Bungie creative director, Joseph Staten, sat down to talk with the Seattle Times in a recent interview and offered some news about the upcoming Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach. He said how that ODST will be more dramatic than previous games and will have a mystery aspect to it as you piece together what happened to the rest of the ODSTs. However, the notable thing he mentions is that the city in ODST will be like "an 'open world' model popularized by the 'Grand Theft Auto' games." Players can choose whether to explore the city or head to the areas that trigger flashbacks.

At the end Bungie President, Harold Ryan, mentioned about the possibility of Halo: Reach using Natal. He says that the possibility is definitely there. "I absolutely think 'Reach' could be enabled with it," he said.

All sorts of changes are under way inside the dark and mysterious Kirkland bunker where Bungie, the renown game studio, is putting final touches on the next version of "Halo."

For one thing, Bungie is going into a dramatically new direction with "Halo 3: ODST," the latest installment in the blockbuster sci-fi shooting franchise that established Microsoft's Xbox console and has sold more than 27 million copies worldwide. It's also Bungie's first release since the studio became independent of Microsoft in 2007.

"Halo" is the Harry Potter of video games, a staggering success with devoted fans who can't wait for every new edition, so there's a risk in tinkering with the formula.

Apparently fans are pleased with previews they've seen so far. "ODST" remains the most-anticipated game of the year, with 53 percent of gamers in a Nielsen survey planning to buy the $60 title after it goes on sale Sept. 22.

McClubbin via seattletimes.nwsource.com »