Halo 3 Recon goes open-world

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The first details on Bungie's ambitious Halo 3 expansion Recon have finally emerged, detailing new equipment, more human characters and surprisingly, an open-world city.

Revealed in the latest issue of US magazine Game Informer, players take control of The Rookie, a faceless, voiceless Orbital Drock Shock Trooper part of a five-man team rocketed into Ground Zero of Earth city New Mombasa, during the events of Halo 2.

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.

"This isn't a crazy dream sequence or metaphorical journey that the object allows you to do.

"It works just like any detective show, Cold Case or Law and Order or whatever, where a detective can arrive at a crime scene, look at the chalk drawings and bullet holes and see what's going on. He hears some echoey voices and the camera crossfades and now you're at the scene of the crime two hours ago."

Squadies you'll be controlling include Dutch, "a big guy," who carries heavy weapons to take on vehicles, and Romeo, a sniper who's "kind of a dick".

Nathan Fillion of Firefly, who played a random ODST in Halo 3, is signed up the play one of the squad members. "So if you like the voice cast in Halo 3, we've elevated some of them to a cinematic level".

"In Halo games you've been the Chief for a thousand years and the Arbiter for a little bit of time too. It's a really nice feeling to jump into somebody else's boots for a while," says Staten.

But while you're character gains new toys like the PDA, Visual Mode and a silenced SMG, the puny non-super soldier loses the Chief's shields (but not the ability to regenerate health), motion tracker and ability to dual-wield weapons. The ODSTs are also shorter and slower.

This makes for some scarier and more interesting encounters, says Bungie. In the mag the developer gives the example of Master Chief going up against a Brute Chieftain with a hammer. As Chief you're faster than the Brute, can jump over his head and see where he is with your motion Tracker. As an ODST it's bit trickier; the Brute is bigger, closer and as fast as you, so if you turn around and run you know he's going to catch you, and you don't know exactly where he is.

"You don't feel like a chump. You feel like a very Capable ODST marine, but it's a different feeling," says Staten.

All of sudden this "straight forward" expansion sounds a whole lot more attractive. It's due for the end of next year.

In other Halo news, look out for our massive Halo Wars preview landing this afternoon.

Andy Robinson