If you've kept up with Halo 3: ODST news all through E3 -- and there's no reason you shouldn't, since we've been reporting -- then you'd already know that a pre-order will unlock Sgt. Johnson as a playable Firefight character.

For Halo newbies, Firefight is a new multiplayer mode in ODST that works like Horde Mode in Gears of War 2, only on a larger scale.  You team up with human allies and try to suppress (and survive) waves of randomly generated Covenant units, from peons to Hunters, to Covenant aircraft.

Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson definitely one of the few characters in the video game series with a memorable personality.  Now you have a chance to run around gunnin' down Covenant in his shoes.  Luckily, fans won't need to pre-order ODST for Halo: Reach beta access.

And, of course, here are the new Firefight screens from Bungie, all featuring Sgt. Johnson himself.