According to a Nielsen report yesterday, Halo 4 is the most anticipated Xbox 360 title at the moment. The Halo franchise is still one of the biggest names in gaming and the upcoming return of Master Chief will bring with it some new and interesting elements of gameplay.
According to GameStop’s US magazine, GameInformer, there will be a new cooperative mode for up to four players which will be delivered via downloadable weekly episodes. There will be a new cutscene and missions every week as the co-op campaign plays along a similar path to the single player story. The best part is that these weekly updates will be totally free.
There are other additions to the multiplayer too, with at least one new game mode called Regicide in which the top scoring player is King and his value as a target increases with each kill he makes.
343 Industries has promised that the multiplayer will have ties to the storyline too, with the action taking place among a group of SPARTAN IV soldiers on board a ship – the USNC Infinity – that Master Chief will encounter during the main campaign.
Halo 4 will see the Covenant re-cast as antagonists but it will also see a new kind of enemy that has been teased as more intelligent than the Covenant or The Flood were in previous games. The game’s plot is said to explore some of the story of the Forerunners, the ancient race that built the Halo installations and are now worshipped as gods buy the Covenant. It will also focus on the relationship between Master Chief and an ailing Cortana.
Halo 4 is due out in time for Christmas this year.
Source: GameInformer via NeoGAF
halbpro
Free episodic DLC? That’s really supporting the long tail, brilliant idea.
If they can keep it up weekly it’ll be amazing as well, first episodic DLC I can think of that manages that.
colossalblue
I imagine they’ll launch with a season plan so they’ve got something like 12 episodes ready to go. But yes, it’s another hook to keep discs in trays and I think it’s a great idea.
SH Number 7/Mini-Lipscombe
Did they say free?
I’m not sure if I approve though, one of my favourite things about Halo is the co-op campaign and if I can only play 1 level a week that sucks!
And I’m disappointed that the Covenant are back, the war is over with them, I wanted new enemies. I was hoping that we could get rid of the brightly coloured enemies and such. Or even have Grunts on the human side like Elites, that would be bad ass.
halbpro
The war is only sort of over. I actually like that the Covenant are back, it reflects their political structure and the way the war ended quite nicely. And whose to say they won’t side with you as well? In the book Glasslands (which is set between Halo 3 and 4) there’s a lot of stuff to do with a civil war of former Covenant brewing, and some of them are still pretty pissed at humans as well.
bigbaldwolf
I hope this is better than Halo 3. I just ouldn’t get into that game and the story was meh. I will be keeping an eye out for this though because I still love Halo games.
bigbaldwolf
*couldn’t. My lack of typing skills and checking have cost me there
colossalblue
Really? I thought Halo 3 was fairly average for the opening couple of hours but then it got really good. That ending sequence is still really memorable.
halbpro
Oh man once it goes flood it’s mental.
SH Number 7/Mini-Lipscombe
Halo 3 was good agreed the first bit was a bit boring but it was good overall much better than 2, and Reach was one of my favourite campaigns ever, really caring about the characters, I nearly cried when George died and I think I did cry at the end of the fight to survive bit at the end and then the Dr. doing the monologue as you look at 6’s helmet on the floor. There were some plot holes in Reach, I still haven’t finish Fall of Reach but am near the end and don’t see how the game fits with the book, but even with that I loved it.
I have high hopes for 343 I can’t imagine this being anything but awesome, I’m a bit skeptical on the Spartan IVs though, and their look, but I like that it has a story for multiplayer and that it does tie in to the main game as long as it makes sense and they didn’t just put that ship in the game to try and tack a poor story onto multiplayer.
jikomanzoku
“Is it me your looking for?” had me in stitches mate, mainly due to hearing Stevie Wonder in my head as I read it :D
jikomanzoku
And on topic, I hope 343 make good torch bearers for the series.
jikomanzoku
Or was it Lionel Richie.
Kennykazey
It seems I’m gonna need to rent a 360 for this.
Sad Panda
Still think the end of Halo 3 is one of the most impressive endings I’ve played. The thrum of the musical score giving me goosebumps as I played.
After that it all went downhill, I stuck with ODST but couldn’t bring myself to finish Reach. I just wasn’t enjoying it, it deviates too much from the book, which I loved, and the gameplay just felt wrong.
Then the HD remix came out and full of nostalgia I ploughed through that, though it was a tad harder than I remembered. I doubt this will top Gears 3 but I’m interested.
halbpro
I’m not sure it’s fair to say Reach deviates from the book, it’s telling a different story.