The Halo Multiplayer will be returning with Halo 4's release, it's gotten a slight change in name however, namely: "War Games".
Set on the UNSC Infinity's combat deck, the War Games is a collection of classic you've experienced in previous Halo titles as well as soon new ones being introduced for the first time, some of the Customizations and Specialisations as well as Assasinations from Halo: Reach will be re-introduced in Halo 4 although in a tweaked manner as well as a new Perks system being added, additionally your Multiplayer Career Progression is now tied in together seamlessly.
One Multiplayer mode that has been confirmed not too make an appearance in Halo 4 is "FireFight", the mode has been ditched in favour of the new "Spartan Ops", but "Forge" is confirmed to be returning, no confirmation has been mode about "Theatre" yet.
Unfortunately even though there have been many requests from fans over the years to include them, 343I has confirmed that bots will not be showing up in "War Games", and Elites or any other Covenant species will also not be playable unlike in Halo: Reach.
Fun Fact: Being set on the UNSC Infinity, Halo 4 will finally "explain" why Blue Spartans fight Red Spartans, it's unlikely anyone really cared about knowing, but what the hell, it can't hurt to give it a bit of canon.
Summ-up:
- Halo Infinity Multiplayer: Halo 4's multiplayer will revolve around the UNSC Infinity, a starship that serves as the center of your Spartan career. Here's where you build and customize your multiplayer character, and "progress your multiplayer career" through all Halo 4 co-op and competitive multiplayer game modes. The idea is to embed the mutliplayer experience into the larger fictional universe of Halo, and to create a system where you "progress and game choices affect your appearance, arsenal and role on the battlefield."
- War Games: This is what game modes that take place on the Infinity are called in the Halo universe. War Games promise the kind of immersive multiplayer Halo is known for, but will offer "fresh, immersive new game modes and strategies." More specific details on the War Game modes are coming.
- Perks: For the first time ever, Halo multiplayer will feature useful perks. They're described as "a new loadout and player progression system, and a new armor modification system that introduces gameplay-enhancing customization"
"Spartan Ops" is a completely new Multiplayer system being introduced with Halo 4, described by 343I as:
"An episodic adventure that blends immersive storytelling, high-quality cinematics, and action-packed gameplay to deliver an unprecedented serialized experience".
In a nutshell: Weekly episodic Co-op or Singleplayer missions.
The first season is absolutely free if you buy either the special edition or the regular edition, a significant amount of content which has been compared to the entire Campaign of Halo 4 in length.
Recently Frank O'Conner (Franchise Director at 343 Industries) has stated that "Spartan Ops could run for years" as well as be used to tie in other chapters of the Halo franchise as well as any future Halo games.
Summ-up:
- Spartan Ops: Think of this as the intersection between Halo 4's campaign mode and multiplayer modes. 343 describes it as "an episodic adventure that blends immersive storytelling, high-quality cinematics, and action-packed gameplay to deliver and unprecedented serialized experience." In a nutshell, weekly episode of a cinematic show about the crew of the Infinity will be watchable through Xbox Live. These will set the scene for the week's Spartan Ops gameplay missions. These missions will be co-op or single-player. This is provided at no charge.
Spartan Ops will be fully revealed during a special segment on Gametrailers on Thursday, June 7th, and we'll be posting all the information right here.
