You wake up all alone in a hostile city. Pockets of enemies are hiding in the nearly pitch-black environment and your allies are nowhere to be found. In the opening moments of Halo 3: ODST, you are vulnerable and aimless–two elements that have never been explored in a Halo game before. These quiet, moody scenes flow into the spirited, high-energy battles the franchise is known for, but this feeling of desolation never fully dissolves. ODST is an awesome entry in the franchise because it not only showcases the elements that have made previous games in the series so explosively fun, but it also introduces a handful of new ideas that add a unique spin on the classic formula. The most exhilarating of the new features is the Firefight mode, a cooperative battle against a never-ending swarm of covenant soldiers that is as intense and rewarding as anything that has appeared in the series. Whether you love the solitude of the single-player campaign, the camaraderie of cooperative encounters, or the blood lust of multiplayer competition, Halo 3: ODST is a fantastic package.

The early levels of ODST take place along the city streets of New Mombasa, and the buildings towering overhead give deadly hiding places for your many attackers. Every so often, a squad of enemies will ambush you, and you will have to fend off every last one of those Covenant assassins to progress through the level. These situations are intense and satisfying, placing enemies in optimal positions to make your life miserable. Snipers perching on balconies, sharpshooters dotting sky bridges, and kamikaze grunts flooding out of doors will constantly torment you. Trying to find cover when you’re completely surrounded is a challenge in itself, so you’ll need to make quick decisions and hope your aim is true.

From the city streets, you make your way to wide-open plains, and this affords you a chance to test out the excellent vehicles once more. There are only a few levels that let you go on a joyride for a prolonged period of time, and the rarity of these occasions, coupled with the many ambushes and blockades you encounter, make these some of the best sections in the game. During one early stage, you hop on board a Ghost and tear through the Covenant alongside the ocean. This is an exhilarating sequence and gives you plenty of room to turbo down straightaways, crashing into anyone stupid enough to stand in your way, and there’s just enough challenge sprinkled in to keep you on your toes. The most intense of the vehicle sequences occurs a little later in the game onboard a fleet of Banshees. The maneuverability of these agile flyers is on full display here, forcing you to wind around obstacles and strafe deadly attackers if you want to survive. What makes this section extra special is that it takes place at night, and your limited visibility adds a bit of fear to the excitement.