Halo 4 News: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

Daily News: HALO 4

Daily News posted the article Halo 4 preview, with our first glimpse into the return of Master Chief

The article has some info from an event in New York city where both a Multiplayer and Campaign demo were shown.

This article does contain some spoilers but is good if you are craving more HALO4 info.

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn,a live-action Web series

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is the title of the new live-action Web series that will release before HALO 4 in the fall.

Excerpt from the article on Variety

"Forward Unto Dawn" will play out over five weekly installments, around 15 minutes each, telling an original story about the game's Master Chief and how he inspired a young UNSC cadet who will eventually become a leader aboard the UNSC Infinity spacecraft. Introduction of the new character will tie in with the plot of "Halo 4," while providing a flashback to the beginning of the "Halo" franchise's war between the humans and the evil Covenant."

The Article

Friday, April 27, 2012

Game Informer: Cortana

Game Informer just a new article in their cover of HALO4 on Cortana. Check it out.

The Rise And Fall Of Cortana In Halo 4

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Sounds of HALO 4

Check out this Game Informer article about the sound design for HALO4 and a video with Sotaro Tojima the leader of the audio team.

Gadgets, Guns And Devils: The Sound Design Of HALO4

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The UK side of things

Halo 4 Concept Art Gallery and Discussion

Game Informer posted a gallery of Halo 4 art last night, I thought I'd go one better and do a gallery of all the Halo 4 concept art released so far. I'll include some quotes from the GI article along with thoughts of my own.

This piece shows the loneliness of the Chief, dwarfed by the massive Forerunner stalactites. Imagery like this suggests we may have some more serene exploration sections in between combat. I think that will give the game a very different feel to certain other shooters and is a brave move by 343i.

John-117 and Cortana have been floating through space aboard the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn for four years, seven months, and ten days. Cortana's curled up form speaks to her distress, which will play strongly into some of the events of the game. As Halo 4 begins, Cortana will be facing her own imminent madness and death; as a smart AI, her seven year lifespan will create serious challenges to the unshakeable partnership between the two characters.

Cortana has had a more vulnerable look in pretty much all the art we've seen of her, this is in stark contrast to the powerful, imagery that accompanied Halo 3. It's a big change for her character, but I expect this shift will be important to the tone of Halo 4.

The glowing blue light further back reveals the opening into the vast Forerunner artificial world called Requiem. Events will conspire to send the Forward Unto Dawn through that gateway and down to the planet beyond the outer shell.

I think it's worth noting that the Banshees look very much like traditional Covenant Banshees, it has been suggested that the Covenant we encounter at the start of Halo 4 could be pirates or rebels. In Halo 2 the rebels led by Sesa Refumee had gold Banshees. I think if these were pirates or separatists then 343i may have emphasised that by changing the aesthetics of their ships. I could be reading too much into it, there's other explanations. I just thought it was worth raising the point.

I'm not entirely sure what we're seeing in this image, it could be the crashsite of the Forward Unto Dawn, but the image appears to depict several 'spokes' moving out from the main crash site which doesn't match up with the architecture of the Dawn. It could be something that the Dawn has crashed into, I guess.

I'd guess that this piece occurs moments before the image of the crashsite above and shows chunks of the Forward Unto Dawn falling through the portal on to Requiem.

One of the central locations depicted in Halo 4, Requiem is an ancient artificial world created by the mysterious Forerunner civilization millennia ago. A big part of Halo 4 will involve exploring its many secrets. Take a closer look at the art, and you can see that the pillar-like objects are actually hanging from above. That's because Requiem is surrounded by a huge outer shell, and numerous stalactite-like objects hang down from the interior of the ceiling.

This image clearly shows marines, or at least humans, in the Warthog on Requiem. We can't really confirm whether Chief is with them, but I take this to mean that we'll be meeting up with our UNSC buddies on Requiem at some point.

This Forerunner artifact image comes with few details from 343 Industries, but it's not hard to make some guesses. At first glance, the artifact's shape calls to mind an ancient sarcophagus, or storage chamber. Could this be the resting place of a dead Forerunner, or even its ancient cryo chamber? Or does this Forerunner artifact have another purpose? 343 isn't telling, but the developers have hinted that this image relates to the multiplayer storyline.

We know from Glasslands that the Infinity was built to make use of Forerunner technology discovered on Onyx/Trevelyan. This could be anything, a weapon, a slipspace drive, a fighter craft even. I can see where GI are coming from with their suggestions it looks like a sarcophagus, but I'm not sure why the UNSC would mount a Forerunner sarcophagus inside one of their ships like this.

The Forerunner structures on Requiem may be ancient and at times overgrown, but 343 promises that we'll also see these facilities more active and alive than Forerunner ruins in previous games. While it's unclear who the new enemies will be on the planet, it's obvious by the familiar handheld shields in this image that the Covenant are also present on the mysterious world. 343 has suggested that we'll see interesting interactions between the Covenant and the new enemy force. Something tells us the new bad guys aren't going to like the Coveanant being on Requiem any more than they like Master Chief being there.

Requiem is a special variation on a Forerunner Shield World. Among other things, the Shield Worlds were constructed by the Forerunners as places that would remain safe from the Halo pulse that wiped out all sentient life in the galaxy. Have Forerunners survived all these centuries? Or does something else live here now?

This image appears to show Chief exploring the wreckage of the Forward Unto Dawn and is another piece demonstrating the scale of Halo 4 environments. Interestingly this does not look like the same crashsite we saw earlier, there's no fire and the ship seems to be in fairly good condition. Maybe the crashsite depicted above is something else...

There's not a lot of details about this image, but I believe we're seeing the UNSC Infinity arriving at Requiem. It can't be the Forward Unto Dawn because there's clearly a lot more activity that just the Chief and Cortana could be responsible for with three dropships/pods and two Pelicans all visible.
Thanks to Flawless Cowboy at The Little English Halo Blog for the UK ideas

Monday, April 23, 2012

Game Informer: The World Of Halo 4

Halo 4 promises to introduce gamers to a whole new set of locations, enemies, and story lines surrounding the adventures of Master Chief and Cortana. While many elements of that new vision, including details about the new enemies in the game, remain under wraps, a closer look at concept art from the game helps to illustrate some of the most exciting new elements on the way.

Lost in Space

John-117 and Cortana have been floating through space aboard the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn for four years, seven months, and ten days. This interior shot of the shattered ship hints at some important story elements. Cortana's curled up form speaks to her distress, which will play strongly into some of the events of the game. As Halo 4 begins, Cortana will be facing her own imminent madness and death; as a smart AI, her seven year lifespan will create serious challenges to the unshakeable partnership between the two characters.

A Glimpse of Things To Come

This atmospheric piece is more than meets the eye. Depicting the observation deck of the Forward Unto Dawn, a closer look offers two big details outside the ship's window. The Covenant Banshee flying past proves that Master Chief isn't quite done with his fight against Elites and the rest of the Covenant races. More importantly, the glowing blue light further back reveals the opening into the vast Forerunner artificial world called Requiem. Events will conspire to send the Forward Unto Dawn through that gateway and down to the planet beyond the outer shell.

Crash Landing

The Forward Unto Dawn will eventually pass through the outer shell of Requiem and crash land onto the surface of the planet inside, echoing the beginnings of Halo: Combat Evolved and Master Chief's unceremonious crash onto the original Halo. While it's unclear how central this crash site will be to the rest of the story, it's apparent that Master Chief will get at least some of his human-built weapons and vehicles from the remains of the hulking wreck.

Requiem

One of the central locations depicted in Halo 4, Requiem is an ancient artificial world created by the mysterious Forerunner civilization millennia ago. A big part of Halo 4 will involve exploring its many secrets. Take a closer look at the art, and you can see that the pillar-like objects are actually hanging from above. That's because Requiem is surrounded by a huge outer shell, and numerous stalactite-like objects hang down from the interior of the ceiling.

Forerunner Secrets

This Forerunner artifact image comes with few details from 343 Industries, but it's not hard to make some guesses. At first glance, the artifact's shape calls to mind an ancient sarcophagus, or storage chamber. Could this be the resting place of a dead Forerunner, or even its ancient cryo chamber? Or does this Forerunner artifact have another purpose? 343 isn't telling, but the developers have hinted that this image relates to the multiplayer storyline.

Infinite Options

The UNSC Infinity is the largest spacecraft ever crafted by human hands, clocking in around three and a half kilometers in length, and incorporating technology gleaned from the Covenant during the grueling war. It is also the home of the Spartan IVs and a secret mission that will send them into the deepest reaches of space. All of Halo 4's multiplayer will occur on or connected to the Infinity. Competitive gamesare part of the Spartan IV's training aboard the holographic combat deck. Cooperative away missions called Spartan Ops will send teams of up to four Spartans on new missions every week. Eventually, the Infinity will somehow come into contact with Master Chief and his battles on Requiem.

Ruined, Yet Still Alive

The Forerunner structures on Requiem may be ancient and at times overgrown, but 343 promises that we'll also see these facilities more active and alive than Forerunner ruins in previous games. While it's unclear who the new enemies will be on the planet, it's obvious by the familiar handheld shields in this image that the Covenant are also present on the mysterious world. 343 has suggested that we'll see interesting interactions between the Covenant and the new enemy force. Something tells us the new bad guys aren't going to like the Coveanant being on Requiem any more than they like Master Chief being there.

Ancient Technology

Here's another glimpse at the strange environment of Requiem, and the obelisk-like Forerunner structures that still exist there after 100,000 years. Requiem is a special variation on a Forerunner Shield World. Among other things, the Shield Worlds were constructed by the Forerunners as places that would remain safe from the Halo pulse that wiped out all sentient life in the galaxy. Have Forerunners survived all these centuries? Or does something else live here now?

Old Friends?

This Elite Zealot is among the troops that attack Master Chief aboard the Forward Unto Dawn. While it's not clear exactly why the Covenant are out for human blood once again, you can look to the recent Karen Traviss Glasslands novel for hints. In that story, a radical religious sect of Elites comes to odds against both the rest of the Covenant as well as humanity. The Covenant and their appearance near the strange world called Requiem likely has something to do with the fallout from that conflict.

Fashion Forward

Everyone's favorite scurrying alien bullet bags have received a makeover. Specifically, new technology available to the Unggoy (the actual name of the Grunts) has allowed them to remove the bulky methane masks that once constrained them, and instead wear a more comfortable breathing tube plugged directly into their noses. No matter what they wear on their faces, we assume we'll still get to hear lots of nonsensical cries of terror from the Grunts as Master Chief charges into their midst.

Thanks to Matt Miller at Game Informer for the informing us.

Original GI Post

GI's HALO4 Hub

Sunday, April 22, 2012

HALO 4 Overview

Halo 4 is set in 2557: four years since the Forward Unto Dawn was split into two and the finale events of Halo 3.

The Covenant return: As of right now we know in the first 10 minutes of the first mission you are fighting the Covenant. It is also made clear that the Covenant are not the primary enemy.

Requiem: The FUD crashed on the planet Requiem which is enclosed in a massive Dyson Shell. The shell is there to protect the planet from the effects from Halo.

While Chief was sleeping Cortana has chosen a new visual identity.

Chief's personality will be explored more through out the game.

All characters including Chief, and Cortana have been animated with motion capture.

A new HUD actually makes you feel like you are wearing a helmet.

Huge environments: a piece of concept art depicts a floating air squid in a jungle setting.

The Infinity: The story carries over to Halo 4′s multiplier.

Spartan Ops: A separate story campaign for four players. New missions and cinematics will be added every week to push forward the story. Its reported that after the Halo 4′s release new missions will be added months after the release.

Firefight: Firefight will not be in the game – Spartan Ops replaced Firefight.

Multiplayer directly and in-directly ties into the Campaign.

UNSC are on a top-secret mission, and will eventually meet up with Chief.

Spartan IV’s: adult volunteers taken from the the best of special ops soldiers.

Weapons: Battle Rifle, Assault Rifle, DMR, Assault Carbine, Covenant Carbine, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle,Plasma Pistol and Magnum. Also a lot of new weapons have not been announced.

Spartan Points: The new currency in Halo 4. You’ll be able to buy armor abilities, armor , and much more.

Sprint is the standard armor ability. With jet pack, hologram, and camo returning.

Forerunner Vision – an ability that you can see through walls.

Thanks to CruelLegacey Productions for this info.(This info was posted on April 11 and might have changed)