Curse

Microsoft and 343 Industries revealed today some new details on the highly-anticipated Halo 4.  Halo Infinity Multiplayer and Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn join the fray, together providing the ultimate multiplayer experience.  Limted Edition details are also released.

Set almost five years after the events of “Halo 3,” “Halo 4” takes the series in a bold new direction and sets the stage for an epic new sci-fi saga, in which the Master Chief returns to confront his destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. In addition to a rich story and campaign, “Halo 4” introduces a groundbreaking new multiplayer offering, called “Halo Infinity Multiplayer,” that builds off of the “Halo” franchise’s rich multiplayer history and promises to continue to innovate and redefine the way people think about storytelling and multiplayer experiences.

 Halo Infinity Multiplayer

On massive starship the UNSC Infinity, part of the fleet that serves as the center of your Spartan career, players will build their custom supersoldiers and progress their careers!  Your progress and game choices affect your appearance, arsenal, and role on the battlefield, immersing players like never before.

• Spartan Ops: A first of its kind and an exciting new addition to the “Halo” franchise, Spartan Ops is an episodic adventure that blends immersive storytelling, high-quality cinematics, and action-packed gameplay to deliver an unprecedented serialized experience.
• War Games: The competitive multiplayer modes of “Halo 4,” known as War Games, take place on the combat deck of the UNSC Infinity and revive the visceral and immersive experiences that “Halo” multiplayer is famous for. “Halo 4” introduces fresh, immersive new game modes and strategies to help you progress your Spartan-IV career, while also delivering an experience that’s still distinctly and uniquely “Halo.” More details on all the modes of War Games will be released at a later time.
• Total Combat Freedom and Player Progression: “Halo 4” features a vastly expanded suite of new multiplayer modes, weapons, vehicles, armour abilities, a new loadout and player progression system, and a new armor modification system that introduces gameplay-enhancing customizations for the first time in a “Halo” game. These advancements can be used in both Spartan Ops and certain War Games matchmaking playlists, empowering player choice, vastly expanding their creative options, and make the experience deeper for core fans and more approachable for newcomers.

Halo 4 Limited Edition

Available for pre-order for $99.99 starting today; here are some details:

• War Games Map Pack Access:  The Limited Edition includes access to nine maps – three future competitive multiplayer map packs, each including three locations, available for download post-launch on Xbox LIVE.
• Specializations:  Receive early access to six Specializations, available at launch on Xbox LIVE, to achieve higher ranks in your Spartan career. In addition to gaining access to new ranks, Specializations unlock new customization options. Purchasers of the “Halo 4” Limited Edition will get access on launch day, while others will have to wait as Specialisations are released over time.
• UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet:  Includes an armor customization schematic, a blueprint of the massive ship itself, and insight into what it means to be one of humanity’s finest warriors: the Spartan-IVs.
• Bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE:
  o   Unique in-game Spartan-IV armour skin
  o   Unique in-game weapon skin for the Assault Rifle
  o   An exclusive in-game emblem
  o   Xbox LIVE Avatar prop
  o   Xbox LIVE Avatar Spartan-IV armour set
• “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” Special Edition:  An extended 90-minute version of the live-action digital series that will bring the “Halo” universe to life as you’ve never seen it, and provide an enthralling backstory leading up to the events of “Halo 4.”
  o   “Halo 4” Limited Edition also includes the following exclusive videos:
    §  Bonus in-fiction content expanding the characters and stories of “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn”
    §  Special Featurette : Bringing Gaming into Reality
    §  Making of “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn”

Premiering this October on a soon-to-be-announced Machinima channel on YouTube, and on Halo Waypoint, “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” is a live-action digital series that takes fans back to the terrifying beginning of the Human/Covenant war, when the Master Chief inspired a young cadet who would eventually become a leader aboard the UNSC’s greatest vessel: the UNSC Infinity. “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” tells a story leading into the events of “Halo 4,” the biggest entertainment event of 2012.

Created in partnership with top Hollywood talent from film, television and new media, “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” brings a brand new “Halo” story to life on a scale never before seen in the “Halo” Universe. The series will debut this October on the new Machinima channel on YouTube and on Halo Waypoint as a series of five episodes. The “Halo 4” Limited Edition will also include access to the “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” Special Edition via Halo Waypoint, with never-before-seen bonus footage, as well as exclusive fiction and behind the scenes videos.

 Join the discussion over at FPS General where a rundown of the box art and other details of the new additions are posted, and be sure to vsiit their Halo 4 forums!  Some epic new screenshots: