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Juicy Halo 4 Game Details Revealed in Game Informer May Issue

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If you don’t like reading print, it’s okay. We’ve got you covered with some key aspects from the article.

Game Informer revealed to us a ton of Halo 4 details, which obviously excited many gamers waiting to get the full scoop on the next Halo in every aspect. Where’s Master Chief now? How many years have passed since his awakening? Who is the new enemy featured in the trailer? What can we expect out of 343 Industries’ newest title? All of that and more were revealed, so of course we’d want to pass that information on to all of you too (including the sexy cover art of Cortana from the May issue shown above).

Just to make things as easy as possible for us to cover most of what was addressed, a NeoGAF post made all the necessary actions to place them into bullet points for us. Here, take a look:

Looking at the single-player aspects first:

  • Halo 4 is set in 2557 - four years, seven months and ten days since the FUD was split into two and the finale of the events of Halo 3.
  • True native 720p with FXAA.
  • New HUD, features subtle parallel movement during athletic actions and additional visual cues indicating that you are actually wearing a helmet.
  • Chief, Cortana and other characters animated with the assistance of motion capture.
  • Cortana impending rampancy will be a critical theme as will be exploring Master Chief as a person.
  • Cortana has chosen a new visual identity whilst the Chief has been sleeping.
  • The Covenant, at least Elites and Grunts, return but are not the primary enemy.
  • The FUD eventually crash lands on Requiem, a planet enclosed in a massive Dyson Shell.
  • A new faction from Requiem is introduced. Like the Covenant they will have unique and different enemy types, weapons and equipment. "If anything, they're kind of elevated in terms of their intelligence and complexity relative to the Covenant."
  • Huge, alive environments - a piece of concept art depicts a floating air squid in a jungle setting.
  • The skybox is filled with massive pillars reaching down from above and the surrounding view is painted by the inside of the Dyson Shell.
  • Game is split between Campaign and Infinity - the new term of the entire multiplayer experience separate from the Campaign.
  • Multiplier directly and in-directly ties into the Campaign.
  • Multiplayer features Spartan IV's - adult volunteers taken from the the best of special ops soldiers, equipped with a new version of the Mjolnir armor (lightweight variation) and deployed onboard the UNSC Infinity.
  • The UNSC Infinity is the largest ship the UNSC has ever created. Over three kilometers long, it was designed with cutting edge technology and features some additional technological enhancements provided by the study of Forerunner technology - including faster and more accurate slipspace travel.
  • The UNSC is deployed on a top secret mission into deep space but will cross paths with the Master Chief during the campaign.
  • The Spartan IV's onboard train in the Infinity's "combat deck" (think holodeck or Danger room). The deck can simulate any known environment and plays host to the multiplayer games players are familiar with.
  • Firefight is absent and it is stated that there are no plans for it to return.
  • New Co-Op mode called Spartan Ops for up to four players in online Campaign-esque missions.
  • Spartan OPs introduces new movies sequences and missions on a weekly basis which tells the story of the UNSC Infinity's mission and battles the new Spartan IV's face.
  • Spartan Op missions are objective based and feature new content, events and locations each week. Spartan Ops missions also reward Spartan Points and feature selectable difficulty levels like Campaign.
  • Spartan Ops missions are not DLC, they are included in the overall Halo 4 package but it is unclear if the content is available on the disc or must be downloaded separately.
  • Weapons in the overall sandbox include Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, DMR, Assault Carbine, Covenant Carbine, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle, Magnum and Plasma Pistol. There are numerous unrevealed, new weapons.


And what you’re really looking forward to, the multiplayer aspects:

  • Loadouts are composed of a primary and secondary weapon, a grenade type, armor ability and modifications. It is unclear how the modification system works or what things it modifies or how.
  • Returning Armour Abilities include Hologram, Jet-Pack and Camo. A new ability to see through walls was shown and Sprint is now a baseline ability all players will have access to at all times.
  • FFA Variant, Regicide. Lead slayer is "King" - each of the King’s kills raises his "bounty". The bounty is claimed by whoever kills the King.
  • In Team Slayer (not confirmed for other gametypes), players can respawn instantly after death if they choose. Additionally, power weapons are introduced into a game on a random timer and appear at random drop points on the map.
  • Medals are turning including new medals for "revenge kills" and for causing a distraction.

So far, the release date for Halo 4 is set for this coming holiday season, which is looking to one of the key titles to release this year. Until then, we’ll be sure to keep an ear out for you on more Halo info!

Source: Xbox360achievements.org

 
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Steve Melton
8:24 PM
4/9/2012

Forge? Hmmm... I'm still not sure about H4. I'll buy it, but I don't think it'll end up being my 'fix' based on what we know so far.


smurphster
8:25 PM
4/9/2012

There are some bullet points that worry me... Like no firefight, and "co-op mode". Notably absent is campaign co-op. Uggg, I really hope they're not screwing this up. They seem to be taking a lot of cues from CoD and they don't need to. Halo is different and extremely popular. I like CoD, but I don't want Halo turning into future CoD.


The Squatchmen
9:52 PM
4/9/2012

A lot of games that are in the shooter genre are blending, games are like genes in a animal if there's a small gene pool the survival of the species might die, games need to be creative.

From the article I can tell you that everything so far I like, the sprinting and abilities. I DON'T like the loadouts. C'mon 343!


The Squatchmen
9:53 PM
4/9/2012

@smurphster - can you tell me how I can change my profile/avatar pic, thanks


BigBadBob113
9:57 PM
4/9/2012

If the game lacks campaign co-op, that's a huge loss. However, I am intrigued by the four player mission-based co-op.


txshurricane
9:57 PM
4/9/2012

I agree, Murph, the lack of campaign co-op notes is scary. One positive is the addition of sprint, and the unspoken prospect of iron sights.


smurphster
9:47 AM
4/10/2012

--- Replying to Silentstriderm -----
Well that's good news... Still not happy about firefight though.


Mrxknown_JG
10:35 AM
4/10/2012

--- Replying to smurphster -----

I agree with a lot of what smurph has stated, but only in this thread.

No Firefight? Lack of a bullet point for campaign co-op, though IGN says it will return. Sprint as a constant ability. Halo: Reach already had so much going on with it. Now players will have 2 abilities at any one time? How will they be activated?

I see that Cortana chose a more *cough* full-figured look. Ugh.

I just don't feel like I will be buying Halo anymore. ODST was a great game, but Halo: Reach never stuck with me. Maybe as I go through this downtime period of not buying new games I'll work my way back to it.


smurphster
11:37 AM
4/10/2012

--- Replying to Mrxknown_JG -----
Actually, that part kind of makes sense. I don't think 343 decided they wanted to see more boob, I'm sure there was more thought put into it. Cortana is literally going crazy and it's not surprising that she decided to alter her image in a more... appealing way.


txshurricane
1:11 PM
4/10/2012

--- Replying to smurphster -----
According to the Halo Encyclopedia, AIs in the Halo universe cannot change their avatar once they've chosen it.


smurphster
2:01 PM
4/10/2012

--- Replying to txshurricane -----
LOL... Yeah, I guess "normal" AIs aren't able to (suckers). Cortana is not normal. Have you read the books? Do you know how Cortana came to be? I don't mean to nerd out on this but seriously, I don't think Cortana should be thought of as a typical UNSC AI. Sure she was programmed not to be able to change her appearance, but that doesn't mean she can't. It's like Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics. You really can't "hard code" the laws because the whole idea behind artificial intelligence is that they LEARN. The way we (humans) define terms like "harm" is so ambiguous, that the AI must learn to interpret the laws and then make decisions based on interpretations (just like we do). Asimov himself wrote about robots who disregarded the laws. It's not outside the realm of possibility that Cortana has learned to do something that is against it's creator's rules/laws. In that respect, she actually takes after her creator. Hell, her creator may have hacked the code before creating her.


txshurricane
2:07 PM
4/10/2012

--- Replying to smurphster -----
I think you're really stretching the lore just to give credibility to 343's decision to make her more "marketable".


smurphster
2:32 PM
4/10/2012

You're entitled to your opinion. I'm not stretching the lore. All I'm saying is Cortana breaks rules all the time. I don't find it surprising that she's chosen a new image, and it's not surprising that she chose to be more attractive. She's spent 4 years stranded on half a ship. That's a LOOONG time for an AI with nothing to do. Plus, she was already old for an AI, and she's been through a lot. She's going rampant.

Honestly, I think 343 is taking the lore more seriously than Bungie did with Halo Reach. There were parts of Reach that directly contradicted the novels.


Mrxknown_JG
3:05 PM
4/10/2012

--- Replying to smurphster -----

I think it isn;t a case of her changing her appearance and more 343 updating her look through the graphics and design. Each game is limited to a point of how the characters are presented. Still, I find this annoying, but it doesn't change the fact that I still do not care one way or another about playing this game.


Arionel
1:21 PM
4/11/2012

It sounds like to me that 343 replaced firefight with with this new multiplayer/campaign/specops mode, an obvious attempt to separate themselves from Bungie.


Mrxknown_JG
2:14 PM
4/11/2012

--- Replying to Arionel -----

That and renaming multiplayer "Infinity" for the sole purpose to have multiplayer be tied into the story somehow. MP never needed to have a story. It's origins date back to when you were just playing clones of the same character killing each other.

Although I am interested in the co-op missions they have announced. I just hope the missions are not timed. I do just yearn for the Firefight experiences from ODST. Heck, I just want a sequel to ODST.

Why does the UNSC need to continue to churn out Spartans since the war with the Covenant is over? In the four years that followed Halo 3, did they resume the Civil war they were involved in?

Are these new Spartan IVs a way to distance themselves from the backstory of having children stolen from their parents and replaced with fast-dying clones?

Can't they just move on from Master Chief and introduce a new guy/gal?


smurphster
3:23 PM
4/11/2012

--- Replying to Mrxknown_JG -----
No... At least not yet. I think 343 needs to continue the story with the iconic MC and Cortana. I'm sure they'll branch out and tell us different stories, but I think they'll be more successful this way.


RanX3roX
4:43 PM
4/11/2012

NO FIREFIGHT??? oh man... love me some firefight. I guess Spec Ops type missions will be ok. But that is disappointing.
Also in the book the Fall Of Reach Dr. Halsey designed Cortana to NOT be a typical AI. She is a code breaker and habitual haxxor I am sure she can merely change her appearance.


smurphster
4:48 PM
4/11/2012

--- Replying to RanX3roX -----
Right... I was beating around the bush with Cortana's creation to avoid spoilers for people who might be reading the books. It's hard to argue your point while avoiding spoilers at the same time

That said, I think that chapter was my favorite from Fall of Reach. It shines a different light on both Halsey and Cortana.


RanX3roX
12:43 PM
4/12/2012

Holy Spoilers you are right... sorry if I ruined that for anyone. >_<

On a different topic since there are co op spec ops type missions does this mean there is no co op campaign?


lolgio4
11:15 PM
4/12/2012

I Hope co-op campaign could come back since is one of halos coolest additions, forge and custom games must come back there are one of the reasons Halo was diferent from the other shooter games giving creativity and fun plus i think 343 industries will give us what everybody wants in the new installment and we can't judge that the game is not gonna be good if we haven't played it yet we must wait and see what 343 has in store for us.

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Total Comments: 22

Release Date: 11.06.2012
Genre: FPS
ESRB: Mature

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