http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/microsoft_sucks.jpg

Video game reviews are very subjective. I get that. Different people have different ideas about what makes a game good and worthy of your hard earned dollar. For some reviewers, a game’s price shouldn’t factor into it. For those people, the merits of the game should stand on its own before ever discussing price.

Well, those people are wrong and Halo 3: ODST is another reason why price should factor into how we, as volunteer enthusiast press, should review video games.** Follow me.* It’s free.



Halo 3: ODST is short.* The single player campaign is only about 5 hours long, which compares to about the length of time that it took gamers to finish an Episode of Half-Life 2. Except, the Half-Life 2 episodes were only about $20 a piece.

Halo 3: ODST costs $60.00.

Halo 3: ODST also features a cooperative gameplay mode called Firefight. It has ten maps and can artificially extend your play of the game out quite a bit. However, if you lack the friends to play it, there is no matchmaking available to get you into a game, rendering it only conditionally playable.* Sure, you could argue that you can play it on your own, but really, who does that for fun?

At about this point, I can feel the collective anger welling up in Halo Jesus disciples who are chomping at the bit to tell me all about the umpteen maps that are also packaged with the game on the second disc.* I have only 3 questions for the HJ faithful.


Don’t you already own those maps?
Doesn’t that mean that Bungie and Microsoft are forcing you to pay for maps you’ve already purchased when you bought Halo 3 and the subsequent map packs?
If that is the case can your really count that as value added to the package?
I don’t think so.

What you’re left with is a 4 to* 6 hour single player campaign, that you of course can play cooperatively and a cooperative Firefight mode. In my personal opinion, this game should have been $40.00. I know we’ve been on a collective rant against Microsoft on Sarcastic Gamer lately, but hell, they deserve it. This game is just too expensive at $60.00.* It’s just, at least in my opinion, another Microsoft “screw the consumer” cash grab.

This game is an expansion and it’s time that reviewers take that into account when reviewing it.* Why don’t they take it into account?

Because they got it for free.* PERIOD.

It’s pretty easy to gloss over something like that when you’re living off the charity of video game companies, while the rest of us have to earn enough money to purchase a video game. That’s why it’s time to start taking a games price vs. content length into account when reviewing games.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=yIl2AUoC8zA (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:yIl2AU oC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=dnMXMwOfBR0 (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:dnMXMw OfBR0) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?i=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:gIN9vF wOqvQ (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:gIN9vF wOqvQ) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?i=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:V_sGLi PBpWU (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:V_sGLi PBpWU) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=qj6IDK7rITs (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:qj6IDK 7rITs) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?i=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:F7zBnM yn0Lo (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:F7zBnM yn0Lo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?i=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:D7DqB2 pKExk (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:D7DqB2 pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=7Q72WNTAKBA (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:7Q72WN TAKBA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?d=l6gmwiTKsz0 (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheSarcasticGamer?a=Xur9xNMPhEg:_VGb9a1zXdM:l6gmwi TKsz0)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSarcasticGamer/~4/Xur9xNMPhEg

Click here to view the article. (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSarcasticGamer/~3/Xur9xNMPhEg/why-price-matters-in-reviewing-halo-3-odst.html)

Good point, M$ is bleeding us all and yet we all still pay. Just like the Avatar S*** they have out. The only way to stop it is not to buy it until they drop the prices. But thats not going to happen. :sad:

Haters will hate

Haters will hate

and fanatics will fanatisize. My littlest brother would probably get killed for his review of ODST. (his words. "It's very descent.")

Haters will hate

I wouldn't say I'm a hater, all I own is an Xbox 360 and I have no plans on buying a PS3. I just wish M$ would stop trying to rape the gamers. Thats why I'm waiting for the GOTY ed. of Fallout 3. I will get all the maps and the game for the same price as the game new.

and fanatics will fanatisize. My littlest brother would probably get killed for his review of ODST. (his words. "It's very descent.")
To be honest, your probably right it is decent but its £50 where I live. I'm not paying £50 FOR AN EXPANSION! Honestly, £30 maybe since it is a 360 game, but not £50. That and $60 seems a ripoff as well. Why can't devs learn that cheaper games = GOOD. But this game seems like Halo 3 + new singleplayer campaign and co-op except the old halo 3 campaign is gone. Honestly it sucks imo but thats because I personally find halo crappy after 3. 1 and 2 were good but 3 didn't do anything for me. I doubt ODST will either but Honestly £50 for ODST isn't gonna make me buy a 360 just for it.

ODST costs less than full price here, most places are selling it for €45, most games are €60.

About the length wasn't Gears 1, 2, L4D, COD4, W@W, portal ,Bioshock, and a large sum of other games in the 5-8 hour bracket? Short sweet and well polished has for the most part always been better than a long ass game where the devs struggle to find new content to put in. ODST is by no means perfect, but the care and quality is certainly there.

Shorter mission also tend to have higher replay value especially if you only like a few parts in the game you don't have to wade through an hour long level to find that one 2 minute part.

It's also about what you like and what matters to you, I will happily pay full price for a short game if it's fun and memorable with some good replay in it.

About the length wasn't Gears 1, 2, L4D, COD4, W@W, portal ,Bioshock, and a large sum of other games in the 5-8 hour bracket? Short sweet and well polished has for the most part always been better than a long ass game where the devs struggle to find new content to put in. ODST is by no means perfect, but the care and quality is certainly there.

Shorter mission also tend to have higher replay value especially if you only like a few parts in the game you don't have to wade through an hour long level to find that one 2 minute part.

It's also about what you like and what matters to you, I will happily pay full price for a short game if it's fun and memorable with some good replay in it.

I would NOT be able to agree with you... if Portal had not taught me the wisdom in your ways (seriously, THAT was worth the full Orange Box price on its own).

From another thread, but relevant to this:
What's the difference between this and Left 4 Dead, though? Left 4 Dead sold at $60, and it only had 4 campaigns (very short ones, at that). ODST has 10 Firefight maps, and they're HUGE. ODST has a solid multiplayer aspect (the Halo 3 disc), Firefight, and a 7 hour campaign. However, Left 4 Dead didn't cause an uproar with its price. The only reason people are whining about ODST is because it's a Halo game. Halo is hip to dislike, because it's a very popular series.

Its a business! Wake up. They are milking the Halo brand and turning it to a casual game! Next game is probably Halo Paint...

Its a business! Wake up. They are milking the Halo brand and turning it to a casual game! Next game is probably Halo Paint...

No. Just no. All they're doing is releasing a new game based on Halo. Ever heard of FF, CoD or GH? Yeah they do that too with their games.

Until they start making crappy racing games based on Halo, like what's happened to Mario, this can't be called casual.

You watch, Halo Puzzle Fighter is up next.

I'm not buying ODST until I see it on Playswitch months from now. And even then only if I have the points to spare and there's nothing else of interest.

About the length wasn't Gears 1, 2, L4D, COD4, W@W, portal ,Bioshock, and a large sum of other games in the 5-8 hour bracket? Short sweet and well polished has for the most part always been better than a long ass game where the devs struggle to find new content to put in. ODST is by no means perfect, but the care and quality is certainly there.

Shorter mission also tend to have higher replay value especially if you only like a few parts in the game you don't have to wade through an hour long level to find that one 2 minute part.

It's also about what you like and what matters to you, I will happily pay full price for a short game if it's fun and memorable with some good replay in it.

Very good point dude. Bioshock was a bit longer then most of those up there. But if you aren't playing most all of those games on their hardest difficulty, you're just going to blaze through the game. I could probably beat CoD4 on Casual in 4 hours. And Gears, I remember trying to argue how short the campaign was, alls anyone ever said was "but there is multiplayer" :roll:

Who actually buys shooters just for the single player campaigns anyway, nowadays?

Who actually buys shooters just for the single player campaigns anyway, nowadays?

I do, in the case of the Half Life Series.

Who actually buys shooters just for the single player campaigns anyway, nowadays?

I do! I rarely play games online unless if its CoD4 or the Achievements are boostable. I feel its a waste of time playing the same thing over and over, but I guess that is just me :undecided:

I do, in the case of the Half Life Series.
Meh same, but the only reason people are bitching about Halo is because it's hip to diss. I genuinely want to slap developers for thinking they can charge us up to TWICE of what Americans pay and it's annoying. That and they called it an "expansion" with Halo 3's solid (yet hateable) Multiplayer aspect. It's got a lot of content for an expansion yet it's sold full price at £50. Probably even more to be honest at like game stores and places like that but it's horribly annoying when people bitch about how crap the game is when its more or less the same as before. And people love it so much. Too much often. Thats how Xbox Live started going downhill. Because people didn't understand that bringing 12 year old children with a vocabulary full of swears onto the internet.

@ Gideon B, you're getting ripped off if they're selling it for £50 where you live. Everywhere else is around £35.

Its a business! Wake up. They are milking the Halo brand and turning it to a casual game! Next game is probably Halo Paint...

This is in know way a casual game this is probably the most "uncasual"(is that a word?)of the halo series with the dark setting and the way easier to die aspect its not casual play the game before you hate on it.

Halo 3 ODST may take 5-6- hours but I promise you if you played Halo 3, start to finish it would be nearly the same maybe 7 hours(cutscenes included , because yes the levels are longer in Halo 3 but with the free roam of ODST it adds time to the game like trying to find all the side story pieces and weapon houses,so, why the fuss about solo length? The game comes with Halo 3 Multiplayer, ( which i’ll concede should have been ODST multiplayer) and the additional firefight mode which is something i’ve always thought Halo was missing( again i’ll admit it should have matchmaking but, they may add that, the game hasn’t even been out for a full week). I don’t agree it should be reviewed as a expansion, because it is a full game. This isn’t an expansion like See- The Future and Knothole Island( Fable 2 Expansion’s).I bought it at the $60 price-point without a second thought because, it is a FULL game its NOT an expansion. They say it is, but in all reality it is a completely new game, and with a new GAME comes a wallet $60 poorer.