halo-3-recon posts (Subscribe to this feed)

From the initial talk of a lower price to a renaming, Bungie's ever-changing plans for Halo 3: ODST left a lot of people confused as to what the final product would be. "I'm no PR expert, but it's pretty obvious the game had a series of stumbles; from the naming, to the initial E3 2008 countdown reveal failure, and finally pricing ... it would definitely be nice to have a do-over for the game introduction," senior designer Lars Bakken told G4TV in a recent interview. "The big takeaway for us is just to never comment on matters that are outside of our control," added community manager Brian Jarrard.

The subject of ODST becoming an "expansion pack," however, was never an arguable point to executive producer Curtis Creamer. "Though ODST was built from the Halo 3 engine, there were enough changes made to the engine that we could not have released it as an expansion in the way that you might equate with a PC game expansion pack ... the ODST executable is not compatible with Halo 3."

The crew of Bungie devs also reconfirmed that "there are currently no plans for any ODST DLC," with all of the studio's resources tied up with Halo: Reach. Hopefully, our thirst for more Firefight maps will be quenched by the inclusion of the mode in future Halo games -- a prospect to which the developers responded, "Only time will tell." Do it for us, Bungie! Please?

Microsoft has explained that its decision to rename the upcoming Halo 3 storyline expansion was made to "accurately reflect" the gameplay "experience" of the Fall 2009 release. So, if you're the kind of user who thought Halo 3: Recon -- the game's original name -- was based around being some kind of perverted Covenant voyeur, Halo 3: ODST leaves nothing to the imagination.

Microsoft Game Studios product manager Ryan Crosby told GamePlayer that the change helps showcase the new stars of the action, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Not familiar with the elite unit? The ODSTs are to John McClane as Master Chief is to Superman ... and if you still don't get it, read a book or something.

Correction: Ryan Crosby is an employee of Microsoft Game Studios, not Bungie.

[Via Gamepro]

Bungie.net has updated the Halo 3: ODST page with a pair of fresh wallpapers. Game Informer subscribers might remember these two pieces of concept art from a recent issue of the magazine. Looking to dress up your desktop with some Halo flavor? Check them out.

Halo 3: ODST follows a lone soldier, crash-landed in New Mombasa. While Master Chief can be considered Superman, this ODST soldier is more comparable to John McClane. One guy with some sweet firepower versus insurmountable odds. Hopefully, he'll complain about as much as McClane did.

Holiday be damned, Bungie has continued with its regular Weekly Update. This week the studio released 22 concept images for the upcoming Halo 3 story expansion, Halo 3: ODST. Multiple shots include city landscapes, character art and an up close shot of the new silenced SMG. It's a small update but a nice little holiday treat for people who are down with Halo.

Reason for the name change wasn't given (other than the fact that 3 and ODST have a nice flow), but we're sure the whole ODST name change makes the game's campaign a little more clear for those who like things more straightforward. Bungie also made it clear that the game's release, content and Recon armor giving will not be affected by the name change. Welcome Halo 3: ODST, say goodbye to Recon and long live Bungie.

[Thanks, to everyone that sent this in]

Just as we were starting to get excited for next year's Halo 3: Recon, we have to delete that name in our mind space and replace it with the far less sexy Halo 3: ODST. Word of the name change came from Bungie this morning, saying the "new title is a more straightforward account of the experience that awaits and the role you will assume as you explore the streets of New Mombasa."

We're gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you're probably still going to want to play it.

As you may have heard, the latest issue of Game Informer is just chock-full of new info about Halo 3: Recon. CVG has been kind enough to spill some of the beans -- gotta save some beans for the mag, after all -- the biggest of which is the fact that Recon will be an open world game. The story has players taking control of a rookie Orbital Drop Shock Trooper who's looking for his four other squad members in the city of New Mombasa, which you may remember from Halo 2. Using a new PDA, players can set waypoints to find the last known locations of each squad member. Upon arriving, players will discover clues that will trigger a playable flashback in which they take on the role of the missing squad member and find out what happened to him. The flashback levels will play more like a "traditional, linear" Halo level and "unravel the mystery of what went on in New Mombasa."

Of course, ODST are not Spartans, so players will have to make do without superhuman speed, jumping, and coordination (i.e no dual wielding). ODSTs also lose the benefit of a motion tracker. Oh, and no handy regenerating shields either, though health will still regenerate. As you might expect, this will make encounters with enemies like Brutes a little more intimidating, especially considering they will now all be much taller and faster than you.

Finally, one of the squad members will be played by Nathan Fillion. That is sweet.

[Via Joystiq]

And the details just keep coming from Game Informer's Halo 3 Recon article. First, we learned the game is going to clock in around three to five hours. Now, from someone who apparently read the article even more closely, we hear that the action will be open-world, a big change from the highly linear Halos (Haloes?) past.

We don't mean to argue semantics, but seriously guys? A three- to five-hour open-world game? We have an open world that would take us three to five hours to explore. It's called our house.

Eager for more info on Bungie's Halo 3 expansion, Halo 3 Recon? The scoop addicts at Game Informer are sporting it as their December cover story which, far from being spartan, is chock full o' details on the unusual offering. As we saw in Tokyo, the boys at Bungie are downplaying the game's length, insisting it's not "a $60 game" and is more like "a three to five-hour expansion pack."

Perhaps most interesting – especially for the scrupulous amongst you – is the ability to earn Halo 3's ultra-rare "Recon Armor," previously reserved for Bungie staffers and their community-based BFFs. Now, instead of hacking someone's account to get the armor, you can instead complete the gauntlet of 0-point "Vidmaster Challenge" achievements included in the September title update; once you've purchased Halo 3 Recon, that armor will ostensibly be unlocked in Halo 3 multiplayer. Worth the not-$60 pricetag? For some of the Bungie hopeful, undoubtedly.

[Via The Escapist]

After confirming plans to stick with its current Xbox 360 pricing, Microsoft UK head Stephen McGill has informed Videogamer that there's a "lot of great stuff" headed to the Xbox 360 in 2009. Secret, surprising stuff.

"I know a lot of the games coming out from us and our third parties. Most of them, in fact, have not been announced because everyone's very focused on what's out for Christmas" says McGill, admitting that "there's lots of great stuff coming in 2009 that people know about. Lots more, I'm sure that they don't know about." Hmm, lots more we don't know about huh?

True, we're all focused on the jam packed Holiday 2008 game lineup, but we've been keen to remember that 2009 will bring Halo Wars, Halo 3: Recon and even Resident Evil 5. But even more surprises in 2009? Unimaginable! We'll be accepting of these Xbox surprises, but we're not sure our bank account will be as understanding.

[Via Game Stooge]

This week's actual Bungie update is light on details but includes twice the podcast punch. As well as releasing a new episode of its popular podcast, Bungie has finally released the "Lost" E3 episode from its cage. After E3 plans to reveal an unnamed title were cancelled by Microsoft, which was later announced as Halo 3: Recon, Bungie has decided the time is right to let fans hear what they thought of what was supposed to be a newly announced title. Head over to the Bungie Weekly Update to download the shows directly and take a look at some Halloween inspired Halo 3 screenshots.

[Living Dead image via Bungie.net]

In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, Bungie's Brian Jarrard made it known that once Halo 3: Recon is complete, the team creating it is moving on to new projects that are not related to Halo. Jarrard stated that there are some map packs on the way, including the Halo 3 Mythic map pack as well as maps associated with Halo 3: Recon, but that the team will move on once the project is complete. According to Jarrard, part of the Recon team will move on to new projects, while others will be moved onto projects already in the works.

Of course, we don't know what any of those secret projects are, so we can't rule Halo out entirely, though Jarrard's words seem to imply that they aren't related to Halo. We'll just have to wait and see. The full interview also includes tidbits on Bungie's community building philosophy, the studio's independence, and how the company feels about the NXE. Hit the source link to check it out.

[Via Joystiq]

Let this be a reminder: Bungie is no longer Microsoft's plaything. In an interview with GameIndustry.biz, Community Director Brian Jarrard indicated that once Halo 3 Recon is out the door late next year, the team working on it will move into territory unknown. "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, and 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," he said.

Granted, there's a lot of time between now and the Fall 2009 Halo 3 Recon release, so Bungie will be knee-deep in Halo for another year, at least. Provided none of Bungie's other teams tackle the space-loop saga, Microsoft has already assembled a new dream team to keep Halo alive.

[Update: Reworded some of the article to eliminate confusion between Bungie as a whole and the specifically mentioned Halo 3 Recon team.]

"No, we're not [tied into a specific platform for new IP]," said Jarrard explaining that "in theory we do have every means to go out and find the right ecosystem, the right partners, to align with. So who knows what the future will bring us." Though, Jarrard did praise the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live as a social platform for their past projects including the entire Halo franchise.

That said, we'll wager our entire IRA (which isn't worth much these days) that Bungie's new IP will make its way onto an Xbox platform. It's a no-brainer.

From our informal chat, we learn that Halo 3: Recon will stay relatively true to Halo 3's formula, meaning that we won't be seeing any game engine improvements or added features. But Jarrard did confirm that (at minimum) one new weapon will make an appearance in Recon and a new soundtrack will debut. We also touch on the topic of Recon's Forge, learning what it is not and discuss why Bungie chose to not make it as feature-rich as a map editor like, say, what Far Cry 2 has to offer. There's Vidmaster achievement and Mythic Map Pack talk as well and the conversation somehow leads to the topic of global domination and pie.