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I recently heard that Recon is going to be giving to all players in Halo 3, which created a sense of "awesome!" and "...not awesome..." at the same time.
I'm sure some of you will not care about reading this, but I'll still post it anyway.
"AWESOME!" Argument
For the reason "awesome!", I feel as though 343 is not letting go of Halo 3's multiplayer, but rather reviving it.
By giving out Recon to all Halo 3 players, this invites the players to play Halo 3 online, boosting the live population and letting players experience a Halo that is different (and in my opinion better) than Reach's multiplayer.
Another reason is for the fact that Vidmaster's are incredibly hard to achieve since Halo 3's population has decreased. Sure, Vidmaster's were difficult at first back in 2009, but some of us (including me) were able to get them unlocked because our friends and other randoms on Live wanted them as well.
However, since [almost] everyone is on Reach, it is hard to find partners for completing Vidmaster achievements. It seemed to be a "at the time" event, where Vidmaster's were the focus of the Halo community.
"...not awesome..." Argument
For this reason, I believe that the free distribution of Recon is exploiting the once rare and envied armor that players strived to earn.
Obviously, Recon was only worn by Bungie employees and those who created machinimas, screen shots, forge maps, etc. that were recognized by Bungie for being awesome, incredible, bla bla bla.
Bungie was kind enough to release Recon armor by unlocking the Vidmaster achievements, so unlocking Recon was extremely satisfying and rewarding after all 7 Vidmasters were achieved. I personally remember completing the "ODST Firefight" Vidmaster and being extremely happy seeing Recon armor in my armory.
By giving Recon away for free, this creates a dull experience, and makes the treasure of Halo 3 just another set of armor. It's like giving away the Inheritor helmet to all players...you have to truly earn it to wear it.
If [and most likely when] everyone starts wearing Recon, it will become a pain and annoyance, just like Hayabusa. Everyone thinks it is cool and equips it, and over some [short] time it becomes useless, just like Justin Bieber. Bad joke is bad, I know.
Basically, unlocking Recon seems more satisfying that simply receiving it.
Overall Opinion / Conclusion
Despite the free recon, I support 343's decision, even though a part of my Halo 3 experience is whithering away from this action.
Mainly due to the [hopeful] result that Halo 3 will become more populated, I look forward to reliving the old glorious nights on Halo 3, whether it be campaign missions, custom games, or the wonderful, fun time on Xbox Live BTB or Slayer matches.
Only time will tell on how the free distribution of Recon will reveal its impact on the Halo community.