The latest game in the Halo franchise, Halo 4, will launch on 6 November with a new multiplayer offering called ‘Halo Infinity Multiplayer’ and two campaign-based experiences. The launch of the game will coincide with the premiere in October of a new live action digital series ‘Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn’ created by top Hollywood and TV talent.
The hub of the new multiplayer experience created by 343 Industries for the Xbox 360 game will be the UNSC Infinity, the largest starship in the UNSC fleet. This is where players will build their Spartan career, customising their super soldier and progressing their career.
Utilising the sights, sounds and crew of the vessel progress and game choices will affect the appearance, arsenal and role of the player’s Spartan on the battlefield.
The new Spartan Ops experience is takes the form of a series of episodes with high quality cinematics and action-packed game play that will roll out on a weekly basis on Xbox LIVE.
The Spartan Ops episodes will be included in Halo 4 at no extra charge, effectively bringing two campaign experiences to the new game.
Centred on the UNSC Infinity leaders and crew a new team of Spartans ‘Majestic Squad’ the weekly episodes will be playable in single or co-op mode up to three players in objective-based missions to uncover secrets of the mysterious Forerunner world.
Halo 4 will also come with a ‘War Games’ mode that takes place on the combat deck of the UNSC Infiity. Microsoft says details of this new mode will be released at a later date.
A limited edition of Halo 4 will launch on 6 November that will include access to nine maps and three future competitive multiplayer game map packs, early access to six specializations (Limited Edition buyers will get access to these on launch day while plebs will have to wait. The Limited Edition will also feature goodies like special skins for armour, weapons and an avatar prop.
‘Forward Unto Dawn’ videos
While most hardened Halo fanatics have called for a Halo movie to be made it seems that until that happens a live-action digital series will have to do.
That digital series ‘Halo 4 Unto Dawn’ will premiere on a soon-to-be-announced Machinama channel on YouTube and Halo WayPoint.
The storyline takes fans back to the start of the Covenant War when one of the key characters in Halo 4 was a cadet inspired by the heroics of Master Chief.
‘Forward Unto Dawn’ tells the story of the events leading up to the Halo 4 storyline.
The series was created in partnership with top Hollywood talent from film, TV and new media and will consist of five episodes.
A ‘Forward Unto Dawn’ Special Edition of Halo 4 will include an extended 90-minute version of the live action digital series, bonus in-film content, a making-of video and a special featurette ‘Bringing Gaming into Reality.’
