A number of new details about Bungie’s upcoming expansion to its popular FPS franchise, Halo 3 Recon, the most interesting of which is the news that it will be based on an open-world structure.

CVG reports that the latest copy of US games mag Game Informer carries the news, along with confirmation that the game will see players assume the role of an Orbital Drock Shock Trooper tasked with dealing with the events in Earth city New Mombasa during Halo 2.

The central aim of the game will be to locate your four ODST teammates, though players will be free to tackle the game world in any order they see fit.

“The reason we chose the ODST is it’s absolutely a character that we've had ideas about how to develop and put more front a centre in the Halo games," Bungie’s creative director Joseph Staten explained.

And once players reach the last known location of their missing colleagues, a 30 minute ‘flashback’ level will be triggered where gamers will play through the recent events leading to that point.

“This isn't a crazy dream sequence or metaphorical journey that the object allows you to do,” Staten added. “It works just like any detective show where a detective can arrive at a crime scene, look at the chalk drawings and bullet holes and see what's going on. He hears some echoey voices and the camera crossfades and now you're at the scene of the crime two hours ago.”