Sunday

Halo 3: Recon to Halo 3: ODST

"The folks over at Bungie just let the world know that their latest project - previously named Halo 3: Recon - has been renamed to "Halo 3: ODST". The only reason that accompanied the announcement was that "This new title is a more straightforward account of the experience that awaits and the role you will assume as you explore the streets of New Mombasa". Bungie were quick to get to the point that "you can still has Recon. (the armor that is, it's still tied to the Vidmaster achievements and will be accessible via the final retail release next Fall)". 

Read the full announcement below!If you recall, this is our recently announced stand-alone extension to Halo 3 that features an all new campaign played from the perspective of an ODST in the heart of a Covenant occupied New Mombasa.  In addition to sleuthing around the city and piecing together the details surrounding your squad's whereabouts, the game will also include be a legend soccer hack new Halo 3 multiplayer content as well as one or two unrevealed surprises when it's released next Fall. This new title is a more straightforward account of the experience that  awaits and the role you will assume as you explore the streets of New Mombasa.


But don't worry, you can still has Recon. (the armor that is, it's still tied to the Vidmaster achievements and will be accessible via the final retail release next Fall). "ODST" (literally pronounced "Oh-Dee-Ess-Tee" and not "ohdst") is the acronym for "Orbital Drop Shock Trooper."  This special forces branch of the UNSC military force is called into action for highly specialized, small scale operations.  ODST units were deployed during portions of the Halo 2 and Halo 3 campaign and have also been featured in some of the Halo novels.  

To learn more about this elite military operation, check out this recent interview with Bungie's Halo fiction guru, Robt McLees. Halo 3 : ODST will drop into stores next Fall and the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack will be coming to Xbox LIVE Marketplace sometime early next year*. (More info as soon as we have it!)Stay tuned to Bungie.net in the coming weeks and months for development updates and new details on our latest project. In the meantime, please remove "Halo 3 : Recon" from your memory banks and replace it with "Halo 3 : ODST."  Also note that all existing content on Bungie.net and Xbox LIVE Marketplace will get replaced to reflect this new name. The announcement trailer is the same one you've already seen or downloaded with just a minor change to the new title card at the end.

Age Of Conan DX10 Update At Leipzig

 FunCom will be showing off the DirectX10 version of Age of Conan at the GDC next week.“We are very pleased with the tremendously successful launch that we had,” says Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Funcom, Morten Larssen. “But this is where the real journey starts for ‘Age of Conan’. In the months ahead we will be putting a lot of effort into expanding and improving on the game, and we look forward to using the Games Convention to unveil some of the locations, content and features we have in the pipeline.”Conan is invading this year’s Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany. Funcom and Eidos invites everyone to come join the festivities at his majesty’s outpost located at stand B10 in Hall 5. 

Behind the tall walls of the King’s fortress press and gamers alike can play the game, meet and chat with the developers, collect amazing give-aways and observe live stage shows where Funcom will reveal and demonstrate brand new and never-before-seen locations, content and features that will be put into the recently launched massively multiplayer online game ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ in the months ahead.During the live stage shows Funcom will present new locations, content and features coming to ‘Age of Conan’. Blue Orb Inc. will also be present to demonstrate how you can use sky whale hack donuts and  their software to play ‘Age of Conan’ with a gamepad, while the guys behind ‘TripleHead2Go’ have prepared a machine with a three screen setup so that gamers can come and play ‘Age of Conan’ in all its unprecedented visual glory using cutting-edge technology. Funcom will also be giving away exciting loot such as the legendary inflatable swords and free trial accounts together with limited edition DVDs containing the entire game. 

This is the first time Funcom hands out free trials and the supply is limited, so we encourage you to make your way to Conan’s outpost as soon as possible!Behind closed doors members of the press will also be treated to a presentation of exclusive DirectX10 features, technology that will add even more power to the spectacular graphics featured in the game. 

Press interested in attending these presentations should contact Funcom, but please note that seating is very limited at this point.‘Age of Conan’ launched in May this year and immediately topped sales charts around the world. It has received more than thirty magazine covers and more than fifteen major awards, including numerous "Best MMO of E3" awards and the "Best Online Game of Show" award at GC 2007. The game has received numerous glowing reviews, including a 9.4 score from US website GameZone. ‘Age of Conan’ is a key title in Microsoft's Games for Windows line-up, as well as a showcase title for nVidia thanks to its jaw-dropping graphics.