14 DAY TRIAL // In the gaming industry some franchises have gained the status of cult series, with a big number of fans eagerly anticipating anything remotely related to them and ready to buy them the instant they are available. One such series is Halo, which has become a true phenomenon, despite the fact that the team at Bungie, which was responsible for it, wasn't very confident in it, having decided to include the critically-acclaimed multiplayer in the first Halo: Combat Evolved title at the last minute.
Now, with the third installment still being played on Xbox Live, the game has gained an iconic status, with Microsoft, the publisher and current owner of the franchise, being bent on making new titles with the Halo brand. The first one will be the upcoming Halo Wars strategy game, which will take the whole futuristic universe of Halo and reveal it to gamers as a Real Time Strategy title, instead of the usual shooters.
But the most awaited game for true Halo fans is the expansion to the latest game, dubbed Halo 3: ODST, formerly known as Recon, which will tell the story of a single Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, hence the name, which is on a reconnaissance mission before the events in the original Halo 3. Although not many details were known, according to a recent post on the Bungie website, it seems that players are in for some bad news, as the popular Elites won't make an appearance in this game.
“We realize that the Elites are of a fan-favourite, so it's probably wise to set aside your compassion and steel yourself for what is about to come,” said Bungie in the latest weekly update. “There are no Elites to fight in Halo 3: ODST. We wanted to clue you in early so you didn't have a chance to let your expectations wind you into a whipping maelstrom of assumption and conjecture.”
The Elites, despite being enemies with the human-like UNSC in the first two titles, have allied with them in Halo 3 and became very popular with fans across the world. Hopefully no other characters favored by fans will be dropped by the Bungie team and we will all be able to enjoy a great experience in this title, slated for release in fall this year.