A substantial quantity of alleged Halo 4 details have started appearing online. The latest issue of Game Informer, of which 343 Industries' next game is the cover story star, is hitting subscribers, some of which have been sharing details in various forums.

The story details Master Chief waking up four years after his cryo nap at the end of Halo 3. Cortana's 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.

The story that follows Chief's wake-up will, as we know, explore the humanity of John 117, as well as continue Halo 3's theme of Cortana as a rampant AI. In that four year break, Cortana's adopted a new look. As usual, the campaign allows for four-player co-op.

In addition to new weapons to be revealed, the Covenant carbine and plasma pistol return alongside the human sniper, assault, and battle rifles. We'll also get to wield the magnum, rocket-launcher, shotgun, and assault carbine.

The story carries over to Halo 4's multiplayer, which 343 is calling Infinity. This answers our question from earlier this week regarding Microsoft's newly registered HaloInfinity.net and HaloInfinityMultiplayer.com domains. Infinity has direct and indirect connections to the campaign, though details aren't present in the article.

Frank O'Connor mentioned in the Halo 4 ViDoc that 343 came up with a valid reason for red to fight blue, and that comes in the form of military training on the combat deck, an adversarial simulator. This means we won't play as Elites online, as 343's focus lies on the Infinity's Spartan IVs.

Adding to the Infinity experience is Spartan Ops, 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.

Another interesting change to Halo 4 is loadouts. Rather than everyone rolling out with the same weapons online, players bring customized gear into battle. Everyone packs a primary and secondary weapon, armor abilities (including active camo, jetpack, and hologram) grenade type (plasma grenade is still unconfirmed). Weapons still appear around the map, of course, but they appear in random spots via drop pods. In another interesting minor tweak, the respawn in Team Slayer is instantaneous rather than reliant on a clock.

Oh, and since Chief vanished, Spartans have since learned to run; sprinting is an innate ability in everyone. Players can also use Forerunner Vision to peek through walls, Batman style. The X-ray vision upgrade is an armor ability you'll equip. Other abilities are unlockable via Spartan Points, the currency fueling the in-game economy. Points unlock additional Ops missions, armor abilities, and cosmetic upgrades.

343 Industries doesn't seem to be pulling any punches in creating a Halo experience with a unique yet familiar identity. What do you make of the online changes and single-player story details?

November 6 is an important date in Halo’s vast and fascinating history. For the uninitiated, that was the day the Master Chief found a weapon, a parched Grunt stumbled upon the starship, and Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson discovered the answer to one of life’s most perplexing questions. He wasn’t born knowing what the ladies like, you know. (Frankie wants me to point out that if ANYONE had been born knowing what the ladies like, it would be Sgt. Johnson, possibly related to his case of Boren's Syndrome, whatever that means….)

Now we’re adding another data point to that particular date on the Halo timeline, and that’s the release of Halo 4.

The end of Halo 3 found the Master Chief deep in cryogenic sleep, drifting toward a mysterious Forerunner planet, with Cortana instructed to wake him if she needs him. You can now consider his alarm clock officially set because Halo 4, the game that marks the much anticipated return of legendary hero Master Chief, will launch worldwide on November 6, 2012.

Fresh detail on how Halo 4 multiplayer works has made it's way out of Microsoft HQ.
As revealed by the publisher earlier today, the UNSC Infinity will serve as the game's multiplayer hub. You'll customise your character and manage your progress through the game's various different modes from the giant ship.
Among the modes on offer is the recently announced Spartan Ops co-op campaign. That will focus on various Infinity crew members and a new team of Spartans called Majestic Squad. New missions will be delivered on a weekly basis, along with regular cinematics offering some background narrative.
"A massive-scale adventure that builds off the Halo 4 story, access to Spartan Ops is included with Halo 4 at no additional charge - effectively delivering two campaign experiences in one game," promised Microsoft's announcement.
The game's other competitive modes will collectively be known as War Games and play out on Infinity's combat deck. Microsoft remains tight-lipped on exactly what modes and maps we can expect.
You can also expect a new player customisation and progression system that will apparently let you shape your soldier's stats to fit your individual play-style.


Microsoft also confirmed details of the $99 Halo 4 limited edition, available for pre-order now. It includes the following extras:

• War Games map pack access - Access to nine maps across three future competitive multiplayer map packs, each including three locations, available for download post-launch on Xbox Live.
• Specialisations - Early access to six Specialisations, available at launch on Xbox LIVE, to achieve higher ranks in your Spartan career and unlock new customization options. Owners of the Limited Edition get access on launch day, while everyone else has to wait.
• UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet, including an armor customisation schematic, a blueprint of the ship, and "insight into what it means to be one of humanity's finest warriors: the Spartan-IVs".
• Additional digital content: In-game Spartan-IV armor skin, weapon skin for the Assault Rifle, exclusive in-game emblem, Xbox Live Avatar prop, Xbox Live Avatar Spartan-IV armor set.
• Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition - An extended 90-minute version of the previously-announced live-action digital series providing backstory leading up to the events of the new game.
• Exclusive videos: Bonus in-fiction content expanding the characters and stories of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn; Featurette: Bringing Gaming into Reality; Making of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.