14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that gamers are getting less and less content for 60 dollars this year. Modern Warfare 2 cost that much, including on the PC, but had a laughably short single player experience, even if the multiplayer was as solid as always. And before it, Halo 3: ODST, which was initially described as a simple expansion pack, ultimately came out with the price tag usually reserved for a full videogame.
Curtis Creamer, who was an executive producer on the title, says that “Price point isn't something we have control over. That's ultimately a publisher decision. I think Bungie was always talking about ODST as exactly what it was: a new twist on a Halo campaign experience with a new hero, built off the Halo 3 engine, a new cooperative game mode, and we were going to throw in extras we thought people would enjoy into the package (Reach beta, all Halo 3 MP maps).”
So, if you did not pick up Halo 3: ODST because it seemed it was worth less than the attached price tag, direct your righteous furry at Microsoft rather than at Bungie.
The developer is saying that ODST, which does not feature Master Chief in any way and offers no new enemies and precious few fresh weapons, began as a simple expansion for Halo 3, the last project the studio created in the universe. But as the game was being created, the team saw that the experience could actually be expanded to become a standalone title.
In addition to the new single player content, Bungie also put together a new multiplayer mode, called Firefight, largely modeled on the idea of hanging on to a position again over larger numbers of enemies, and added to the package all the multiplayer maps put out for Halo 3. Ultimately, Microsoft decided against offering all these disparate elements in chunks for a smaller price and opted to release the full package for 60 dollars.