Pre-order bonuses seem to be the way to go in this industry recently, and Halo 3: ODST is no exception. Bungie & Microsoft will be giving you an exlcusive character if you pre-order the game, and no, this isn't a Gamestop exclusive. If you pre-order the game you'll receive the stalwargt sargaent of the Halo series, Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson.

Fan favourite and “Halo” series stalwart Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson is a tough-as-nails career Marine who has been in more life or death battles than you've had hot meals. He’s survived more infectious Flood outbreaks, greased more Covenant bad guys, and earned more medals than any other twenty soldiers. And now you get to walk a mile in his shoes.

Don't forget that Halo 3: ODST drops into stores on September 22nd and you'll also get access to the Halo: Reach MP Beta as announced from E3 2009. Halo: Reach won't be launching in stores until sometime in 2010. Check out more screenshots below as well as some info about Halo ODST's new co-op mode Firefight.

New campaign
Developed exclusively for Xbox 360 by acclaimed developer Bungie, “Halo 3: ODST” is a new game in the “Halo” saga that lets people experience events leading up to the epic story told in “Halo 3” through the eyes of an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), as they search for clues leading to the whereabouts of their scattered squad and the motivations behind the Covenant’s invasion of New Mombasa.

New cooperative multiplayer experience
In addition to a brand new campaign, “Halo 3: ODST” introduces a new cooperative multiplayer mode called Firefight which allows “Halo” fans to experience co-operative gaming in a whole new way: they will be fighting as members of an ODST squad against waves of increasingly challenging enemies across a variety of battlefields. This experience is made even more intense with the integration of “Halo 3’s” “skulls,” which progressively activate as time goes on to alter the gameplay and up the challenge. Players will battle through wave after wave in search of high scores, Achievements and bragging rights.

The complete “Halo 3” competitive multiplayer collection
“Halo 3: ODST” also includes a second standalone disc with three new “Halo 3” multiplayer maps, all original “Halo 3” maps, as well as the “Legendary,” “Heroic,” and “Mythic” Map packs for a total of 24 maps.

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.