Last week TGR laid out five bullet points Bungie needs to hit in Halo 3: Recon, the upcoming single-player expansion to Halo 3 starring the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers featured in previous games as NPCs. Today, we give you five things the developer should avoid like the Flood to make sure Recon is a success.
Scarabs Everywhere
It was very satisfying to destroy several Scarabs in Halo 3. We just hope that Bungie don’t try and outdo themselves by including lots of Sscarabs to kill in this new title. We reckon the ODSTs would struggle. No offense lads. Arf.
The Game as a Full Price Release
No, it’s not an actual in-game gripe, but recent comments from Bungie suggest that they are completely powerless in the decision making of the price point, and are uncomfortable making comments about it all. When questioned in a recent Eurogamer interview if $20 was a fair price, Bungie’s Community and PR Director Brian Jarrard stated that three Halo 3 maps were selling on Xbox Live for $10, and that the game will be “a lot more value than six maps”. It’s definitely uncomfortable to see how nervous Bungie are discussing such things about the game. It makes our wallets sad.
Spartans in the Single Player
We hope that Spartans are confined to small references within the game; some sort of in-game discussion between two marines by your side who claim to have seen one. Yeah, it would be nice if we saw a Spartan outside of Master Chief, but at the same time – Spartans shouldn’t be stealing the limelight in this game. We want Joe the Plumber to take to the spotlight. Besides, the Spartans are pretty much dead or trapped or in hiding like the Jedi anyway; so it seems we’re in luck.
Premium DLC
While it seems likely that Recon will be a one-off game, and that DLC probably won’t happen, it would still bum us out to see Microsoft drop some sort of extension to the campaign on us for $10 or more. This game is apparently a labor of love, so if they do decide to bring in fresh content, then give all those Halo fans reasons to celebrate. After all, Microsoft, Bungie has provided you with millions from all those map packs and Xbox Live subscriptions over the years. Not to mention, they keep on – and will continue to keep on – buying anything Halo. And no MS, that still does not give you an excuse to release a monthly Halo magazine.
Some Sort of ‘Sexy’ AI Construct
Cortana has a nice ass and a sexy voice; Serina, from the upcoming Halo Wars, is quite striking; so can we stop using the AI constructs as an excuse to add in some sort of strong female character to the story? As seen in the trailer for Recon, there appears to be an AI construct using the City signs to guide the protagonist. So it’s quite probable that we’ll be encountering a new construct. And it’s about time we saw a male AI construct. There are plenty of them in the Halo books, such as ‘Endless Summer’ – a ‘smart’ AI in the form of a Cherokee Indian Chief. Okay, maybe not as sexy as Cortana or Serina (depends how much you like the Village People though…); but a welcome change in this new direction for Halo.
You might agree; you might disagree; you might have your own opinions. So let us know in the comments box below what else you would or would not like to see in the game…or if you think the Village People are sexy.
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