When Microsoft revealed at E3 last week that Halo 3: ODST would indeed be a full priced $59.99 Xbox 360 game, many fans and industry folk alike pulled a 180 and said “what?!” And with justification, as Halo creator Bungie developers Brian Jarrard and Joe Staten both stated phrases eluding to the fact that ODST would not be a $60 game and instead would be “value-oriented.”
However, the hammer has fallen, and Microsoft will indeed be selling ODST with the full price-tag come September 22 but an inquisitive gaming blog, Joystiq, inquired within, and received the following response from Microsoft:
“At the time of those statements, the overall scope of Halo 3: ODST was not yet finalized, and since then the project has grown increasingly more ambitious. We believe this standalone experience is much more than just an expansion. Halo 3: ODST provides a new campaign from the point of view of an entirely new character. Combine that with three new multiplayer maps, the entirely new cooperative mode called Firefight, and the complete Halo 3 multiplayer collection on a standalone disc, we feel this is a good value and tremendous addition to the Halo franchise.”
Valid points, but for Halo-heads like myself, and a LOT of you, we’ve already got all the multiplayer maps and might feel a bit jipped at having to pay again for them.‚ However, the inclusion of the final three Halo 3 maps, Firefight mode (essentially Horde for Halo), and interestingly unnamed by Microsoft in the above statement, Halo: Reach multiplayer beta access is more than enough to sell the game.
What do YOU think. Is Microsoft simply milking every penny out of the franchise, or is ODST truly worth $60?
via Joystiq
i hate critics. i think the game will be awsome. one thing i hope they still have is the infection mode. that was my favorite mode in halo 3.