Halo 4 Preview Reveals Details About Multiplayer, Master Chief’s Return

  • Share
  • Read Later
343 Studios

Master Chief is back. After a brief hiatus in Halo: Reach, 343 Studios is reviving the character in Halo 4, which will directly continue the storyline developed by Bungie in Halo 3. A new preview — while not revealing a whole lot about the game — shares a few interesting details about the title, due out during the holiday season.

One big plus of having a familiar game designed by a new developer is that gamers will see a lot of brand-new multiplayer levels, which 343 Studios says will tie in more closely with the main storyline. The two levels featured in the preview are Warhouse, a huge military base centered around the construction of a gigantic mech, and Wraparound, a large, looping level designed with lots of vertical movement in mind.

(MORE: Talking Past, Present and ‘Halo 4′ with 343 Industries’ Frank O’Connor)

Halo fans will also see the return of the battle rifle, which, like the rest of game, will get a significant redesign. In fact, Microsoft’s in-house developer is looking to rebuild almost everything — from the graphics to the music to the sound effects — from scratch.

While the popularity of the franchise has always depended on the quality of the multiplayer gameplay, 343 Studios is promising more of a focus on the new, darker story. Motion-capture suits will also be used to up the quality of the animations.

Halo 4 will also officially answer one of the most profound questions presented in the Halo universe: Why are Spartans in blue armor constantly trying to kill Spartans in red armor, and vice versa? Most of the juicy details about the game won’t be revealed until later this year but it’s nice to see Microsoft giving us something that looks like more than just a warmed-up version of a previous Halo game.

MORE: The 20 Best Skyrim Mods (So Far)