Pre-Order Halo 3: ODST & Get Stuff, Good Stuff

Well, Microsoft just informed me that when “Halo 3: ODST” drops on September 22 fans are in for a treat should they decide to pre-order this guaranteed seller from selected retailers. Info, after the link.

The deal is that if you pre-order “Halo 3: ODST” at participating retailers, likely GameStop, GAME etc; you will receive a token to unlock grizzled UNSC hero Sgt. Johnson as a playable character in the multiplayer Firefight mode. Sounds great if you love grizzled marines. Me? I’ve always been more of a Samus Aran kind of fella.

The new cooperative multiplayer mode Firefight allows you to fight as members of an ODST squad against waves of increasingly challenging enemies across a variety of battlefields. Sounds a little like Horde mode but again until it hits it’s all conjecture for me. I’m sure Bungie will find a way to make the mode stand out somewhat. What’s also interesting is that the new standalone multiplayer maps ship on a second disc with the Legendary, Heroic and Mythic packs included so again, Bungie are providing value here for folks that don’t have Halo 3. Not many folks then.

Wait! That’s not all, this little nugget of information – which is probably more exciting than ODST for some folks – was hidden right at the end of the press release.

Ensure your place in the “Halo: Reach” beta
Purchasing “Halo 3: ODST” will ensure “Halo” fans get access to the “Halo: Reach” multiplayer beta when the beta goes live in the future. Announced at E3 2009, “Halo: Reach” is the prequel to the blockbuster “Halo” trilogy and is scheduled for release in fall of 2010.

Hear that? Beta access in Halo: Reach, meaning Spartans, lasers and online multiplayer fun. Probably the reason that alot of folks will pick up ODST in the same way that they picked up Crackdown which sold boatloads based upon the Halo 3 beta.