The latest issue of Game Informer has the goods on Halo 3 Recon, and the revelations trickling out onto the Web are dropping some surprising details. Namely, the next iteration of Halo will have open-world gameplay.

Don’t worry, Halo’s first-person shooting isn’t going to turn into Grand Theft Auto: Blood Gulch, but the game will have substantial free-roaming segments. According to Game Informer, here’s how the game will flow:

The main playable character is a rookie Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST, shown in a live-action Halo 3 promo above), searching the African city of New Mombasa for the rest of his missing squad. During this time, players will guide their voiceless avatar through the open city to points of interest, some of which will trigger flashbacks. These flashbacks will put the player in the boots of the squadmates, who will then proceed through a more traditional Halo level, but with the new parameters of the ODSTs.

"It works just like any detective show, Cold Case or Law and Order or whatever, where a detective can arrive at a crime scene, look at the chalk drawings and bullet holes and see what’s going on," said Bungie Creative Director Joseph Staten. "He hears some echoey voices and the camera crossfades and now you’re at the scene of the crime two hours ago."

The ODSTs won’t have shields, but they will have the ability to regenerate health and a visor mode, briefly displayed in the teaser trailer, that may work like the Solid Eye from Metal Gear Solid 4 or the visors from Metroid Prime, providing data on enemies and the environment.