Check Out Halo 4′s Majestic Map Pack In This New ViDoc

The next map pack for 343 industries’ Halo 4 is about to the Xbox Live Marketplace. For just $10 you’ll be able to get your hands on the latest maps – Skyline, Landfill and Monolith. Also included is ten new achivements, worth 250 gamerscore, and new free for all multiplayer game type called infinity rumble.

Landfill is set in the capital city of Casbah, as a covenant battle against the UNSC battles in the background. Skyline is more symmetrical, with a round central corridor surrounding the outside of the map, it looks like a great battleground that takes place indoors. The last map, monolith is set on an asteroid belt with metallic Grey architecture set against a black/blue sky.

Get the inside scoop right from the guys at Certain Affinity/343 Industries in the video after the jump. Also make sure to subscribe to our youtube channel.

Source: 343 Industries with additional information from IGN

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Halo 4 Spartan Ops Episodes 6-10 Preview Trailer

Halo 4′s Spartan Ops is a lot of fun to play, especially with friends. Starting this coming Monday (the 21st) the weekly episodes of Spartan Ops will return in full force as episodes 6 – 10 will be released throughout the coming weeks. Here is a preview of what’s to come in the next episodes.

Which reminds me, I really need to get back to completing some challenges! Of the 5 episodes released so far, which has been your favorite?

Suit Up For Spartan Ops’ Return This January

Halo 4′s Spartan Ops mode adds to the game’s narrative via downloadable episodes and the next 5 episodes will be released starting  January 21^st , Microsoft Announced on Friday. 343i isn’t following the COD formula of new DLC every few months. Instead, by the end of February all five remaining episodes  of season one for Spartan Ops will be available on Xbox Live.

We’ll see if Microsoft decides to release a second season of ops. Chances are this is a surefire thing, considering we do not know if a Halo title will be released in the Fall of 2013. Of course, there is the rumor that Microsoft is secretly planning a remake of Halo 2 to be unveiled at the next E3.

We will post the trailer for the next episode of Halo 4: Spartan Ops when it becomes available. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Huge Black Friday Weekend For Xbox 360

Microsoft announced that over the Black Friday weekend (November 18th to 23rd) they sold 750,000 consoles in the United States alone. I have to admit, I even know some folks that took advantage of the new bundles and wonderful deals available for the Xbox.

Also noted was that Halo 4 sales exceeded expectations. It seemed quite a few retailers were offering gift cards along with the latest adventure in the Halo franchise. Sounds like the new trilogy is off to a great start both in reviews and sales!

Lastly Microsoft reported that on Sunday alone more than 14 million people logged into Xbox Live across the world. Once the newcomer to the console industry, Xbox has come a long way.

Halo 4 | Review

Halo.

Just the sound of the word has many meanings to many fans around the world. There are bands and there are even ideologies of a “halo”. For many people around the world, it is a major part of life. Spanning fans from many countries around the world, it’s no longer just a video game. It is a universe. The universe of Halo spans multiple mediums from video games, movies, music and reading material. This year, we celebrate the legacy of Master Chief and his AI Cortana for a whole new trilogy, starting with Halo 4.

Halo 4 was released on November 6th, 2012. Admittedly, Halo 4 was completely off my radar. I never thought I would have been writing this review today. I had causally been watching videos of the game and reporting on the news that broke out. I did eventually get an interest and what has transpired in the last week has not only been a hell of  ride, but one of the best video gaming experiences on Xbox this generation. Not only is this a new trilogy, but this is a whole new generation of Halo. A refresh, if you will. Gone is Bungie who have left the series into the very capable hands of 343 Industries; the very same people that helped Bungie make Halo: Reach and having played through most of the Halo franchise myself, I know a thing or two about some Halo. (more…)

Halo 4′s Beautiful Launch Trailer

The Halo series has had it’s share of live action wonderment before, Produced by David Fincher and directed by Tim Miller this launch trailer for Halo 4 continues that trend. Mr Miller is the visual effects creative supervisor behind Scott Pilgrim and is the director of the new Deadpool movie.

A nice touch of the launch video is that it never shows Master Chief’s face and cleverly obscures it the entire time.

Are you excited? November 6th is fast approaching!

Halo 4 Forward On To Dawn: Enlist Trailer

343 Industries & Microsoft Games Studios have released a brand new live action trailer for Halo 4 titled Forward On To Dawn: Enlist. Get ready to follow the initiation of several UNSC foot soldiers preparing to battle insurrections. The insurrection is an even in the Halo fiction that takes place between groups of USNC soldiers and organized rebels in Earth’s outer colonies between 2493 and 2537.

The events of the insurrection where a point of regret, as well as a rallying cry for the USNC forces during the Human-Covenant war. By making the extended Halo universe the central focus of the viral marketing 343 is giving a huge nod to longtime Halo fans. Even though Bungie has moved on from the series their dedication to the Halo universe and its fans seemed to have rubbed off on 343 and Microsoft games studios.

Check Out Six Minutes of Halo 4 Multiplayer

The Rooster Teeth Expo was held this past weekend and it wouldn’t be an RT event without something Halo. 343 industries brought along the latest Halo 4 multiplayer build and several matches where showcased at RTX 2012.

Two different videos where uploaded from the expo including a 6 minute segment on the map Longbow and an 11 minute Q&A after the match. Shown in the first video is a mode new to Halo 4, infinity slayer, where each team tries to rack up a preset amount of points. Each video features different weapons including classics assault rifle, battle rifle and DMR.  Some new weapons including the Sticky Projectile launcher, which acts similar to a weapon that appeared in Halo: Reach.

Are you looking forward to Halo 4? Let us know in the comments section below. We can’t wait to see more of Halo 4, as its November release date approaches.

Check out both videos after the jump. (more…)

Is This Halo 4′s Viral Marketing Campaign?

From “I Love Bees” to “Iris”, the Halo franchise and Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) seem to go hand-in-hand these days — a trend that appears to be continuing with Halo 4, if a recent ad on ESPN.com is to be believed.

Last Friday, a flash ad for Halo 4 begun appearing on the top of ESPN.com’s front page. The ad played a Halo 4 trailer, as one might expect, but here’s where it starts to get strange: after awhile, the ad appears to take over the entire screen, blasting tons of strange information ranging from hexagon symbols to raw code, all in an orange color.

The ad, which can be viewed directly from ESPN’s servers here, already has fans of the Halo franchise and ARGs as a whole talking and working together to try and learn more. As of now, however, nothing significant has been discovered — although that surely will change in the near future.

Halo’s previous ARGs have involved plenty of community interaction and relished rewards for some lucky fans. We’ll have to wait and see what’s ahead for Master Chief, but when more is discovered surrounding this ad, we’ll be sure to let you know. Since the actual ad doesn’t show up on ESPN.com as of now, we’ve included a video of it “taking over” the main page of ESPN.com, which you can view after the break. (more…)

Halo 4 Campaign Demo Impressions

The world premiere of Halo 4′s campaign took place during the opening moments of the Microsoft E3 Press Conference. In the demo we learn that the UNSC Infinity, the setting for Halo 4′s multiplayer, was dragged through a portal potentially killing members of the crew. The campaign demo opens with the infinity crashing to the ground as Master Chief readies himself he must follow what is presumably a forerunner ship.

Cortana is now placed right on the player’s hud to the left of the screen, rather than being an disembodied voice. From a design perspective this feels liek a great choice by 343i. Master Chief’s first emeny encounter also ends in a surprising way, as he is being charged by a Covenant elite and grunt, the elite is vaporized instantly. Master chieft is attacked by several mysterious enemies, who glow an odd orange color, similar in design to the imulsion infused enemies from last year’s Gears of War 3. (more…)