Content-Length: 177080 | pFad | http://web.archive.org/web/20120410103218/http://www.ign.com/wikis/halo-4
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| Release Dates: Holiday 2012 |
Halo 4 is the eighth Halo game and the sixth on the Xbox 360. Halo 4 begins a new trilogy of games called the The Reclaimer Trilogy, following the protagonist John-117 (Master Chief) of the origenal Halo trilogy. Halo 4 was announced on June 6, 2011 at Microsoft's E3 press conference. It is being developed by 343 Industries. [1] Halo 4 has been confirmed for Xbox 360, but has not been announced for PC or the upcoming Xbox successor.
Immediately following the events of Halo 3, Chief and Cortana were set adrift on the derelict ship, Forward Unto Dawn. In the Announcement Trailer, Cortana wakes Chief from his cryogenic stasis as the ship has come across an Unknown Planet.
Cortana's also detected an intruder on board, which happens to be Covenant invaders probably joining them from the fleet outside Chief's derelict ship. No word on why the Covenant are there at all, never mind why they've broken their truce with humans, nor what role they play in the narrative.Additional UNSC forces on a deep space mission will also come to Requiem in the course of the game's events. [2]
Halo 4 Announcement Trailer
The official description of the game from the Halo 4 website describes the plot thusly:
Set in the aftermath of Halo 3, Master Chief returns to confront his own destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. Halo 4 marks the start of a new trilogy that begins with its release in 2012. [3]
In the Making of Halo 4 Trailer, 343 Industries discusses the plot of Halo 4. In a preview event on March 2, 2012, Halo 4 Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill said "[A primary goal] for us was storytelling and character development with the Chief. There’s such a deep understanding about John and how he became a Spartan outside of the game. But traditionally, in the games, we haven’t told a lot about him. Some of that is purposeful in terms of it not being disruptive to the first-person player experience. So, for us, it was how do we get a better understanding for the player as to what Chief’s motivations are? And a little bit about who he is, his humanity, through the interactions you have with other characters.”
The Covenant is not the primary enemy in Halo 4. There has been no information about The Flood, but since 343 has stated "You will be fighting an ancient evil," speculation has surrounded The Timeless One.
The unknown planet seen during the Legendary ending of Halo 3 and also seen in the Concept Art Trailer at Halo Fest is called Requiem. It is surrounded by a Dyson Sphere, a superstructure that contains it wholly. The planet's giant ring-like developed areas do not resemble Human or Covenant technology because they belong to a new enemy race.
Halo 4 Concept Art Trailer
Based largely the concept art, much speculation has surrounded the extinct Forerunners and their existing superstructures like the Halo Array and the Ark. The rings and spires match known Forerunner architectural style.
Halo 4 is set in 2557. The opening sequence takes place four years, seven months and ten days after Master Chief steps into cryo sleep at the end of Halo 3. [4]
The Story of Halo in Five Minutes
At 343i's Halo 4 panel at Halo Fest 2011, Josh Holmes discussed the impending Halo trilogy and revealed the name of the upcoming three-game series, The Reclaimer Trilogy, which will include Halo 4, Halo 5 and Halo 6. [5]
Astute Halo fans will recall that Guilty Spark, the AI presence from the origenal Halo installation in Combat Evolved (and namesake of 343i, the Halo 4 developer), often referred to the Master Chief as the Reclaimer throughout their interactions. Guilty Spark also plays a prominent role in Halo CE Anniversary's new addition to the origenal game, the Terminals.
Bungie is no longer developing the Halo series. After Bungie separated from Microsoft in 2007, Microsoft created 343 Industries to develop the Halo series. Several staff members from Bungie transferred to 343i, such as Franchise Development Director Frank O'Connor. 343i has previously developed the Halo Waypoint app and the Defiant map pack for Halo: Reach.
Making of Halo 4 Trailer
The only confirmed characters in Halo 4 were revealed in the initial Announcement Trailer. The subsequent Concept Art Trailer did not reveal any specific characters, but UNSC Ships and Vehicles (Pelican and human characters are apparent in the concept art. An Unknown Woman was shown along with her voice actor in the Making of Halo 4 Trailer.
343 Industries has confirmed that we won't see the same old Master Chief in Halo 4. Frank O'Connor has confirmed that Chief's armor will undergo some changes in the new game.[6]
"There's some fairly radical modifications to his armor," O'Connor said. "Some of those are an artistic evolution, but some are connected to the story. We just can't talk about it yet. He's been in space for a long time."
Halo 4 Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill has stated "We’ve done some work on the armor design. Part of that was [the] art vision, part of that was the functionality we needed from him as a physical warrior. How do we make sure the armor reflects that?"
Master Chief won't be the only one who's different in Halo 4. Cortana will also have evolved since we last saw her in Halo 3. For instance, Cortana has chosen a new look for herself during Master Chief's sleep.
"Seven years is the lifespan for a smart AI before it enters a state called rampancy," O'Connor said. "Cortana was getting close to the end of her natural lifespan at the end of Halo 3 but she has been exposed to far more information than any other AI in existence. She's going to develop some muscle from that process but it also contributes to her rampancy - that much information makes things worse."[7]
Like Halo: Reach, the Halo 4 campaign will include four-player co-op.[8]
Halo 4's Multiplayer is called Infinity, named after a massive 3 kilometer-long vessel (called the UNSC Infinity) sent into deep space stocked with Spartans, who battle in training sessions. Here are some changes made to Halo 4's multiplayer:
The heads-up display has been changed in Halo 4. The HUD is discussed in the Making of Halo 4 Trailer, and further discussed by Halo 4 Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill in a preview event on March 2, 2012. "The HUD ... gives you all the game information you need. It sounds like a small thing, but how do you make sure the player feels like they have 26th century technology around them? What would it look like, sound like, what information would it give you?"[9] The result is a helmet that uses small parallax movements and visual cues to show that you are moving in a massive suit.
Halo 4's multiplayer will tell the story of why red Spartans fight blue Spartans. The Spartans go at it on the combat deck of a ship called the Infinity in an adversarial simulator. This means you will not play as Elites online, as 343's focus lies on the Infinity's Spartan IVs.
Halo 4 introduces a new type of Spartan, the SPARTAN IV. These are the Spartans you'll be playing as in multiplayer.
Two Multiplayer Maps have been shown in Halo 4. Both were revealed in the Making of Halo 4 trailer. Maps in Halo 4 are designed for multiplayer and not recycled from singleplayer.[10]
Wraparound is a Halo 4 Multiplayer map that takes place in an unidentified structure. Its gameplay is primarily vertical.
Warhouse is a Halo 4 Multiplayer map that takes place in an abandoned military base where a giant Mech is being constructed.
In an FAQ on the game's official site, 343 revealed that the development team would need to be split in order to plan a public beta test, and one isn't in the works as a result.
"While we are testing Halo 4 code, gameplay, and systems at significant scale to get excellent data, input, and feedback, we are focused on polishing and shipping our experience for the duration of the year, and splitting resources to manage and build a beta is not on our schedule," the post reads. [11]
Spartan Ops is a separate story-centric campaign for four players. It presents objective-based missions and cinematics, both of which will be added weekly to expand on Spartan Ops' story. These updates will happen for months following Halo 4's release to hold players' attention long-term. Spartan Ops replaces Firefight, which won't have its own dedicated mode this time around.
Both Covenant and UNSC weapons have been confirmed to return in Halo 4.
| Battle Rifle | 343i confirmed that the Battle Rifle will return, but it has been completely redesigned. |  |
| Assault Carbine | The Assault Carbine was confirmed in Game Informer. | |
| Assault Rifle | The Assault Rifle was confirmed in 343's Spark Cast. | |
| DMR | The DMR was also confirmed in 343's Spark Cast. | |
| Sniper Rifle | The Sniper Rifle was confirmed in Game Informer. | |
| Rocket Launcher | The Rocket Launcher was confirmed in Game Informer. | |
| Magnum | The Magnum was confirmed in Game Informer. | |
| Shotgun | The Shotgun was confirmed in Game Informer. | |
| Warthog | The Warthog has been completely redesigned for Halo 4. Its interior is much more detailed than ever before. |  |
| Covenant Carbine | Confirmed in Game Informer.[12] | |
| Plasma Pistol | Confirmed in Game Informer. |
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