zachrb
11-17-2008, 08:07 AM
Along with the latest Bungie weekly update came some interesting Halo 3: Recon news. First off, Halo 3: Recon will have a campaign in the range of 3-5 hours. There is no set amount of levels to our knowledge, but at least we know the expansion will include a fair amount of campaign 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.
Recon armor will finally be unlockable to players of Halo 3: Recon. To gain access to this armor you must complete the Vidmaster achievements.
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.
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.
Recon armor will finally be unlockable to players of Halo 3: Recon. To gain access to this armor you must complete the Vidmaster achievements.
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.