Gameranx
343 Studios' employees answered a bunch of questions posed to them by the Halo fanbase on the official community for Halo 4.
The developers noted that it was difficult for them to keep the information so close to their chest for as long as they did, so they were more than happy to impart details about the game as soon as they could.
The 'perks' talked about by the gaming media is a misunderstanding of the actual feature in Halo 4.
You can customize your character in multiplayer in terms of appearance. There will also be elements of ability and performance customization. The game will be balanced so there will be no 'power combinations'.
There are no plans for a Halo 4 beta, at the moment.
Halo 4's multiplayer loadouts will be based on lessons and inspiration from previous games.
Multiplayer and single player campaigns will be interconnected in terms of story and setting, but it is not necessary to play one to enjoy the other.
There will be a tightly focused multiplayer playlist, with properly polished maps upon the game's release.
Maps in the campaign are designed to provide a more cinematic experience, while those in multiplayer will be geared for competitive play.
The Halo multiplayer experience will remain 'intact' and will be immediately available to players.
Halo 4 will see the return of old characters and the introduction of "very interesting" new ones.
Halo 4 development is currently in crunch-time. The developers are finishing levels, gameplay, UI, and finalizing cinematics. The campaign is playable from beginning to end.
There are many new guns in Halo 4.
Health has been changed in Halo 4. There are no more health pickups.
The new implementation of Slayer will score differently than the traditional 0-50 method of previous games.
All the music we've heard of Halo 4 so far will be in the final game. The composer is yet to be revealed.
Skulls will not return in Halo 4, but there will be a similar system to encourage replaying the campaign.
Covenant will return in multiplayer, but in a completely different form.
There are new vehicles in Halo 4. The Cyclops 2 seen in the center of War House will not be playable, however.
The BR is a three-shot burst weapon, with hitscan. It also has bloom (recoil) that causes it to rise slightly when fired.
Assassinations will return in Halo 4, but they will be tweaked.
There will be at least one more Halo novel by Karen Traviss to be released between now and launch. Greg Bear is penning the final Forerunner chapter after the game's release.
It will be possible to play Grifball in Halo 4.
There is no color blind mode for Halo 4, but the game is being developed by several color-blind players, so the color palette is being designed to accommodate color-blind players anyway.
http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/5470/article/halo-4-info-blowout---beta-character-customization-new-guns-and-more/
