Tag Archives: halo 3 recon

Bungie’s confirmed that Halo 3: Recon has been renamed to Halo 3: ODST.

No reason’s been given for the move.

As the firm points out through the link, ODST stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, one of which is followed through New Mobasa in the game.

The standalone title ws announced at TGS earlier this year.

The latest issue of Game Informer has, as promised, fleshed out detail on Halo 3: Recon, revealing the add-on as an open-world shooter with flashback story-telling.

From CVG:

On the ground you’ve got new equipment, such as a PDA to set waypoints on a wireframe map, and you’re left to explore the city in an order that you wish.

“The reason we chose the ODST is it’s absolutely a character that we’ve had ideas about how to develop and put more front a center in the Halo games,” Bungie creative director, Joseph Staten explains to GI.

The goal is to find and investigate the last known locations of your four ODST team mates, using the new ‘Visual Mode’, which as shown in the debut trailer highlights enemies an items with a hi-tech neon glow, to path your way though the moon-clad metropolis.

Once you reach one of the last-known waypoints of your four teammates you’ll find a crime scene – such as a sniper rifle hanging from a street light – and enter a Lost-stlye flashback to earlier that day, where you’ll control the squad member for an entire level.

Through the 30 minute flashback, which is said to play more like a traditional, linear Halo level, you’ll discover the fate your teammate and unravel the mystery of what went on in New Mombasa.

Plenty more through there. Bungie’s last Halo trilogy entry releases in the back half of next year.

Apparently the Game Informer issue currently hitting subs carries a quote from Bungie’s Joe Staten saying “we do not view this as a $60 title” in relation to Halo 3: Recon.

The game’s the magazine’s cover star.

That’s it. Someone scan the article, please.

From Halo.Bungie, via Kotaku.

If you live in North America and pop into GameStop at least once a year, you’ve probably had some 100 opportunities to spend your hard-earned money on a subscription to Game Informer magazine. And if you’ve somehow resisted the collar-dragging allure until now, you’re missing out, because the mag has the first scoop on Halo 3: Recon.

Arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes on November 17, this issue will devote a piping-hot ten pages to Bungie’s final jog around the ring world – guaranteeing all kinds of exclusive information.

On top of that, subscribers – and only subscribers – will be privy to extra H3R content online. Who even knows what that could mean!

The issue arrives next Monday, but will probably leak online in a day or two. Drip, drop.

By Nathan Grayson

Speaking to Joystiq, Bungie’s Brian Jarrard has said that Halo 3: Recon should be seen as two products.

“Think of Halo 3: Recon really as two games in one,” he said. “You have the new Recon campaign that is a separate ‘title ID’ and includes 1,000 GamerScore and Achievements, etc. It’s campaign only.

“The multiplayer maps are more Halo 3 goodness, still considered ‘regular’ Halo 3 content and the multiplayer stuff is interchangeable in that regard. If you purchase the Mythic Map pack via the Xbox Live Marketplace early next year, but your friend doesn’t get those maps until the Recon disc comes out, they will work together just fine.”

The game releases in spring 2009. Plenty more through there.

This week’s Bungie Weekly Update says that there are “no plans” to release any of the recently announced Halo 3 Recon‘s content outside of the box.

From the FAQ:

Will the Recon campaign content or the other multiplayer maps be available through Xbox LIVE Marketplace?

Beyond the Mythic Map Pack early next year, there are no plans to release other portions of the Recon package outside of the retail box.

So the “surprise” that Halo owners will receive certainly isn’t downloadable content from the sound of it.

For everything Halo 3 Recon related, click here.

By Mike Bowden

Bungie’s defended the choice of announcing Halo 3 Recon at TGS, saying it’s a good show to get the game out in the open thanks to global media interest.

“TGS is a game show where the worldwide media does descend on it,” said developer Luke Smith, talking to the Guardian.

“Regardless of the product’s individual success here, the simple fact is that this is a place where the world’s eyes are watching. And where we have that opportunity, that’s a great place for Bungie to announce a game.”

Bungie PR director Brian Jarrard added: “I would agree, and I think it happened to work out also nicely that the theme of TGS this year seems to be the globalisation of gaming.

“It’s nice to be able to bring the western games over here, and I believe Xbox as a platform is doing very well over here recently as well.”

There’s a ten-minute video interview through the link.

In this interview with Eurogamer, Bungie’s Brian Jarrard says that although Halo 3 Recon will be a boxed product, there might well be a surprise for existing Halo 3 owners.

“It’s a standalone disc as well, so you won’t have to have Halo 3 to experience Recon,” he said.

“There might be a surprise later that we’ll talk about, that might benefit people who have Halo 3, but it’s not a requirement.”

When asked if it was downloadable content, Jarrard replied: “Let’s just stay right there, but there might be a connection there to be made a little bit later.”

Full thing through the link.

By Mike Bowden

Speaking to Eurogamer, Bungie PR boss Brian Jarrard has confirmed that Halo 3 Recon isn’t a full game, as many had hoped yesterday.

“It’s hard to put a number on it,” he said when asked how long the campaign would be.

“It’s going to represent hours of new campaign gameplay, but it’s not a full, entire game like Halo 3. I think we have a lot of value on the disc.”

Developer Luke Smith added that Recon was essentially fan service.

“This project is one that we just had to do,” he said. “It’s a project that is for our fans. Just like pretty much everything we do at Bungie, it’s always about how we can serve our fans best.”

More through there. Recon’s out next year.

Speaking to GI in Tokyo, Bungie PR director Brian Jarrard said that Halo 3 Recon would signal an end to Bungie’s work on the current Halo trilogy.

“I don’t think so,” he said when asked if we can expect more from the developer on the series.

“We’ve already put a couple of map packs out, we do have more maps on the way. We actually have a Mythic map pack coming out early next year. We don’t have firm details or a date yet, but we do have one more map pack coming out, and then we do have some maps associated with the actual Recon retail release.

“But I think when this project wraps up in a couple of months that will be the time when that team moves on to something else – part of that team will move on to something else and part of them will probably be absorbed into one of the other projects that are already on the way.”

More through there. Recon’s out next year.

Posting over at NeoGAF, Bungie’s Luke Smith has said that Halo 3 Recon isn’t your average stealth-action game.

The title was said to require the player “to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before” in its press release this morning.

“The word ‘stealth’ here isn’t really a great word,” he said. “This isn’t a stealth action game like a Splinter Cell game.”

“This is a Bungie-made Halo game where you will play as an ODST, which of course, is different (and no, I’m not talking about how it’s different) than playing as a Spartan super soldier,” teased Smith.

“This isn’t Halo Cell, Ghost Recon: Halo, Republic Commandalo or whatever.”

Hit this for more info on Halo 3 Recon from this morning’s TGS Microsoft keynote.

By Mike Bowden

This image emanating from Microsoft’s Halo 3 Recon reveal at TGS tonight, shows box art for the game.

Which naturally means that the ‘expansion’ will be a boxed game and not downloadable content as first thought.

It could be both, however. We’ll check with Microsoft when the Western world wakes up.

By Mike Bowden

Update: Bungie’s just posted the movie from the press conference: get it here. Thanks, Johnny Cullen.

Bungie’s just released the first screens of Halo 3 Recon, just announced at Tokyo Game Show.

The images are taken from the movie just show in the Microsoft keynote at the show.

After the break.

More »

Update: The first images and the press conference movie have just been posted.

Microsoft has just showcased the Halo expansion revealed by Bungie at Tokyo Game Show 2008.

The game is a prologue to the events in Halo 3, and tells the story from an all-new perspective: an ODST recon marine.

A trailer was shown in Microsoft’s show keynote, including bombed out buildings, the like of which were seen in the recent “Keep it Clean” teaser.

The new title will release next autumn.

The news comes out of Microsoft’s TGS keynote.

Full press release after the break.

By Mike Bowden

More »