Got my copy of Game Informer magazine in the mail recently and found a dark authoritative image from the latest “Halo 3″ update staring back at me from the cover.

Getting on GI’s cover is no small accomplishment; it has the largest circulation and best reputation among all the gaming journals out there, so this had to be big news I was staring at.

What made this Halo “exclusive” particularly interesting was an on-the-cover claim that Bungie Studios — the formerly Microsoft-owned maker of the popular Halo franchise — opened up for the first time on this project, known for months now as “Halo 3: Recon” and due out next fall.

The game tries to fill in details missing in the time line between “Halo 2″ and “Halo 3″ by putting players in the shoes of an “orbital drop shock trooper” with far fewer strengths and abilities compared to the Master Chief we’ve all come to know and love.

Only now, less than a week after GI landed in my mailbox, I’m hearing that “Recon” already has suffered a name change, to “Halo 3: ODST,” the acronym for the main character.

And why is that? Well, Bungie says vaguely in a statement on its website, the change reflects “a more straightforward account of the experience that awaits” and the role gamers will assume.

Sounds simple enough. So then, why wasn’t the name firmed up much earlier than this — like, say, before spending tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars  on holiday promotion and advertising. Before making a prominent, respected game journal appear foolish?

Of course, Bungie didn’t explain further.

Something is wrong: Either Game Informer failed to ask basic questions in its reporting, or Bungie needs to screw on its helmet a little tighter to avoid such ill-timed gaffes as the game approaches release. I presume Bungie cannot afford to waste money in this tight economy any more than the rest of us.