Here's a game for you.

Welcome back. I would like to get right into looking at a game. This would sort of be a preliminary review, being that it just came out I have not played all the way through yet. Halo 3 ODST hit gamestop shelves last week like a blue whale in an above ground pool.

Most people tuned into entertainment today are aware of the Halo series. Some of you may be fans. Many others may wonder why they are continuing to make the same game over and over again. Allow me to put that sentiment in perspective. Anyone remember M*A*S*H*? It ran for ten years and people still want more. If that marvellous show (and I mean to marvel at it's ability to consistently put me to sleep) got that much attention we can let the Master Chief have his. I say let Halo go on and on forever like I wish Star Trek: The Next Generation would have.

Moving on.. this game is not actually about the Master Chief. In Halo 3 ODST we follow the story of a group of orbital drop shock troopers. The leader of which is played by the awesome Nathan Fillion. Firefly fans and those of you who have seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog should recognise his name. (Both of those productions are amazing and should be watched as soon as possible) In charge of the groups current operation is a mysterious naval intelligence officer played by the even more awesome Tricia Helfer. (Yes I am a Battlestar Galactica geek.)
These two voice actors are joined by other members of the Firefly crew. The characters in the game also bare a good resemblance to their voice counterpart, especially to that of Nathan Fillion's. This is a nice touch for fans and makes the game feel that much more like being inside a good movie.

The game is broken down into different play modes. The campaign mode is the main story. Here you take on the role of a new member of the ODST crew, aptly named the Rookie. When you think of this idea of being dropped from the orbit of a planet into a giant futuristic city it really sounds like allot could go wrong doesn't it? And it does go very wrong. You start the game by regaining consciousness six hours after your team dropped in to the city of New Mombasa, Africa. Your drop pod is stuck in a building and after you manually override the hatch release system you fall to the city streets, injuring your self for the first time. So you start off your journey by looking for medical attention. The game doesn't explain things to you in so many words. Figuring these things out for yourself is one of the games great rewards, in my opinion. Fortunately in the future, health care has reached the level of our cable TV system and is available "on demand" from numerous and conveniently located kiosks around the city.

With the first mystery solved, The Rookie moves on to answer the questions both he and the player are wondering about. What happened to his crew and what is really going on in New Mombasa? For fans of a good mystery and anyone who loves games, Halo 3 ODST is ready to impress.

I'll have more on this game in future posts. I won't spoil the plot here but there is another game mode to discuss, Firefight. Let me know what you think about the game if you're playing it. Or what you think of Halo in general. Thanks for reading.

Rough Start

Welcome to my video game based self expression space on the net! My name is Greg Garland and this is my first time creating a blog. This writing is being done for a class I'm taking in school aptly called Blogging. I'm not gonna lie, it's been a little rough for me and I'm about a week behind schedule. I've started and stopped and deleted a few times now and I just can't get something written that I actually like. As a result, I'm just going to get rolling with this paragraph of unnecessary honesty. Speaking of which let's start up this ketchup bottle with the first writing prompt from my class.

This first assignment was to talk about one that thing I love. Very hard for me when I think back on the numerous failed relationships in my past. A few of them are humorous, but I won't talk about them here unless someone asks me to. Regardless of that, when trying to think about that one thing I am passionate about, somehow I can't disconnect it from another. So there are two things that I link together when I try to describe my current great love. One is that I really enjoy helping friends and family when they need it. Being there for them in any way that they need me to be. Weather the be simply listening or driving out to the middle of nowhere and assisting them in driving their disabled car home, even when a tow truck would be a much more logical answer. The second is that I love testing myself. Seeing what I can do mentally and physically. And when I fail, like when trying to create a blog for the first time, I can focus on persevering. Enduring and learning from my experience. The two strengthen each other in my mind to the point where one can not be explained without the other's presence.

So there we have my answer to what I love. Now eventually this will be a video game blog. Yeah I know the internet needs another one of those like it needs another illegitimate father. The thing is that video games are a very accessible test that can bring friends together over the net in a pretty fun way. Why not have a conversation about them? So please feel free to talk in this space about games you like. I'll try them out too if I can find the means and we can share some ideas. Also please critique my writing and any ideas I have put forth. Feedback works! Xbox live users would be able to understand that one. Thanks for reading.