Next Halo Squad-Based, Master Chief-Free?

Many assumed that Bungie's next project would feature the Master Chief marooned on a strange planet, struggling for survival--a sort of off-world Far Cry. However, a source with knowledge of the studio's development slate told GameSpot a different story. She or he said sometime this year, Bungie will announce a "darker, grittier" Halo title that doesn't feature the Master Chief at all.

According to the source, the new Halo game will be a spin-off that resembles "a cross between Ghost Recon and Gears of War." It will reportedly tell a "less cartoony" and "more bloody, violent, and grim" tale of a battle between UNSC forces and the pan-racial religious empire known as the Covenant. The game's atmosphere was described as similar to that of the live-action Halo shorts directed by South African filmmaker Neil Blomkamp, who was to helm the now-stalled big-screen adaptation of the game.

The source says the upcoming Halo game is a tactical shooter that will follow a squad of colonial marines or orbital drop shock troopers engaged in "intense" fighting on the ground. Gameplay details were scant, other than the fact it will reportedly allow gamers to play as an entire squad in co-op mode through the entire campaign. The exact number of co-op players has yet to be finalized, but it could be as high as eight. It is unclear if the new game is the same as the "Halo: Forerunner" project first rumored in 2006.