Game Informed
Many people have already started receiving copies of the latest issue of Game Informer which features a sweet Halo 3: Recon cover story (cover art painted by Bungie concept artist, Jaime Jones). We’re not going to ruin their story so you should definitely go check it out for some firsthand insights into Halo 3: Recon and what you can expect next Fall. However, some excerpts and snippets from the story are starting to spread around the internet and in some cases, causing some concern or confusion amongst our fans. Again, I’m not going to get into too many details because it’s Game Informer’s story to tell, but I did want to clarify two main questions I’ve seen on the interweb:
• So how long is Halo 3: Recon going to be?
Honestly it’s impossible to really quantify this. Even with Halo 3 an individual’s play time can vary dramatically based on difficulty level, modifiers like skulls, and whether or not it’s played individually, cooperatively, or within the multiplayer portions of the game, which can amount to near infinite play time. While it’s true that we view Halo 3: Recon as an extension to the Halo 3 game experience, it’s too early to settle on a specific number of hours of gameplay.
Paul Bertone, design director, was quoted as saying that part of the design process involved finding a story that would fit within a “3 to 5 hour expansion pack.” There are a few points to make here to provide more context and allay some concerns people seem to be having over their expectations for the scope of the game. First of all, while Halo 3: Recon did originate with the goal of building a 3 to 5 hour campaign experience, I can safely say that as is always the case with Bungie, the team is continuing to put more and more into it and the final product will end up being some order of magnitude more than the initial design. Game Informer also touches on the new structure to the campaign experience and how there are basically two separate components to the campaign. The initial play time targets were focused on one of those components. And lastly, there are still plenty of things we’re not talking about with Recon that will further enhance and add to the experience, play time, and replayability of the final package.
I can safely say that at the end of the day, the sum of the parts of the Halo 3: Recon box will add up to a great experience for Halo fans.
• Everyone gets Recon armor for multiplayer!?
Yes, sort of. We did confirm that when Halo 3: Recon is released next Fall, fans will finally have the means to acquire the Recon multiplayer armor for themselves. The “Vidmaster” achievements that were kicked off in the Halo 3 title update a few months ago are the first step on the road to unlocking Recon. Eventually, once you have successfully completed all of the Vidmaster achievements, you will be able to wear the armor. Some of these achievements can be earned when the Mythic Map Pack is released early next year, but you won’t be able to complete the full chain until the retail release of Halo 3: Recon next Fall. So yes, approximately two years after the release of Halo 3, the broader community will finally be able to get their hands on the Recon armor.
Bungie Link
