VIDEO GAMES: Master Chief Changes

The next article of Gameinformer will focus on details regarding Halo 4, the next entry in the Halo franchise being done by 343 Industries. There's been a lot of speculation as to how the games may change under the new company and the internet has started to buzz with details provided in the newest issue of Gameinformer.  Here's some of the highlights:

 - It takes place 4 years after Halo 3 and Master Chief is waking up from his cryo nap to find Covenant invaders on his ship.
 - The online play, dubbed Infinity, will be connected to the campaign in some way.
 - A new game mode called Spartan Ops will offer a four player campaign with objective-based missions and cinematics which will be added weekly.
 - Taking a page out of Call of Duty's book, players will no longer enter each multiplayer battle with the same weapon. Players will be able to choose primary and secondary weapons as well as armor abilities and grenade types. However, there will still be other weapons available to find throughout the map but they will randomly appear via drop pods (which sounds awesome).
 - This time around, everyone will be able to sprint. I like this addition since the "Sprint" perk is what I always use in Halo multiplayer so now I'll be able to play my style of combat while adding another perk for myself.

I'm excited about everything I've heard from 343 Industries up to this point. It sounds like Halo 4 will stay true to what makes the Halo franchise so beloved, but will offer ingenuity that really makes it a unique experience in the Halo canon. What do you think? Do you like the changes? Have ideas for other ones?

PAX: Let's start the last day of PAX with a little Halo 4 info.

And I mean a little. Today started off with the 343 panel to talk about the future of Halo and there's still a ton that they can't talk about. However, there were a few things that they were able to reveal and it's nice to hear any Halo related news about where the games are headed. Here's the highlights from the panel:

 - The next games will be a direct continuation following Halo 3. "It will deal with the fate of John and with the fate of Cortana."
 - The new trilogy of games will be referred to as the Reclaimer Trilogy.
 - A Reclaimer is an individual in the Halo universe who has been tasked with activating a Halo super-weapon.
 - We'll learn more about Master Chief (John)...duh.
 - The panel ended with a slideshow of some awesome art for the game.

That's about all we got from the Halo 4 panel at PAX, but honestly, the game is so far away it's nice to see anything that will wet our appetite even if just a little bit.

Full story over at GameInformer!