that no gamer should be without.

Halo 3: ODST re-immerses gamers into the war-torn cities of 2552 A.D. Earth wedged in between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3. Fans will immediately recognize the surroundings of the futuristic African city of New Mombasa, yet will still marvel at the level of depth and detail given to the massive metropolitan landscape.

ODST will also give players that nostalgic Halo feeling, returning them to familiar controls, story and style, while still keeping that new game smell by adding lots of new features. In this latest installment, you ditch your role as the armor-clad, death-defying Master Chief and assume the part of an underdog simply known as “The Rookie.”

Rookie’s story starts aboard a vessel orbiting Earth, filled with other orbital drop shock trooper squadmates bickering about an objective briefing. Knowing the near-suicidal mission they are undertaking, the squad gathers their gear and climb inside their pods. The pods are detached, free-falling into Earth’s atmosphere, leading gamers into an awesome opening cinematic sequence. As Rookie nears the planet’s surface, a Covenant cruiser enters slip-space (which Halo faithful will notice as Master Chief’s doing), generating a shockwave, scattering the squad across the city.

Six hours pass by as Rookie sits unconscious in his pod. He awakens and leaps out, consequently falling several stories. As he hits the ground, gamers understand the new health system, which can be described as a mix between Call of Duty games and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon series. No fancy over-shields here!

In order to survive, Rookie must fight – or sneak – his way through New Mombasa, collecting clues as to where his squadmates have wandered to.

ODST’s campaign mode introduces gamers to new weapons and a new HUD, complete with night vision and advanced targeting outlines. These new additions will be essential in finding your way around, especially in the game’s near-free roaming environment. The map is nearly completely open, free for you to wander and explore to your heart’s desire.

Gamers will notice that the difference between night and day environments are nearly as different as, well, night and day. The game runs on the same Halo engine, but the art between every overturned car, damaged road or devastated staircase makes ODST the most eye-appealing of the Halo franchise. Along this well-detailed world, you’ll run into random Covenant troops, and discover interesting locations and dialogues that will further link you into the depth of the Halo Universe.

The game delivers an amazing soundtrack that will elicit an emotional response from gamers, including making every Covenant encounter more engaging or stressful than the last. The tradition of powerful scores are common in the series, but ODST goes further than any other game by adding beautiful symphonic compositions that will dip you into a feeling of being lost and alone, searching for your downed team while avoiding being crushed at the hands of eight-foot-tall monsters.

In addition to an eventful campaign, Halo 3: ODST brings a new multiplayer dimension to the Halo Universe called “Firefight.” In this approach to multiplayer (also known as the “Nazi Zombie” mode in CoD and “Horde” in Gears of War 2), gamers will team up with three friends to fight wave after wave of Covenant troops. Each wave will consist of different aliens with different abilities, and sometimes, a Halo skull that will give the enemies uncanny abilities – which make the fight exponentially harder. Players can work together to defeat the waves, and can manipulate the map from being advantageous to being outmanned.

The only downfall for Halo 3: ODST would be its length. The game isn’t a full-on sequel, but it is more than just an expansion. The campaign should take you eight to ten hours to complete if you play on easy, but expect a longer time if you play on the more difficult settings. This unfortunate problem will be forgotten, though, once players begin their journey into the great storyline and multiplayer mode.

ODST isn’t the best game ever, but it is a great addition to an amazing franchise.

If you are a Halo fan, go pick it up; it’s well worth the price tag of $59.99. If you are not, you should enjoy the new aspect this game has achieved. And don’t worry about not being able to get caught up with the story — it isn’t that difficult and everything can be explained.