This week’s Episode of Spartan Ops, also titled “Expendable,” came out earlier today with high expectations due to last week’s Episode 7. For myself, I had high hopes for this week’s episode and was greatly looking forward to it.
There is no doubt that Spartan Ops is moving towards its season finale as we witness Dr. Halsey being taken away to Jul’Mdama only to rush past him and leap into an unknown artifact. Under the impression that the artifact itself was the Librarian, we can clearly see that we were wrong. But does it lead to the Librarian? I sure hope so!
The beginning of this week’s Episode started off with a phenomenal cinematic as usual. Spartan Thorne and Dr. Glassman are reunited with Fire Team Majestic as they kill Gek, Jul’s second-in-command. A treat for fans was the brief appearance of ONI’s Admiral Serin Osman. What was more shocking was the order she gave Lasky, who himself seemed dreadful. I guess we’ll see what comes of that next week.
This week’s episodes were fun to play, but sadly had reused maps once again. Less memorable than fighting aboard the Infinity, that’s for sure. The only mission that stood out was Chapter 5 titled “Glassman.” In this Chapter you’re sent running around a Forerunner structure defending it from the Covenant. Seems like the same ‘ole thing? Nope! This time, we’re aided by Dr. Glassman who’s helping you activate defenses such as anti-air guns, turrets, and supplying you with a hefty cache of Forerunner weapons like the Binary Rifle and Incineration Cannon.
Even with the attempt to add new objectives to each mission, the use of re-used maps from past Episodes really takes away from the experience. In fact, I was almost dozing off while playing through this Solo on Heroic because of how simple and uneventful it seemed. And yeah, I’m trying not to sound harsh.
Overall, this week’s Episode fell back into the routine of things and was average at best. The progression of its excellent story makes up for its gameplay when it lacks. The story is definitely its strong point. As always, it leaves off with an exciting cliffhanger as Dr. Halsey escapes into the artifact. I’m sure we’re all wondering if Dr. Halsey will end up being the first to meet the Librarian.
