First Halo 3: Recon details emerge

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 10th 2008 at 11:20AM }

Joystiq got a chance to sit down with Bungie's Brian Jarrard to discuss some of the details behind the upcoming Halo 3 experience, Recon. Many questions have been lobbed at the title since it was first officially revealed, and here, without further ado, are some of the answers (politely cribbed directly from Joystiq):

"It will be a standalone disc sold in stores in boxes next Fall. It's also going to include some multiplayer maps."
"It is a first-person shooter still ... It's not a squad-based shooter."
"As an ODST, compared to playing as in invulnerable Spartan, you are going to have to sort of pick and choose your encounters a little bit differently."
"It is going to very much feel like Halo. Full feature parity."

A few other details. Recon (as most have theorized) takes place directly after the Prophet of Regret jumped into slipspace during Halo 2, causing the destruction of New Mombasa. Players take the role of a single ODST -- not a full squad. Also, it would appear that -- as implied by the trailer above -- the Superintendent (the little green circle dude) will serve as Recon's "Cortana." When asked about this, Jarrard replied, "I think your observations seem pretty spot on. It certainly seems like there's a guiding hand of some sort there."

Gallery: Halo 3: Recon

Concerning the size of the expansion and the price, Jarrard revealed that Recon isn't likely to be released as DLC and will be "value-oriented." Finally, the game has "full feature parity" with Halo 3, including Forge (with some new features) and multiplayer. So, in other words, we imagine dual-wielding and all that good stuff will still feel the same. Multiplayer, by the way, will still be standard Halo 3 multiplayer.

Finally, Recon is not the only project being worked on at Bungie, with Jarrard noting that it is being developed by a relatively small team of a "bunch of elders" that have had a hand in the series from the beginning. Head over to Joystiq for more details.

Tags: bungie, bungie-studios, halo, halo-3, halo-3-recon, microsoft-game-studios, recon, tgs08

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neuromancer @ Oct 10th 2008 11:26AM

Hopefully the game won't grind to a halt every 5 minutes for the Superintendent's head to fill the screen and spout nonsense at you.

wargamer17 @ Oct 10th 2008 11:31AM

Ya imagine his emotional head popping up like cortana's did in Halo 3 for the first half. I'm pretty sure it will be more like a voice in his head like Cortana, and giving NAV points while showing directions on signs like in the trailer. Either way, it'll be awesome and can't wait!!

I hope they announce one of the other games next year even if we have to wait another year for it's release.

I DeX I @ Oct 10th 2008 11:32AM

So, we won't be able to play the Multiplayer maps with our Halo 3 maps?

Kevin Gass @ Oct 10th 2008 11:38AM

"takes place directly after the Prophet of Regret jumped into slipspace during Halo 2, causing the destruction of New Mombasa"

Wrong, if that was true, then this game would not have a setting in the inner city. After Regret jumps (In the first part of the trailer) the city remains intact. If they jump truly destroyed the city, it would be gone in the teaser. I say its safe to assume we will see Truth (Or the Elites) begin "Digging" the Ark in this game.

Richard Mitchell @ Oct 10th 2008 11:48AM

Okay... How about ruined then?

Just because the city is still standing, that doesn't mean it isn't destroyed. If my roof caves in, I'd consider my house destroyed.

Kevin Gass @ Oct 10th 2008 11:57AM

i mean that by destroyed, people think that the ship caused the big hole in the ground that we find in Halo 3, which isn't true.

ryan @ Oct 10th 2008 12:55PM

i pretty much always known that was the ark they were digging that great big hole and not the destruction of New Mombasa.

Meteors make holes of destruction, not nuclear blasts.

DBoyFlex @ Oct 10th 2008 11:42AM

Could somebody please explain to me the difference between recon and mythic? Recon is this. Mythic is what then? Nothing now? A multiplayer map pack? The extra cheevos on Halo 3, do they belong to Recon then and not something known as Mythic? I could see there being skulls in Recon, and I could see it using the extra cheevos on Halo 3. Just curious if we even know. I certainly got lost somewhere back there.

brian @ Oct 10th 2008 11:49AM

*HOPEFULLY

The Mythic Map pack will be released seperate, sometime soon. Otherwise I will disband Halo. Until Recon.

geekinabox @ Oct 10th 2008 11:58AM

Mythic is the map pack being released for the *current* Halo 3 in early 2009. Based on the new acheivments, there appear to be 6 maps in that pack; there are acheivments specific 2 these maps. No specific release date or pricing. Only 1 map (Assembly) has been publicly shown.

Recon is the name of the Fall 2009 new game Halo 3 Recon. It sounds like H3R might also include the Mythic maps, but it is likely that the current new acheivments are gained only in H3 (not H3R) w/ the Mythic maps. It remains to be seen whether the online gaming of H3R interoperates w/ the existing H3, or if it is a separate XBL gamespace.

(Recon is also an armor type in the existing H3)

AngereMailMan @ Oct 10th 2008 11:43AM

does this mean halo 3 maps will be playable on the recon Disc

or does it mean recon will be a completly different online entity

I DeX I @ Oct 10th 2008 11:49AM

That's what I want to know. Even though we won't have to worry about it for some time. Now, bring on the DAMN MYTHIC Map Pack!!!

brian @ Oct 10th 2008 11:48AM

TELL US WHERE OUR MYTHIC MAP PACK IS, GDMNT!!!!

Sent In To Die @ Oct 10th 2008 11:52AM

So, Halo 3 was really just Halo 2.5, and this is Halo 3.5...so is that like Halo 2.75? I think Bungie's just about got their engine and fan base to a point that they can just re-skin stuff and sell people the exact same game with different characters! Nice...

That probably just made me extremely unpopular, but the good thing is I don't care about being popular here. It just bothers me when sequels start to stagnate.

Also, on another note, this COD: World at War or whatever...is going to suck just like COD 3 did...because it is just another reuse of the previous iteration of the series.

I know that Gears 2 will be a better sequel than the first though. So, it is possible to re-use engines (with minor updates) and still make a good game. Anyway, all in all...I guess it's good news that in an economy that's "SO BAD" people still go out and buy junk.

ryan @ Oct 10th 2008 12:06PM

right, all that hard work Bungie did for this "Halo 2.75" to create new music, dialog, models, textures, animations, scripted events is all junk. gotcha.

Kevin Gass @ Oct 10th 2008 12:14PM

In all fairness Recon will be Halo 2.5, since it takes place between H2, and H3 : )

Sent In To Die @ Oct 10th 2008 12:16PM

Actually, that's a good argument. I did a game development class in college, and we had an engine to start with. Seriously, content is what makes a game over engine. I guess I'm just tired of Halo. I also just kind of tired of IPs getting abused too.

I know they worked hard on content creation, so maybe they brought some new features to the table too. X3F will have to let me know since I'm not buying it.

Also, It would be nice if they would call it Halo: Recon instead of tying it to Halo 3. I guess I'm really just shocked that all the hype was for this. It doesn't excite me. Halo 3 burned a lot of people, and my friends and I were in that VERY small group of people.

I like Elder Scrolls games, since they kind of start from scratch each iteration. There are similarities for familiarity's sake, but the engines are different. However, I'm not buying Fallout 3 because I've got Oblivion...the same thing with a different set of content.

Please accept my apology for criticizing this game. I'm sure I'm not the only one that is turned off by stuff like this though, and I know for a fact that sometimes it's good to see someone bring a different viewpoint to the table.

ryan @ Oct 10th 2008 1:11PM

well, if the demand for side stories is there, they will be told.

take Final Fantasy for an example of spin offs and side stories. if the audience wants more, they will give them more. if certain parties don't want it, they may kindly leave the theater.

txshurricane @ Oct 10th 2008 11:58AM

If there's no squad per se, then how does it have 4-plater co-op?

ryan @ Oct 10th 2008 12:11PM

they really mean in the gameplay sense. this will not be a Ghost Recon or Rainbow Six. Just a Halo game with a different character.

makes me almost disappointed that it will feel very much like Halo. I was hoping for no duel wielding, sprinting, better melee function and the ability to call in Pelicans. :/

erivera3 @ Oct 10th 2008 12:31PM

COD4's melee system is so broken it makes me sad to think people actually call it a great system. I can't count the number of times I've been knifed from 20 feet away from a guy staring off into space.

ryan @ Oct 10th 2008 12:51PM

i'm sorry you've had strange encounters like that.

i was more in talking about the placement of the melee attack. R stick is better than B button, it's quicker and makes sense to aim while you attack.

also L trigger for an zoom is more comfortable than R sticking to zoom, as is a crouch button that locks instead of shifts.

let's not forget that rush as you sprint for cover. ODSTs won't have special shielding and they need to be quicker on there toes. so yeah, i think sprinting would have worked nicely.

Mr.U2 @ Oct 10th 2008 1:43PM

Ryan: If it helps at all, you can change the crouch function from holding it down to clicking it on and off.

DJcube @ Oct 10th 2008 11:59AM

With the multiplayer. Do they mean that Recon has it's own multiplayer (that plays exactly like Halo 3's) with it's own maps, or that you copy the maps from the Recon disk onto the HDD for use in Halo 3?

wounded varmit @ Oct 12th 2008 12:34PM

halo is a dying series and bungie is grasping to it for a few extra bucks because they cant make anything else to impress the masses like halo ! nothing last for ever bungie realize that and give us something unhalo related and prove to us ur not a 1 hit wonder

I DeX I @ Oct 10th 2008 1:01PM

That is why Halo 3 has had over 731,000 players on in the last 24 hours. Sounds like a dead duck to me...cough* cough*

Aero @ Oct 10th 2008 12:50PM

So if Halo 3 Recon's multiplayer is just Halo 3 multiplayer, does that mean you can play multiplayer with someone playing normal Halo while you are playing Recon or are they still separate multiplayer games?

JeffT @ Oct 10th 2008 12:57PM

I hope they improve on the co-op functionality that Halo3 had. We should always be able to search for co-op games in the game. I shouldn't have to hope one of my existing friends are playing a cop-op game so I could join. I want to make new friends by jumping into their co-op games.

Milford Cubicle @ Oct 10th 2008 1:19PM

No class based Human vs Covenant multiplayer?
PASS

R0B3RT @ Oct 10th 2008 1:27PM

What about co op playing is that gone?

Ian Murray @ Oct 10th 2008 1:42PM

I agree with a few others commenters in here.

I'm kind of sick of the blatant repackaging of what is essentially the same thing.

It's still an FPS, not squad-based.
You're still a silent helmeted character helped by an omnipresent AI
Nearly everything about fighting and multiplayer are the same, save a few things like shields and Super Spartan Jumping™.

I'm aware that it takes many resources and man-hours to create a new campaign and content, but we should all be aware that the time for finishing this game is going to be far quicker for bungie since they are starting nowhere near square 1.

Mazrael @ Oct 10th 2008 2:34PM

hmm.. what I don't think anyone mentioned.. if Recon is a new game/spin off.. than it'll have it's own set of 1000GS...
there's what looks like 6 new levels for Halo 3, ie the skulls.. or are these skulls in MP maps? personally, I'd prefer 6 new missions.. though being worth 25pts instead on 10pts.. will they be really tricky to get/find?

These.. "Elders", could they be doing Halo 1 & 2 with the Halo 3 engine.. where we could use any of the discs for MP, having access for all the DLC maps, ala Rock Band 1&2.. (I'm sure that makes sense)..

dubt @ Oct 10th 2008 7:16PM

My only question is: will there be a sprint button. That is the reason I started playing COD4, and haven't gone back to Halo since.

ryan @ Oct 10th 2008 8:40PM

my thoughts exactly. *high five*

Eric Carter @ Oct 18th 2008 1:26AM

Ahhh I hope everything works in the end. Halo has not let me down yet, they better perform.

IceChip @ Oct 28th 2008 3:30AM

just to answer some unanswered questions from above and some of my personal thoughts.

"So if Halo 3 Recon's multiplayer is just Halo 3 multiplayer, does that mean you can play multiplayer with someone playing normal Halo while you are playing Recon or are they still separate multiplayer games?" Question by Aero.

The multiplayer is exactly the same the only real difference is that when you buy Halo 3: Recon you also get the map pack other than that its regular Halo.(Besides the new campaign)

Personally i do not like the click R thoumbstick to beatdown i feel it is nicer to be able to crouch or go prone alot quicker rather than lift my finger off the stick and stop aiming just to be able to crouch. so therefore you can do both crouch and aim it is not the hard to press B to melee especially since its like that in almost all fps games. And the thought to be able to sprint yes in a sense it would feel nice to but i feel it would pull of the originality of the series and not work well with gameplay possibly i obviously wouldnt know firsthand but i know that there not going to have it since the multiplayer is exactly the same with a few added quirks to forge and films i believe.

And I think if this game was squad based it would give the game a slow feeling like a feeling of well if i send my men over there and i come from over here instead of just letting the A.I. take the enemies from the front usually and you bein a bad ass ODST marine come in from the side and just slaughter the Covenant. What i mean is this game is supposed to be a fast-paced good looking FPS not a squad-based relying on your A.I. to do half the work when usually they cant even walk without running into a wall! type game. yeah.. ill see you on Halo biznitches :)