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ODSTs to return in Halo: Reach?

"Would be a shame" if not in some form.

Bungie is still keeping quiet about plans for Halo: Reach, but has hinted that Halo 3: ODST's Orbital Drop Shock Troopers may return.

"It would be a shame if we made a game about the planet Reach - a place where Buck, the ODST's squad leader, was known to be - and not have him appear in some way, shape or form," Halo 3: ODST's writer and creative director Joseph Staten told G4.

Elsewhere in the same interview, Staten also said that there are still "smaller treats" that people haven't uncovered in ODST itself. "Folks looking forward to Halo: Reach would be wise to pay particular attention to the licence plates on New Mombasa's 'Genet' coupes," he noted.

So far all we really know about Halo: Reach is that it takes place around the time the colony Reach is attacked by Covenant, a period during which a number of Spartan-IIs - i.e. Master Chief-style supersoldiers - are active on the planet.

We also know to expect some form of beta next year prior to release, to which Halo 3: ODST buyers are guaranteed access. Bungie has yet to say what kind of beta that will be, however, despite occasional murmurings that Firefight may return.

For more analysis and speculation about what to expect from Reach, check out Digital Foundry's Halo 3: ODST tech analysis.

Or, if you've not bothered with ODST yet, you could always check out our Halo 3: ODST review.