TGS 08: Halo 3: Recon Announced for Fall 09

Halo fans rejoice! Microsoft has officially announced Halo 3: Recon at their press conference at the Tokyo Game Show. Developer Bungie serves up an all new adventure in this prequel/expansion that details the events leading up to Halo 3.

Series icon, Master Chief, will sit this one out as players take on the role of a UNSC Orbital Drop Ship Trooper. Microsoft promises an expanded multiplayer experience with new maps and Forge options. Check out the official press release for all the info. Halo 3: Recon arrives sometime in Fall 2009.

Latest Halo Novel Due This November

If you like Halo and you like to read, well, you'll be happy to know that the latest installment of the best selling book series based on the Halo universe is nearly upon us. Titled "Halo: The Cole Protocol", the book will "take readers into an unexplored conflict of the Human-Covenant War where unlikely alliances are formed and shattered..." At least that's how author Tobias Buckell's blog puts it.

In any event, the book will set you back about $15 bones when it hits retailers on November 25, 2008.

Ryan Payton Officially Joins Halo Team

You may remember a while back that Metal Gear Solid 4 Producer Ryan Payton left Kojima Productions in an effort to be closer to home. Well, home and Microsoft Game Studios just so happen to be pretty close for Ryan, which must be why he's been announced as the newest member of an all-star team assembled to "develop new and exciting projects within the Halo universe and support existing projects from studios like Bungie and Ensemble."

The cast also includes Bungie veteran Frank O' Connor, Corrine Yu from Gearbox, Kenneth Scott from id Software, and David Wu from Pseudo Interactive. Payton's official role on the team hasn't been disclosed, but you can bet he won't be making the coffee.