Can’t wait for Halo 3 Recon, the upcoming expansion to the popular shooter? Well, some information on it has surfaced, and the length isn’t something to exactly look forward to.

Bungie is downplaying the length of the game, noting that it’s not a “$60 title” and that it is going to be more like a “three to five-hour expansion pack.”

There’s more! Those who buy the expansion will be able to get the ultra-rare “Recon Armor” which has previously been reserved for Bungie employees and their community-based friends. Now, you can just purchase the expansion when it comes out next year and be proud of the not-so-rare-anymore armor!

While talking to GameDaily BIZ, Microsoft corporate VP of marketing Jeff Bell revealed that Halo 3 has sold more than 5 million copies since the game’s release in September. The game totaled over 3 million copies in its first month according to sales figures from September.

Bell also noted that Mass Effect, BioWare’s Xbox 360-exclusive action-RPG, has also seen mass sales, shifting over 1 million copies within its first three weeks on the market.

The first bit of downloadable content for Halo 3 is now out on Xbox Live Marketplace - the Heroic Map Pack. It features three new multiplayer maps for the game for 800 Microsoft points. Here’s the deal:

Standoff’s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest’s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something new to the “Halo” multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map - players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.

The maps can also be edited and customized by the game’s players. They will also be available for free download in Spring 2008, just prior to the next wave of new Halo 3 multiplayer maps.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, a completely free song for Guitar Hero III was released yesterday, offering Xbox 360 owners the chance to rock out to the MJOLNIR remix of the Halo theme. The song has been written, composed and performed by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori, with Steve Vai on the guitars.

This insightful editorial on Wired takes a look at how sucky gamers take on terrorist approaches while playing Halo 3 online. The writer raises some good points without being crass or disrespectful towards people who have been killed as a result of suicide bombings.

In news that shocks no one, Microsoft announced that the recently released blockbuster Halo 3 has raked in more than $300 million in first-week sales worldwide. This makes it one of the biggest entertainment properties in the world and replaces Halo 2’s past record.

The game has since then gone on to become the most played Xbox Live game, having more than 2.7 million gamers logged in during the first week, nearly one-third of the 7 million members of the service. It also racked up more than 3.6 million hours of online gameplay, and even more.

Physics-developer Havok sends word that it powers the explosions, jumps and anything physics-related in the just-released action blockbuster Halo 3. The company’s technology was used to power ragdolls, the portable gravity lift and the “mancannon”, among other things in the game.

Not coming as a big surprise to anyone, Halo 3 has topped the list of most-played game on Xbox Live, according to this Major Nelson blog post. At number 2 is Gears of War, which was the undoubted winner till now. Guitar Hero 2, BioShock and Call of Duty 4 (beta) also make appearances on the list.

Those looking to get a Halo 3 Xbox 360 console for free should participate in the Goozex Facebook program. The online video game trading site has announced a Facebook member sweepstakes for the month of October, giving away the aforementioned special edition console to four lucky winners.

The promotion is open only to US and Canadian residents who are members of the popular social networking site. Members will need to download and share the new application developed by Goozex. Winners will be selected based on the number of active friends they invite and who use the application. The Goozex-developed application allows users to share their own game reviews, ratings and personal libraries with their friends and other users of the website.

With Halo 3 just weeks away from release, Microsoft has launched its huge marketing campaign for the game. To celebrate the release on September 25, over 10,000 retails across USA will be selling the game at 12.01am and will be hosting launch night events in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Most awesome of all, the first three days of Halo 3’s availability - September 25 through 27 - will see all Xbox Live users upgraded to Gold accounts, letting them duke it out online. This is being sponsored by Best Buy.

In more Halo 3 activities, gamers will be able to play against celebrities and Bungie in online multiplayer matches; Halo 3 content on Xbox Live Marketplace; Play & Win content from Best Buy and even more.

Europeans looking forward to getting their fix of Halo 3 can look forward to accessories inspired by the game. Microsoft will release limited edition Xbox 360 Halo 3-themed wireless controllers in the region starting September 26.

The controllers have been designed by Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn, which features both the Covenant Brute and Master Chief themes. Both are fade and scratch-resistance and come with a figurine of Master Chief designed by McFarlane himself. It will retail for £34.99. The other accessory is a Spartan green and gold wireless headset that will go for the same price.

Fingers twitching to chat? The Xbox 360 Messenger kit will also be available in the region starting September 7. This add-on for the controller enables users to text message quickly and efficiently with friends and family. It will retail for £24.99.

Through a short note it was let out that the highly anticipated Halo 3 has gone gold and has been released to manufacturing. Three years in the making at Bungie Studios, the game will hit stores worldwide on September 25.

“This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios,” said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. “This is the game we’ve always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25.”

Halo 3 is already set to smash its predecessor’s success with over one million pre-orders in North America alone. It is expected to shatter the day-one sales records when it is released.

Microsoft today announced pricing details and availability for the Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition console. Sporting an authentic Spartan green and gold finish, the console will be available starting September 26 for £279.99. It will come with a matching controller, wired headset, gamer pics and theme, HDMI port, play & charge kit, and one month Xbox Live Gold membership, among other things.

The latest Bungie update offers word that development work on Halo 3 is winding down and that the highly anticipated game is roughly 99.9% complete. They are currently doing testing and bug fixing, which is the very important .1% bit, through the Epsilon program. It’s a closed, final phase testing for the game, including a lone single-player mission and three multiplayer maps.

The rest of the update talks about playing the game on a huge IMAX screen, their server-side stuff for the game that offers the option for uploading game movies and screenshots (among other things) and storing them online for public viewing, and a sneak peek at a new multiplayer map called Narrows. They have released a couple of screenshots from the map, one of which I have included in this post.

Yes, it has been confirmed: Halo 3 will include not two, not three, but four-player co-op. In this post on Bungie’s site, the company confirms the inclusion of co-op and details the challenges in making it happen. The mode will be available for up to four players via Xbox Live, as well as System Link with two players on each console.

Apparently, the mode seems to be quite complete as they have been playing it for “quite some time” and having some of their “greatest ever” experiences. Here’s a bit on the gameplay that will be found in co-op mode:

Acting as a team is a fantastic new twist to the Campaign gameplay - something that works as well on foot, in close confines as it does on the battlefield, with large scale vehicle mayhem. Scared of Jackal snipers? Send out a scout to see what dangers lie ahead. Terrified of an open field? Flank your enemies and swipe their rides. The combinations and scenarios are endless - and you’ll be able to enjoy them time and time again in Saved Films of your co-op exploits.

Like every other aspect of Halo 3, this mode is chosen from a Lobby. Simply select Campaign, choose your network (Xbox Live or System Link) and invite your friends to join you, or they can simply join your session once it’s set up and in a lobby (but they cannot join a game once it’s in-progress). They will pop into your lobby instantly, and when you have all the players you need (anywhere from one to four) you can begin the game from the beginning - or from any of your saved checkpoints.

Split-screen co-op is as ever, limited to two players per screen - but they can if they wish join two other friends online or via System Link.

Thankfully, they have decided to add new characters instead of having four Master Chiefs running about. Player one will control Chief himself, with player two joining in as Arbiter. The other two players will don the role of brand new Elite characters, whose biographies have been posted on the site. Interestingly, all characters will have identical abilities, with only their appearance and weapon starts being different.

They’ve also released a nice group screenshots, showing off the four characters posing together. Enjoy: