Halo 4
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Halo 4 leak being investigated; Disc 2 contains multiplayer installation
Microsoft tells Joystiq it is investigating reports of a Halo 4 leak, and working with law enforcement to address the issue.Images have surfaced on social sites NeoGAF and Reddit, depicting two Halo 4 retail discs, and the Xbox 360 dashboard featuring the game ready to be played."We have seen the reports of 'Halo 4' content being propped on the Web and are working closely with our security teams and law enforcement to address the situation," a Microsoft spokesperson told Joystiq.In clarifying whether the images represent the actual artwork featured on retail copies of Halo 4, Microsoft explained the need for two discs.According to the publisher, Halo 4's second disc "contains data that will need to be installed on an Xbox 360 hard drive or compatible flash storage device with at least 8GB of available memory in order to access 'Halo 4's' extensive suite of multiplayer features." Microsoft has employed a similar system for first-party games like Forza Motorsport 4.Once the data is installed only the first disc will be required to access Halo 4's single- and multiplayer content.
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Episode 2 tries to capture the flag
The second episode of Machinima's live-action Halo 4 tie-in, Forward Unto Dawn, is present and accounted for right here. In this entry, things build up towards an important capture-the-flag simulation for UNSC's Hastati Squad. Also, look out for how quiche gets everybody all kinds of riled up.
Start planning: Halo 4's Forge maps detailed on video
In the latest Halo 4 video, multiplayer designer Kynan Pearson from 343 and environment artist Lori Zawada from Certain Affinity walk though the game's new Forge maps: Erosion, Impact, and Ravine. We're already planning the ultimate "needlers only" map right now.
David Fincher producing Halo 4 trailer, premieres October 18
David Fincher will executive produce the launch trailer for Halo 4, Microsoft has announced. Fincher, director of Fight Club, The Social Network and the Jodie Foster tour de force, Panic Room, will produce the trailer, titled "Scanned," which will present "a captivating look at the backstory of Master Chief, and provides a glimpse of the new threat he will encounter in Halo 4."Joining Fincher is visual effects lead Tim Miller, best known for his (amazing) work in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Miller will direct the trailer.The trailer will debut on October 18 during Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It will become available on Halo Waypoint and the Xbox YouTube channel immediately after broadcast. In the meantime, you can gaze at a single still image taken from the trailer. Spoiler: It's Master Chief.Update: Fincher is producing the trailer, not directing it. Miller will direct the trailer.
343 turns the other cheek: Halo 4 won't reveal Master Chief's face
Halo 4 won't reveal Master Chief's face, so if you were playing the Halo series solely for a glimpse of chiseled space soldier jawline, it might be time to throw in the towel. 343 Industries is continuing the faceless precedent set by Bungie, which refrained from showing Master Chief's visage throughout its time with the franchise.Not that we don't know what Master Chief looks like – he's described in detail in the 2001 novel Halo: The Fall of Reach."The funny thing about the Chief is he's actually really well described," O'Connor tells Eurogamer. "If you went down into that line and found a nerd with a deep canon Halo t-shirt and said describe the Master Chief to this police sketch artist, that police sketch artist would then produce a perfectly accurate rendering of an older man, almost painfully pale, almost albino white, with pale blue eyes, reddish hair, close cropped to a skin head, and maybe the last remnants of freckles he had when he was a kid."O'Connor wants to keep the mystery alive and doesn't want fans to feel alienated by an official face. "That's a device to keep the player invested in the character and keep the player from constantly being reminded that they're not a hero or that they have to be a boy or they have to be a girl, or whatever that is," O'Connor says.Maybe it's better this way, super fans. More often than not, on-screen adaptations of book descriptions are supremely disappointing.
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn's first episode goes live, watch it right here
The first episode of the Halo 4 live-action tie-in Forward Unto Dawn is now live and ready for you to watch right here on Joystiq. The 19-minute opener introduces us to the cadets of the Corbulo Academy of Military Science, an institute that only trains the offspring of the United Nations Space Command's high-ranking officers. While it sounds and looks like a comfortable place, the Corbulo Academy is awash with the tension of expectation. In this first episode, we see just how onerous that expectation can be. We also see a live-action Warthog, which is pretty neat.Machinima's web series runs through to the launch of Halo 4 next month on November 6.
Halo 4 teams up with Doritos and Mountain Dew for double XP
While you may think that science and malleable metal alloys comprise the majority of what makes a Spartan so special, the reality is that even John-117 himself is little more than a crunchy cool ranch husk filled with carbonated green stuff. Spartans are made of Doritos and Mountain Dew, is what we're saying – that's why the PR partnership between Halo 4 and PepsiCo seems like such a no-brainer.Potential players can get a head start on accruing extra experience by registering an account over at dewxp.com or doritosxp.com. Select codes from Mountain Dew and Doritos packages – starting on October 15 – can be used to increase your XP in Halo. There are also goodies up for grabs, including consoles and controllers, Warthog toys and free Xbox Live subscriptions, among many other prizes.
Valhalla map reborn as Ragnarok in Halo 4
It looks like 343 Industries is bringing back the popular Halo 3 map, Valhalla. Halo 4's version of the massive map is called Ragnarok and, aside from its usual cliffs and cannons, will now feature the new Mantis mech. In the above video, you can see the Mantis stomping on Ghosts and unleashing general carnage with the requisite dubstep backing.
Final Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn vignette debuts squad
The final installment of the Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn vignette series debuts the Hastati squad from the Corbulo Academy of Military Science, which fight for a cause they don't seem to believe in. The live-action mini-series kicks off on Halo Waypoint and Machinima Prime on October 5.
Major League Gaming holding a pre-release Halo 4 tournament in Dallas, TX
Major League Gaming is going to hold a pre-release Halo 4 tournament at its Fall Championship, coming up soon in Dallas, Texas. Halo 4 doesn't arrive until November 6, but if you're in the Dallas area you can challenge other players in a series of 4v4 matches, all for a prize pool of over $40,000.The tournament will start up on November 2 at 5pm central time, and then be streamed live on MLG's website all weekend long, leading up to the final match on Sunday evening at 4:45. All the while, commentators Dave "Walshy" Walsh and Andy "Bravo" Dudynsky will provide insight on the game and its players, and even if you're at home you'll get to see a whole lot of Halo 4 multiplayer. It's just the thing to have your Battle Rifle, Magnum and Needler all primed and ready when the game comes out the following Tuesday.
Start a fire with Halo 4's Promethean weapons
What's that? You need a closer look at the Promethean weapons from Halo 4? You don't know the difference between a Lightrifle and a Binary Rifle? And you think there's not enough dubstep in game trailers? Man, have we got a video for you.
Halo 4 screens reveal the Mantis mech, new Flood game type
Microsoft has dropped a ton of new screenshots from Halo 4. The shots run the gamut from the campaign missions "Dawn" and "Infinity," to multiplayer images, to the Spartan Ops mission "The Challenge." Apart from being real purdy, the shots also reveal some new information.For one, multiplayer will now include a new "Flood" game type, in which "a group of Spartans has been transformed into a host of incredibly fast and deadly Flood combat forms." As you can see, they look like pretty nasty customers.Furthermore, the shots show off the Mantis, a new mech vehicle, which bears some resemblance to the Gekkos from Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Rising (but, you know, without the freaky monster chicken legs). According to 343 Industries designer David Ellis, players and the Mantis should "get along just fine." We suspect he's correct.%Gallery-166630%
Halo 4: Three things you can stop worrying about
With Master Chief's future in the hands of Microsoft's 343 Industries, some may wonder whether or not the team is up to the task. After visiting the studio and getting hands-on time with Halo 4's multiple modes, Joystiq editor-in-chief Ludwig Kietzmann details – in the video preview above – three major things fans of the franchise can stop worrying about.For more on Halo 4, make sure to watch our interview with the game's Executive Producer, Kiki Wolfkill, and Creative Designer Josh Holmes about the team's adherence to Halo and their say in Master Chief's fate.
Latest Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn trailer lectures us on Earth
In this new trailer for Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, General Black ask his students if they're from Earth, or know anyone from there. We put our hands up, like, really high, but we don't think he saw us. Hopefully he'll notice us when the live-action tie-in kicks off on October 5,
Halo 4's Campaign, War Games and Spartan Ops in latest screens
Halo 4 comes with three capacious modes: Campaign, in which Master Chief faces a new Forerunner threat; War Games, a mixture of competitive multiplayer modes; and Spartan Ops, an episodic and story-driven series of four-player cooperative missions.We have new screens from all three modes right below. Be sure to check out Chief's new opponents, the Prometheans – not to be confused with the Protheans from Mass Effect – and "Solace," a vibrant new battleground for competitive matches like Capture the Flag (yes, that guy above is shooting with flag in hand) and Halo 4's frantic spin on territory tussles, Dominion.%Gallery-166233%
Halo's new house: 343 discusses its approach to Halo 4
Recognizing the central challenges faced by Halo 4, the first game in the franchise overseen by Microsoft's 343 Industries, is easier than sussing out a clear solution. Adhere strictly to the principles that made the franchise a hit and you've made Halo Again – something stale. Dive headfirst into a new design and people wonder why it's called Halo 4 – it's too alien.In the video above we hear from Halo 4's Executive Producer, Kiki Wolfkill, and Creative Designer Josh Holmes about the studio's adherence to Halo, what luxuries 343 has enjoyed over the former franchise custodians at Bungie, and why we're not playing the game in September.After you hear what they have to say, we'll share our own thoughts on how 343 is doing in this tug-of-war between old and new.
Halo 4 shows off its Covenant arsenal, also dubstep
This video details the nine Covenant weapons coming to Halo 4, including the brand new Storm Rifle. 343 Industries describes it a short-range automatic, playing a similar role to the UNSC Assault Rifle. Also, there's dubstep. We're sorry.
Halo 4 pre-order goods plant their flag in select retailers
In the old days, we used to just toss our cash upward into the wind, wait 3-5 business days, then find a game waiting on our doorstep. Today, retailers compete for your gaming dollars with pre-order incentives, and Halo 4 is the latest to play into that retail shuffle.Depending on the retailer you hitch your Warthog to, you'll snag some very different things: Amazon will offer a golden "web" skin for use in multiplayer and a pair of exclusive emblems, while GameStop will offer the customizable "forest" skin for multiplayer. UK retailer GAME is tossing in the blue circuit armor skin, an arctic weapon skin and six specializations – these are further cosmetic tweaks to help you stand out from the rest of the cybernetic crowd.Other specific UK retailers have their pre-order items listed past the break, like Blockbuster (you guys still have those over there?). And if you're really looking to buy everything with Halo 4 printed on it, the soundtrack and special editions are also tempting offers.Halo 4 launches on November 6 worldwide, exclusively for the Xbox 360.
Halo 4 'Forward Unto Dawn' vignette takes us on Joyride
What would you do if you had a real Warthog, Halo's iconic vehicle of choice? The answer for most of us should be pretty obvious: whatever you could get away with. Fishtails, donuts, you name it. Just hope your CO isn't watching.
Halo 4 dev diary flexes some Promethean muscle
Halo Waypoint has released a new 10-minute video documenting the Prometheans, Master Chief's menacing opponents in Halo 4.These towering tough guys have three sub-classes and work together in dynamic ways. The Knights are 12-foot-tall, sword-wielding hunchbacks with flaming skulls, while the Watchers are a flying support class that can throw down shields on Knights and regenerate them. The Crawlers appear to be more reptilian-like enemies who can scale the environment and rush unsuspecting Spartans who've had their shields knocked out.The developer diary above discusses iterating the Prometheans and gives us a look at some early concept drawings. It also goes into 343's design philosophy when coming up with the new Forerunner architecture and the weapons Chief will stumble upon in Halo 4.
