During the last day of TGS 2009, Microsoft was handing out free (and stylish!) UNSC-branded t-shirts to gamers willing to wait in line to play (the already released) Halo 3: ODST. For their effort, gamers seemed to enjoy the reward of partaking in local multiplayer sessions of ODST's Firefight mode.

Check out a closer look at the shirt after the break.

Halo 3: ODST's survival horde Firefight Mode is probably the most notable addition to the upcoming Halo 3 expansion from Bungie Studios. With Halo: Reach headed to consoles next Fall, the developer had left the possibility of the new mode's inclusion in that project up in the air ... at least until now. Speaking with Eurogamer at PAX 2009, Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard said Firefight could very well make it into Halo: Reach -- "if people love it," that is.

"I don't think we've ever been known to really take things away from each successive release, so I think it's safe to say that if Firefight gets a lot of traction and people love it, it probably has a good future home in our next title as well," Jarrard said. Shh! Nobody bring up the battle rifle!

Save for the one story mission we saw at E3 2009 and the character introduction trailer, Halo 3:ODST's single-player campaign hasn't seen heavy exposure from developer Bungie. That all changed last night, when GTTV got a hold of design director Paul Bertone, who revealed "Kizingo Boulevard," a tank-based level that follows an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper from "kind of in the middle of the story."

Later in the episode, Bungie's creative director, Joe Staten, teased a bit of info regarding next year's Halo: Reach, saying, "We're really excited about telling a story with more Spartans in it." Host Geoff Keighley pushes Staten on squad-based Halo rumors and receives an interesting answer: "Without any of the baggage of sort of squad-based combat, I think that would be a safe assumption." Maybe we'll finally find out what happened to Linda, Fred, and Kelly!

... we did not just write that.

Let's face it, folks -- ten years is a long time to be working on a single franchise. That ten years could feel like a lot more when you're rarely on break, back in the development seat for another new Halo nearly every two years. Such is the tale for ex-Microsoft developer Bungie Studios, who told IGN UK at this week's San Diego Comic-Con, "After Reach that's it for us." Meaning that after next year's Halo: Reach ships to stores, Bungie is out of the alien killin', FPS genre -- at least those starring members of the UNSC, that is.

Though Bungie's Lars Bakken doesn't go into tons of detail about the studio's next game, he does say, "We're already working on a new IP that we can't talk about yet ... we've done a lot of different styles - first person to third person to RTS - so it could be anything." Eurogamer found out earlier in the day from Bakken that the upcoming game has yet to find a publisher, though Bungie is currently in talks with various companies and he says, "those talks are, I guess, close." Future Halo titles (you thought Reach was the last?) will be handled by 343 Industries, the recently trademarked, Microsoft-owned studio.

We contacted Bungie for comment on Mr. Bakken's comments and were told, "While it's great to see so much public interest over what the future holds for Bungie, we're not ready to talk about any plans or games beyond Halo 3: ODST or Halo: Reach. It's no secret that we've had multiple projects in development nor that we've also been working on original IP in tandem to our Halo titles but our focus right now is on our two upcoming releases. We'll have more to say when the time is right."

Source 1 - IGN UK
Source 2 - Eurogamer

Given that Halo 3: ODST takes place directly after the Prophet of Regret bugs out of New Mombasa, it's not too surprising to learn that Master Chief won't be appearing in the game. See, everyone knows that the UNSC In Amber Clad -- carrying Master Chief -- jumped into the same slipspace rupture used by Regret. Duh.

Still, if you were sternly hoping that John 117 might make some kind of cameo, those hopes have now been officially quashed by Bungie's Brian Jarrard. Speaking to Multiplayer, Jarrard stated the totally obvious, "Master Chief, at the time this game takes place, is actually off on other parts of the galaxy." Jarrard elaborated, "In this game, it's all about you playing the role of an ODST," adding, "The way the timelines work in this game, Master Chief is off doing something else."

So there you have it, the only place to find Master Chief while playing ODST is where he can always be found: Our hearts.

Call us foolish, but walking into the Bungie demonstration of Halo 3: ODST at E3 last week, we had no idea that the main campaign mode consisted of, more or less, a sandbox environment. Truth be told, we knew of stealth bits and that, as per the title of the game, there was something to do with Orbital Drop Shock Troopers in the story, but not much else.

Bungie's Lars Bakken commandeered "the rookie" -- the character you'll basically use as a vehicle through New Mombasa's variety of flashback missions -- introducing us to the character in an opening cutscene rather reminiscent of previous Halo games from a style perspective. We are introduced to "Dutch" early on, the subject of our one guided flashback mission of the walkthrough, who's a bit of a fast-talking hardass, as ODSTs are wont to be.

Don't call it Horde mode. Well, actually, yeah, go ahead and call it Horde mode. Just know that there are some significant differences between Halo 3: ODST's Firefight mode and the Gears of War 2 sensation. Still, if you enjoy the thrill of a lone group of human partners staving off dozens of bloodthirsty enemies, Firefight should be right up your alley.

On Thursday evening, Joystiq vs. Bungie: A Mythic Halo 3 Challenge came to an awkward, head-scratching close. We're sure most everyone who was interested in the outcome either watched the live stream or read through Bungie's uninspired Humpday challenge recap. But with so much misinformation circulating the internet, allow us to tell the real story. Allow us to clear the stench of deceit that has been wafting about.

Update: Now that the challenge has concluded, be sure to check out the official recap of the battle including all of Bungie's shenanigans.

Earlier this week, Bungie challenged Joystiq to a Halo 3 competition to help get the word out about the just released Mythic Map Pack and to prove that developers are more skilled gamers than journalists. Over the course of a few days, we sought the help of the Joystiq community by having an open enrollment as we looked for nine individuals to represent Team Joystiq in battle. Well, we found our nine Joystiq representatives (along with one editor) and will be taking on Bungie Studios in a few hours in an event we're calling "Joystiq vs. Bungie: A Mythic Halo 3 Challenge".

Tonight, Joystiq's hand-selected team will enter the Halo 3 arena and do battle with Bungie. While they've been spending their time talking trash on their forums and even finding it necessary to mock Team Joystiq, know that we don't play those adolescent games. Instead, our team has put all its time and energy into honing its Halo 3 skills and is determined to earn Recon armor for all participants involved. Failure is unacceptable. Each game Joystiq loses, its editors will be required to wear Bungie supplied apparel at E3 for one day and the humiliation that's sure to come.

If you're interested in viewing the matches as they're played, we'll be streaming the whole event LIVE! Starting tonight at 9:00 pm EST (6:00 pm PST), you'll find a Ustream embed of the match after the break. Even though there is no audio and the video quality isn't exceptional, it gives those who are interested in the competition a place to hang out with other like-minded gamers and a chance to watch history unfold. Be sure to bookmark this post and be here for all the carnage. For those who'll miss the stream, we'll be posting a recap of the Joystiq vs. Bungie shenanigans sometime late Friday.

Best of luck to all parties involved ... GO TEAM JOYSTIQ!

Given that there are only five locations in North America, there's a good chance you haven't heard of Gamer Doc, a new retail franchise that began last year. The fledgling franchise, whose locations have a unique, video game-inspired design, will host a Halo 3 tournament starting May 1 at its Bear, Delaware; Burlington, Ontario; Highland Park, California; and Springfield, Pennsylvania stores -- no love for the Miami store, apparently. Each store will host a double elimination tournament. The winning teams will face off on May 30 competing for a grand prize of $4,000, with $1,000 and $500 going to the second and third place winners, respectively.

Registration for four-man teams will be accepted through April 24, with a $50 entry fee required per team. Visit your local Gamer Doc (if you have one) to register.

The chance at $4,000 sounds pretty nice and all, but let us remind you: Joystiq can get you Recon armor and the Mythic Map Pack for free.

Major Nelson has revealed that the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack will be available to everyone come April 9 for the price of 800 ($10). The pack contains three new maps: Sandbox, Assembly and Orbital. So, if you haven't broken down and bought the limited edition of Halo Wars, which contains a token to download the maps, you now know exactly how long you have to wait. Mark your calendars kids, just a few more weeks until you too can have fun with Killballs.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our hands-on impressions of the Mythic maps as well as our video preview.

A new Halo 3 double EXP weekend is going on right now through Monday morning, March 16. To participate, make your way into Halo 3's Legendary Brawl Double EXP playlist. But note, the Heroic and Legendary maps are required -- the Mythic maps are not necessary for this weekend's EXP earning, but "don't be surprised" when they show up in a future double EXP event. So, dust off your Mjolnir armor and bring along some extra teabags (for the caffeine boost, of course) because it's gonna be a long and (hopefully) memorable weekend.

How long did it take to paint the Mona Lisa? Had Sean "Str8Artist" McCoy been responsible, probably not very long at all. Of course, we much prefer him spending (little) time on things like his rapidly assembled Halo 3: ODST painting. Watch the speed painting video after the break and view Str8Artist's other work on his YouTube channel, including a painted tribute to Gears of War's Carmine. (Rest in peace ... our headless friend.)

It had to end sometime. Bryan Simon, maestro of original Halo 3 songs has written his final anthem to Bungie (embedded after the break). The subject of this heartfelt goodbye: Recon armor gives you cooties. Frankly, we're inclined to agree, as we are overcome with the urge to explode any poor sap we see wearing Recon. There's something about it. It just makes you want to kill the person wearing it. We're not sure if that's what Bryan meant, but hey, the song is pretty, so who cares?

He didn't say where his music will take him from here, but we have a suggestion: Halo Wars. It only seems natural, really.

[Original image: Sgt Spiffy]

With the release of Halo Wars less than a week away, Microsoft has released a new video examining the expanded Halo universe present in the game. Believe it or not, Halo actually has a very detailed background. Over the years, it's been laid out in books, graphic novels, comic books and even ARGs. Still, for a great deal of Halo fans, Halo Wars will be the first time players get to experience the history behind the first three games.

Check out the video and learn your Halo history, because it's much more fun than learning about real history.