Halo 4 is taking the grace of the cover of Game Informer this month. Not only do we see that Cortana is back in all her semi-naked glory, but info is leaking to the Internet from people who’ve already gotten their hands on the newest issue.
The game is said to take place four years after the ending of Halo 3, which left Cortana and Master Chief floating around in half-a-ship in some odd dimension. Chief is woken from cryo sleep because the ship detects an intruder, which is supposedly none other than Covenant troops. Which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given the canon of the series, but we’ll run with it for now.
The campaign is said to take a focus on the humanizing of Master Chief, or John 117, which worries me immensely, but again, let’s roll with it for now.
The story actually somehow carries over to the multiplayer mode, dubbed Halo Infinity. The Infinity mode is also going to have an actual plot, in the form of combat training pitting Spartans against each other. That means if you were one of the few that loved playing as an Elite, you’re out of luck this time around.
Firefight has been eliminated (or downsized, it’s not clear which) in favor of the new Spartan Ops mode, a co-op mode for up to four players featuring objective-based missions, cinematics, and weekly updates for up to months after the game is actually released.
Loadouts from other FPS games will appear here. Gamers go into Infinity with a primary and secondary weapon, armor abilities and grenades. Weapons will still appear on the map in random spots via drop pods. Respawning in Team Slayer will also be done instantly rather than relying on a clock, a tidbit bound to cause unrest with the community.
Also new to the series is the use of other abilities. Aside from the new ability to sprint, another unlockable ability will be Forerunner vision, a sort of x-ray vision that allows players to see through walls. Other abilities are available to unlock using Spartan points, which are earned in multiplayer.
I’m not sure what to make of this. I’m a little worried that 343 Industries seems to be making Halo feel like every other FPS out there, but I’ll reserve final judgement until the game is actually in my hands.
What say you, gamers? Any changes look good to you? Any look bad?