More news from Tokyo Game Show: Microsoft announced the recently teased new Halo 3 expansion, now titled Halo 3: Recon.  The game’s campaign will be a prequel to the story of Halo 3 and will not feature the Master Chief.  Instead, you play as an ODST grunt (well, slightly better than the cannon-fodder “allies” that got in the way in Halo 3, but not quite a Spartan either) and will apparently “require you to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before.” Read on for full details.

Official game description from Xbox.com:

• All-new campaign content: The Halo 3: Recon campaign is an intriguing side story that takes place during the terrifying events leading up to the Master Chief’s return to New Mombasa in Halo 3. Experience the fate of Earth from the brand-new perspective of a special forces ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), adding a unique outlook and new gameplay elements to the events that unfold in the trilogy’s finale. While the feel of this new chapter greatly resembles that of previous Halo experiences, Halo 3: Recon will require you to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before.
• Prepare to drop: Known for their courage, valor and, at times, insanity, ODSTs are among the fiercest UNSC soldiers, priding themselves on being the first unit deployed into hostile situations. While not as large or supernaturally gifted as their Spartan comrades, these “Hell Jumpers” more than compensate with their ferocious attitudes and unwavering nerve.
• Expanded multiplayer collection: No Halo experience would be complete without groundbreaking multiplayer content, and Halo 3: Recon gives fans more of what they love. With exclusive new maps and expanded Forge options, Xbox LIVE® Gold members will find more multiplayer content than ever before with Halo 3: Recon.
• Ever-growing community options: Enjoy all the great Halo 3 technological innovations, including Saved Films, screenshots, Campaign Scoring, and four-player co-op. All of the new multiplayer maps fully support the Forge editor, offering endless gameplay customization possibilities.

I was never a big fan of the overhyped monster that is the Halo franchise, but I am oddly pretty interested in seeing how Recon plays. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get overhyped by the time it releases next year and ends up on my list of games to hate on principle. My magic 8-ball says “Fat chance”.

Tags: Bungie, Forge, Halo-3, Marine, Master-Chief, ODST, Recon, Spartan, TGS, TGS 08, Tokyo Game Show, UNSC

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4 Comments » John Kershaw on October 9, 2008 5:21 am My prediction: This expansion will be awesome, but horribly over-hyped leading to people disliking it unfairly (See: Halo 3). Wade on October 9, 2008 8:50 am “require you to employ more elements of stealth and cunning than ever before.” Halo 3 had stealth and cunning!? Where? Did I miss it? Was it a bonus level or something? ice644 on October 9, 2008 4:33 pm Isn’t this now called Keep it Clean. Anyone that has an Xbox 360 and Live should know this. Dan Landis on October 9, 2008 6:07 pm Actually, ice644, the teaser trailer was dubbed “Keep It Clean” and was for an unnamed Halo 3 game. That game was just revealed at Tokyo Game Show to be titled Halo 3: Recon. Anyone that has an Xbox 360 and a connection to the Internet should know this. RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.