343 Industries promised weekly Spartan Ops episodes and it's sticking to that promise. Episode 2 will be out on Monday.

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Source: Computerandvideogames.com

Spartan Ops: Episode Two, which contains five new missions and an accompanying new CG cinematic, will be available for free via Xbox Live next Monday, November 12 at 11am GMT (3am Pacific).

We've got a teaser trailer for you here, and below that, some blurb on what to expect from events in Episode 2 (left until last in case you're on a super-stringent spoiler blackout).

This week on Halo 4: Spartan Ops -- The mysterious artifact recovered from Requiem takes control of vital systems on board the UNSC Infinity, forcing the Spartans of Crimson and Majestic back down to the planet to look for a way to free the ship. Commander Lasky and the UNSC need you, Spartan...get back in the game!

Images of the Forward Unto Dawn Mega Bloks toys.

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Source: LittleEnglishHaloBlog.com

They also claim this is the first time they've produced a Master Chief figure, though I'm sure the dozens of green Spartans could probably pass for him.

It also includes this light up mini-Cortana which is pretty damn sweet.

The set is available from Amazon UK for £250 and Amazon US for $325, better go get it added to your letter to Santa now!

Microsoft rewarding players with a max of 600 Microsoft points for playing Halo 4.

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Who said gaming doesn't pay? Xbox Live Rewards members can score Microsoft Points for their time spent playing multiplayer matches. You may not want to quit your day job, however.

The program is laid out on Microsoft's

You can also earn 200 or 100 MS Points for spending 3,000 or 1,500 points respectively on Halo content, with a cap of 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Also, you need to fulfill the requirements before November ends. Set aside a little over six hours a day in multiplayer, and those 600 Microsoft Points can be yours!

The patch for the rank reset glitch.

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Halo 4 is officially here! Thank you to everybody who celebrated the occasion at one of our launch events, and we hope you’re enjoying the game. We have been overwhelmed at the response, and we’re grateful for your continued support.

As you can imagine, there are a tremendous number of new players connecting to Halo 4 right now. We’re aware that some users are experiencing occasional issues connecting to the Halo 4 services, and we are currently narrowing down possible solutions. We will be providing regular updates across all our channels, so stay tuned to the following places for the latest information:

• Halo Waypoint Twitter

• Halo 4 Facebook

• Halo Waypoint Forums

Please report issues in this thread. Thank you for your patience, and we’ll continue working around the clock until the situation has been resolved.

3PM Update

We are narrowing down possible solutions. While we continue to investigate, we are aware of issues impacting the following server-side functions:

• Spartan Rank (typically drops to 1)

• Spartan Ops

• File Share

• Service Record

• Commendations

• Challenges

• Custom Loadouts

• Armor Unlocks

Once you are able to connect to the server again, you will need to recreate your custom loadouts but your armor and SR should return to their normal state. We apologize for the inconvenience, and many thanks for your continued patience.

6PM Update

We’ve seen improvement and are still closely monitoring the situation. We'll provide another update this evening. Thank you for your patience.

This guide features the locations of all 7 terminals hidden throughout Halo 4's campaign.

List of Terminals:

Requiem: 00:20

Forerunner: 00:35

Infinity: 00:50

Reclaimer: 01:03

Shutdown: 01:15

Composer: 01:34

Midnight: 01:55

Halo 4 Legendary Gameplay walkthrough with IGN.

There are spoilers ahead for people who have not yet played Spartan Ops. This is the first Spartan Ops Episode: Departure.

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In Halo 4, Spartan Ops is the brand new co-op mode where you control members of the Majestic Squad in order to complete objectives. Spartan Ops chapters are scheduled to be released weekly by 343 Industries, and in the video below, you can check out the gameplay and cinematic video from the first

Xbox360achievements have given us some tips on beating Halo 4 on Legendary.

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Halo 4 is launching all over the world now and in the next few hours... heck, it's even out in Australia, so we thought we'd bring you some helpful pointers so that you can beat the game on Legendary, on your lonesome, and net those two big cheevos.

"I think

That’s not to say that Halo 4 is impossible, far from it. But with new enemies, new larger environments and new weaponry, you’re going to have one hell of a ride if you want to complete it on Legendary. That’s where we come in with our ‘unlucky for some, definitely not unlucky for you’ 13 top tips at beating Halo 4 on solo Legendary.

Obviously, some skill is required, but if you follow all of the tips below, it should make everything so much easier. It is recommended that you play it on Heroic first to get a feel for the new enemies and how the levels shape up, but that’s not entirely necessary if you pay particular attention to our section on the enemies below. Notice I said Heroic too, don’t play it on Normal as the jump from Normal to Legendary is enough to kill the will of even the strongest man!

Oh, and the insinuation that Heroic in Halo 4 is harder than Legendary on other Halos? Just not true. Also, there will be no spoilers here, so you can read on without a care in the world. Here goes...

1. Utilise all of the weapons on the battlefield – There are often times when playing on Heroic I’d skip past power weapons of sorts, knowing that I won’t need them in the long-run because I had enough on me to take the fight to the bad guys. When you ramp the difficulty up to Legendary, that all changes. Beam Rifles that you’d walk past because you already have one are weapons to go back to once you’ve used the ammo in your current gun. Fuel Rod guns that you just don’t need because you have an Incineration Cannon are good stop-gaps so that you can save your IC ammo until you truly need it – like on the odd Banshee or against a pair of Hunters. So, our advice is to pick them up, use them on Elites, Knights, whatever, and then go back for your original weapon once you’ve used all of the ammo up. It’s a valuable tactic that should prove to be one you use again and again. Be careful you don’t go through some doors though as some may close and never let you back through to collect your original weapons.

2. Vehicles are the way forward – Common sense, right? Well, yes, but sometimes though it might not seem possible to take a vehicle any further, but trust me, where there’s a will, there’s a way… within reason! So, for example, after you’ve tackled the open section in Chapter 2 (very early on), you can use the enemy grav lift to take a Ghost with you further into the level. When trying to gain access to the Forerunner facility and facing off against tons of foes, you’ll thank us for this tip. Another example, in Chapter 4 (at the very end), you have to make sure you take the Scorpion in the lift with you, so keep it alive until the end - first time through on Heroic I had lost it at this point. It’ll make the next area a lot simpler. The little things like this make Legendary so much easier.

3. Know your enemy – Knowing the easiest way to kill enemies in Halo 4 on Legendary is actually more key than anything else, and it wasn’t until the end of my first playthrough on Heroic that I'd honed my tactics against each foe. We’re going to break each enemy type down here so you know the easiest way to tackle them. You’ll thank us later.

Promethean Watchers – Watchers aren’t particularly hard creatures to take down, but it’s essential to dispatch these ASAP, if not first. Why? Simply because they're basically the best battlefield aids that the Prometheans have at their disposal. They’ll shield allies while their shields restore, they’ll construct powerful beam emplacements, they’ll throw your grenades back at you, they’ll shoot at you and they’ll even create more Knights to take down, which can be a pain. Focus on the flying disc type creatures early on, probably at range with a Light Rifle, or if they’re close range a Scattershot or a Suppressor will make quick work of them. This is an invaluable piece of advice.

Promethean Crawlers – The Crawlers can be relentless foes if you don’t know what you’re doing, but if you do, you can make quick work of a whole pack of them before they make their mark. You’ll want to use a ranged weapon with supreme accuracy, whether that’s a Light Rifle, Magnum, Covenant Carbine, Battle Rifle, DMR, etc. One shot in the mouth – the glowing yellow part – or to the head, thereabouts, and this beast will explode into a ball of hot yellow acidic matter. Using the Scattershot or Suppressor will work eventually but you’ll have wasted a lot of ammo. If they’re surrounding you, smack that melee button.

Promethean Knights – This is the main one to pay attention to. When you first cross the Knights it can be an overwhelming affair, especially if they’re accompanied by a Watcher, however, once you work them out, they’re not as dominating as they first appear to be. The trick here is to get them on their own (take out everything else first – Watchers first, then Crawlers, then Knights) and then get as close as you can with the Suppressor and let rip. Make sure you get to some close by cover first, so you go in with full shield. Don’t get too close either as they’ll take a swipe at you and if they do come towards you for a hit, back off slightly while still firing. The blue discharge is their shield dissipating, so keep going until they disintegrate. It’ll likely take one and a half clips if you’re accurate. The Scattershot super-close can take three shots, maybe two, depending on your connection, but these aren’t as readily available as the Suppressor is. When you get towards the end with 5-7 Promethean Knights at once, things do get tricky, but try to isolate and lure them in. The best distraction and assistant is the Autosentry armour ability, so try to have that with you whenever possible. Some Knights even drop them, so keep an eye out for that.

Elites – As with other Halo games on Legendary, the best way to take down an Elite is using the “n00b” combo – charge blast the Plasma Pistol, hit them with it to take away their shield, and then follow it up with a headshot using a pinpoint accurate gun i.e. Magnum, DMR, BR, etc. The Needler is effective too, as is the Light Rifle if you can execute headshot after headshot. Just keep your distance and stay close to some cover you can quickly duck behind.

Hunters – You’ll face many pairs of Hunters in Halo 4’s campaign, luckily there are usually weapons around to take them down with. The trickiest pair is easily the first set, towards the end of Chapter 3, so try to make your blows count there. When they're distracted by the Sentinels, throw a Sticky Grenade on the weak spot on their back. Rinse and repeat. There should be enough grenades lying around. With the second pair in Chapter 4, you should be in a tank. The third pair, in Chapter 7, there should be a Sticky Detanator lying around in a side room and on the wall (you’ll want to get the achievement associated with this chapter involving the Hunters and the Sticky Detonator while you're at it). And finally, the fourth pair, Chapter 8, try and keep hold of the Incineration Cannon that you can pick up from a Knight earlier on in the level.

Grunts – Pop in the head with a Battle Rifle, DMR, Covenant Carbine, Magnum, Light Rifle. It’s as simple as that. Line up the headshot though, so as to avoid wasting ammo.

Jackals – One shot in the head and they die, like the Grunts, so adopt the same strategy. If they have a shield, shoot their hand (left side of the shield) and when they’re recuperating, shoot them in the head – you have to be quick and this may take practice but it's a handy move. Halo Legendary veterans will know this tactic. Jackals with long-distance weapons, take them down ASAP with the BR, DMR, Carbine, etc. because they can cause a lot of damage.

4. Headshots are key – Seems like a simple thing to suggest, but it's important. Sometimes it might be easier to load the previous checkpoint than to continue if you miss your headshots… especially if you miss shots with power weapons or the DMR, the Battle Rifle - actually, any UNSC weapon, as the ammo is few and far between and they are generally the stronger weapons. Two headshots with a sniper rifle could take down an Elite, but miss the headshots and it could take as many as four. It’s the difference between failure and success. Practice taking down Jackals with shields in two shots. I’d recommend turning on the Grunt Birthday Party skull too so you know when you’ve connected with a headshot on a Grunt – that way you don’t waste ammunition shooting at a falling corpse.

5. The right tool for the right job – There’s no point firing a Suppressor at a Watcher from the other side of the map, it’s just pointless. Use the right piece of kit for the right job. Take down a Watcher with a Light Rifle; shoot Crawlers with precision weapons; and get close and take down Knights with the Suppressor. Don’t use a power weapon on a standard Grunt and save your grenades for times when you really need them. Use the Binary Rifle on Knights and Elites, use the Sniper Rifle, Beam Rifle, etc. exclusively on Knights and Elites. Be sensible, and if you only have two weapons in your arsenal, then search for something close by to use temporarily.

6. Big things can come in small packages – “Oooohhh, look at that Grunt there, he’s so cute… I’ll just pop him in the head. Wait, what’s that!? What the hell!? He has a Fuel Rod Cannon!! Ruuuuuuunnn!!” On Legendary there seem to be more and more Grunts armed to the teeth with some bloody strong weapons. Our point is simply to pay attention to these folks first and take them down before they do any serious damage. They’ll often have a jetpack, so look out for that trait when they’re on the battlefield. Just because they’re small and weak by definition usually, don’t discard them. Whip out your accurate ranged weapon of choice, whether it’s the Light Rifle, Battle Rifle or whatever, and then quickly take them out with a headshot. Then when you can, pick up their weapon and turn it on their allies.

7. Stick to cover, hang back – In Halos gone by on Legendary, it was a case of hanging back when you had AI with you and then sweeping in to mop up the rest. Halo 4 doesn’t really present that many opportunities to do this, mainly because Master Chief is a lone wolf. In Chapter 3 there’ll be a few instances on the way to the second pylon and then to the end where you should hang back and let the action play out before you jump in, otherwise you’ll be faced with a mammoth task while wasting ammo in the process. When you do get friendly AIs to assist, use them as distractions more than anything, because chances are they won’t last long. War is tough, and Master Chief knows it.

8. Don’t get frustrated, if all else fails, seek a different approach – Sometimes there’ll be moments in the campaign where your usual strategies don’t work. If they don’t, try something else. In fact, just try anything to get through, but make sure you’ve hit that checkpoint first – it’s essentially a license to experiment. For example, taking on a Knight with an Incineration Cannon isn’t like taking on a normal Promethean Knight with a Light Rifle. Chances are you’ll have to distract it using the Autosentry, maybe sneak closer using the Hardlight Shield as protection and then unleash on him while he reloads. Heck, there might be points where you’ll have to spam grenades at groups of enemies, use different weapons that you have at your disposal, come from different approaches... Basically, do something unconventional and against what you’ve been doing for the rest of the game. The main point is to not get frustrated. You’re going to die a lot. Just accept that. And if the method you’ve been trying for an age isn’t working, there will always be another tactic that might be more risky but could get you over the finish line. It’s all about finishing, no matter how messy it might seem.

9. Make use of those armour abilities – Some armour abilities in the campaign are completely useless, others are invaluable. For instance, the Promethean vision is only likely to help you in Chapter 4 briefly, whereas the cloak doesn’t really seem to ever help, and neither does the Hologram. In fact, it’s all about the Hardlight Shield and the Autosentry. The Hardlight Shield is good last minute cover, but in all honesty, it’s ALL about the Autosentry, which is like an AI turret that fights your corner. Not only is it a perfect distraction for the enemies you’re trying to takedown on the battlefield, but it’s also accurate and does a fair bit of damage. It’s great for ammo conservation amongst all else and is even dropped by some Promethean Knights, so it’s quite readily available. Don’t be afraid to wait behind cover and let it recharge either. Seriously, get this, use this, fall in love with it as it becomes your most valuable asset when playing on Legendary.

10. Don’t use power weapons until absolutely necessary – I mentioned this a bit earlier, when talking about utilising all of the weapons on the battlefield, but I feel I need to stress this point further. Don’t use a Fuel Rod cannon to take down a Grunt, unless you’re just using it to pick up your original weapon, but even then, use it on an Elite, on a vehicle, something that deserves it. You can take down a Grunt with one bullet, why waste a Fuel Rod shot? If you’ve played Halo 4 through on Heroic beforehand then you should know what’s coming for the most part, whether you have vehicles to take out or Knights with Incineration Cannons. These are the times to save the power weapons for and the best time to use them. You don’t want to find yourself taking on a pair of Hunters with a Magnum and a Covenant Carbine.

11. Even the Master Chief gets scared – Sometimes running and bypassing enemies is a perfectly viable option, so remember that. It was an option in other Halos (Reach is a good example) and it is here too. There are a couple of really good examples early on in the game in Chapter 2: when you have to bypass the Covenant and the Prometheans in a battle on the planet’s surface – if you try to take them out before progressing, it could take you an age; and on your way to the second pylon, where you have to take out the three field generators to unlock the grav lift to the top of the pylon – simply take out the shields zipping round with the Ghost, and then take the Banshee up to the top. It’s not cowardly or cheating at all, it’s necessary if you are to keep your sanity and finish the game in a reasonable amount of hours. So if it’s possible, just peg it, staying behind cover where possible as it doesn’t take that many shots to bring you down. Bear in mind that it isn’t always possible though and in order to open some doors and hit checkpoints you’ll need to clear the way first.

12. Scavenge and don’t get ahead of yourself – 343 Industries have put some really interesting weapons in some really interesting places, and all you need to do is explore a little. Players who climb places they maybe shouldn’t be climbing and heading into rooms to rummage through whatever may lie there will generally get their just rewards. We’ve found Sniper Rifles lying on top of ships, Sticky Detonators on boxes off the beaten path, ammo on corpses and what not, so it pays to explore and scavenge. The truth is you’re not going to spend much time with the UNSC weaponry during the campaign on Legendary, mainly because the ammo on the battlefield is sparse, so getting your hands on any weaponry that can give you an advantage will certainly aid your cause.

13. Turrets are your new best friend – We’re not talking the Autosentry armour ability here - although that’ll probably be your Legendary playthrough BFF - we’re talking UNSC fixed turrets and Covenant plasma turrets. If they’re around, jump on them to thin out the numbers, being careful to jump away if you’re close to death. If no-one is around and you have to continue on into the level, grab them and take them with you. Not only will this save on ammo and what not, but it’ll allow you to make quick work of the next few batch of Covenant or Promethean patrols, which will make you feel like you’re making progress AND saving your ammunition.

Halo 4's complete armor sets shown.

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Deviantart user Sithvenator has compiled a

Thanks for the tip, Cru Hunter!

IGN brings you 2 hours of Halo 4 multiplayer while answering questions and discussing our review.

So accrding to BS Angel, the competitive skill system will be visible to you on Halo Waypoint.

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We are pleased to announce, just days away from the worldwide Halo 4 launch and the first MLG Halo 4 tournament in Dallas, the Competitive Skill Rank system in Halo 4. The CSR will appear post-launch in an update to Halo Waypoint and associated Smartglass applications.

When will it launch?

The short version is CSR will launch early next year when it’s ready. We have an extensive post-launch plan for Halo 4, including DLC, playlist updates, and title updates. As soon as we have a confirmed launch date for the Waypoint update that includes CSR, we’ll make an announcement. Set your expectations for release timing appropriately since this will require delicate tuning, testing and implementation for Waypoint Web, Waypoint Console and Smartglass integration and is a feature designed specifically for the competitive community.

What is it?

At Halo 4’s launch, the competitive skill system will measure your performance against other players in Halo 4 War Games and use this information to match you up against opponents of comparable skill ranks. When the CSR system is fully implemented post-launch, Waypoint will assign each player a visible and detailed Skill Rank, viewable in the player profile section of Halo Waypoint.

How will it rank me?

All players will be ranked on a per-hopper basis, so, for example, you will have a unique CSR for your Slayer Pro games vs. your CTF games. CSR is currently planned to use a familiar and easy to understand 1-50 scale (subject to change or alteration). Your CSR will go up and down based on match outcomes.

Which playlists will support CSR?

All competitive playlists will support and track CSR. As the playlists will continuously change post-launch, the exact list of playlists that will support CSR will be determined when the system is ready to drop.

Will a CSR be ‘assigned to me’ once the system launches? Or do I need to start fresh?

Matchmaking and hoppers will be tracking and analyzing data from Day 1, and when the final settings for CSR are in place, we’ll make the call on whether to use existing data as a baseline for your CSR, or to start everyone fresh in new playlists.

Why the delay?

We know how important skill rank is, and we take skill integrity very seriously – we want to make sure we’ve taken the time to test, tune, and balance the CSR system in a live environment, and identify problems and potential exploits before launching the system publically.

Taking the time to test and tune the system ensures we can deliver a very accurate and meaningful skill rank, and gives our competitive playlists time to mature to for optimize a wide range of playlist and game settings.

Enjoy the launch!

We’re incredibly excited for Halo 4 to launch, and to see you at one of our worldwide events, or online November 6th. We see this announcement as just one of many new experiences and features coming post-launch to Halo 4 and are excited to share more with you in the future.

The Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn statue revealed and Cortana statue teased.

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McFarlane Toys revealed the new Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn resin statue "The Master Chief vs The Hunter."

"This highly detailed, hand-painted, cold-cast resin statue depicts the series’ climactic scene, when the Master Chief - out of ammo and out of options - single-handedly faces the unstoppable rampage of an invading Covenant Hunter to save the lives of UNSC Cadets," the company says.

The statue is limited to 500 pieces and retails for $225. It's available this December is can be pre-ordered through the

As if

Check out

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Source: Halo Waypoint

The accelerated ticking of our internal clocks can only mean one thing: the big day is almost here. Our bodies are ready. Is yours?

Instead of the traditional nine months, it’s taken us more than three years to create (what we hope you will find to be) our masterpiece, and in a mere four days, we will hand our baby over to you. It’s been a long and arduous journey, full of grueling days and sleepless nights, and the fact that we’re so close to launch is nothing short of surreal. Butterflies are flying laps around our stomachs, and we anxiously wait to hear what you, the Halo community, think of the newest title in your beloved franchise.

As the clock struck midnight last night, reviews began pouring in. The majority of us at the studio stayed up all night reading them, and we’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the response. As we prepare for the masses to begin populating Halo 4’s virtual battlefields, we’d like to offer you a brief review round-up, brought to you by your friendly neighborhood media outlets. There are too many to include here, so we trust that you know how to find the rest.

Experience Halo

Every day I get to experience Halo. Tuesday, though, thanks to the EMEA Xbox team, I got to do it like never before.

I was recently whisked away to Liechtenstein, a beautiful country lying entirely within the Alps. For one day only, the mountainous landscapes of the normally tranquil countryside became the stage for a real-life experience set in (a replica of) the Halo universe. Taking over some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, including a 13th century castle and a working mine, fans and worldwide media from 16 different countries were catapulted into this off-world environment to take part in a theatrical experience which saw them travel to a top secret location before being unexpectedly thrust into a war zone which re-created brutal battle grounds through pyrotechnic explosions, thunderous sound effects and cinematic set builds.

The experience started with a deceptively uneventful bus ride from Switzerland to Liechtenstein. To fill the time spent in transit, we were treated to a viewing of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (Yes, I saw the ending. No, I will not tell you what happens.). Then, the bus pulled off into a deserted area, with nothing but patches of dirt, clumps of trees and the cover of darkness to greet us. Well, nothing but the aforementioned things if you weren’t to count the dozen or so military vehicles, downed helicopter and 15 soldiers mingling suspiciously in the distance.

The second the bus rolled to a stop, the soldiers welcomed us, asking us nicely to exit that vehicle and get on a different one. And by asking us nicely, I mean yelling at us at their top of their lungs while delivering small amounts of spittle to our frightened and confused faces.

I might have pooped my pants. Several different times.

After climbing into the back of an unlit military vehicle, I chattered nervously with the others temporarily trapped there with me about what could be coming next. The windows were blacked out, as was the barrier between the back and the front, so we huddled together in a cramped, dark space lit only by adrenaline and the soft glow of mobile devices.

Ten minutes later, we were delivered to a military camp in the countryside, which was actually a local farmer’s field that had been transformed into a post-apocalyptic battle ground (a total of 280 props, three makeshift tents and one helicopter helped complete the transformation). Smoke and the bark of soldiers’ orders filled the air as we scurried to pick up supply bags and find a seat in one of the tents. Once everybody was situated, Dr. Halsey (played by none other than Jen Taylor) came out to debrief us on the current situation. Our help was needed to decode a series of cryptic clues. If we were successful, we would save mankind from extinction by fighting off the threat of an attack. If we weren’t, well… that wasn’t an option.

We were divided into three different groups, each of which was assigned to a leader, and then off we went, deep into a working mine (that was turned into a movie film set for the day with a team of six pyrotechnic specialists re-creating explosions with fire balls and sound effects). I had several near death experiences, one of which involved my attempt to get a poncho on. Helpful hint: If you’re wearing an adorably fluffy coat with a hood, remove said coat before attempting to put on a poncho. Otherwise you’ll flail around like an idiot for an extended length of time, much to the chagrin of every single soldier, the rest of the participants and your lady boss that is of course standing right behind you.

As we went deeper and deeper into the quarry, explosions rocked the walls and smoke filled the tunnel. After encountering a distraught doctor, we began sifting through the dirt in an attempt to find a glyph. After unearthing one (it’s worth noting Frankie delicately used a spade while everybody else dug around frantically with their hands), we ran out of the mine, driven to a frantic pace by both the soldiers and a series of thunderous explosions.

Upon safely reaching the entrance, we breathed a sigh of relief and delivered our glyph into the hands of an awaiting doctor. The other two teams also found glyphs, so Dr. Halsey talked us through piecing them together. As that was happening, a nearby disturbance turned our attention back to the mine, where we saw a faint glimmer of light that could only mean one thing: Something (or someone) was coming out of the tunnel. The lights got brighter, shining directly into our eyes and rendering us temporarily blind. Before our vision cleared, we could barely make out a puma-shaped outline, and then we caught sight of the Master Chief, riding in the back of a Warthog. As his chariot of choice came to a stop, a series of pyrotechnic explosions at first startled us, but then caused an eruption of cheers.

Our hero had arrived.

Now that we were officially safe, we were transferred to the Gutenberg Castle, one of the most important historical landmarks of Liechtenstein, which had taken on a new guise as a futuristic military fortification. There, with the Master Chief in tow, Cortana congratulated us on our success and briefed us on our next mission (which you’ll be tackling on November 6). Then we played Halo 4 until the wee hours of the morning.

If you’re on Twitter, keep an eye on the #ExperienceHalo hashtag for more coverage from the attendees. A little birdie tells me Nak3d Eli is working on a video as we speak, that he’s recounting his experience at this event via Twitter, so that’s a good place to start should you desire additional coverage. Here’s the official wrap-up video, to give you a small visual taste of what actually went down.

Enough about that particular experience, though. Let’s chat a bit about the one you’ll soon be having, come November 6, shall we?

Section 3

Last night I dreamt about physics, waldo and ancient melodies.

/START FILE/

//CLASSIFIED/

//ATTENTION ALL OPERATIVES: HIGH PRIORITY INTEL RECEIVED, REVIEW IS MANDATORY/

//CLASSIFIED/ .

/END FILE/

Halo 4 Pre-launch Q&A

As this is the last Bulletin before Halo 4 launches, I thought we would continue our customary tradition of Q&A sessions with Frankie. Kevin Franklin, Humberto Castaneda, Chris Davidson and Brad Welch also provided some of the following answers to your numerous game-related queries. So, without further ado, here is one last Q&A, the Q of which were provided by you, and the A of which were provided by us.

Will Spartan Ops have consecutive seasons, and when can we expect their release? - GristlyStew721

Spartan Ops is being treated just like any other "TV show" and we'll wait and see how it's received and digested before moving forward. We have some very cool story ideas and some ways to continue the arc of the Spartan Ops series, but it's a pretty grand experiment and we will apply our learnings from that experience in appropriate ways.

Will there be a skill-based ranking system? - xBrutaIity

We are tracking all player skill data and while it will not be exposed in the game UI at launch, we have some ideas about how to give players access to that information, in a useful way, in the not-so-distant future.

What playlists are going to be available at launch? - SensoryFour34

Infinity Slayer – 4 v. 4

The newly introduced Infinity Slayer variant allows Spartans to earn points during the course of a match, which can eventually be leveraged to call in ordnance from overhead. Ordnance drops within Infinity Slayer consist of three selectable but randomly generated weapons or power-ups, the latter of which can alter a Spartan’s speed, shielding or ability to issue damage.

Big Team Infinity Slayer – 8 v. 8

Same as above, in an 8 v. 8 setting

Dominion – 6 v. 6

Teams are pitted against each other to capture, fortify and resupply bases to win. After infiltrating a base, a player can capture it for their team, whether it is a neutral base or a base previously claimed by the enemy. When a team has held a base for long enough, it will automatically fortify, defending itself with turret emplacements and energy shields. Holding a base earns teams points for each resupply, and provides teams with heavy ordnance drops and vehicles each supply cycle.

Regicide – 6-player FFA

The Spartan in first place is the King. As the King racks up kills, their bounty increases, thereby increasing the points other Spartans gain from killing the King. All other Spartans’ heads-up displays and motion sensors give away the King’s location at all times during the match, aggressively focusing combat wherever the point leader happens to be.

Flood – 10 players

Within this War Games simulation, the deadly parasite has returned – a group of Spartans have been transformed into incredibly fast and deadly Flood combat forms. As the Flood, players are forced to destroy uninfected Spartans, converting them into Flood combat form allies. As an uninfected Spartan, the player’s goal is to survive the seemingly never-ending Flood onslaught, staving off transformation into the parasite.

Capture the Flag – 5 v. 5

Played with up to four teams, each of which has their own Flag. The goal of each team is to steal an enemy team’s Flag, while protecting their own. Once a team has grabbed a Flag, they must return it to their own capture point to score. Flag carriers are only able to use a Magnum or the Flag itself as a weapon.

Oddball – 5 v. 5

With up to eight teams in combat, the goal of the War Games simulation called Oddball is to hold onto the ball the longest. While holding the ball, a player or team will gain points, but the player holding the ball is unable to defend themselves with their weapon. Players are also able throw the ball or use it as a weapon for close-range melee attacks.

King of the Hill – 5 v. 5

Reminiscent of schoolyard skirmishes, the War Games competition known as King of the Hill pits up to eight teams against each other in a struggle to hold a specific territory. While this is a classic game type, its most recent iteration offers a variety of new scoring methods, including a focus on individual performance in addition to the team’s collective effort.

Team Slayer Pro – 4 v. 4

This playlist features the following settings: No Radar, 3 Loadouts (DMR, AR or BR with 1 grenade and Resupply Tactical Package), Player Movement Speed, Reload Speed and Weapon Swap Speed set to 110%, Friendly Fire ON, Score to win Round 60 Kills, No Map Loadouts, and No Custom Loadouts.

I was thinking about starting Spartan Ops with my friend before starting the campaign. Will the first episode spoil the campaign? Major spoilers? Mild spoilers? - Superman x JLA

There are a couple of big ideas that are obvious, and don't read any further if you don't want those spoiled, such as the fact that a couple of characters and ships have "made it" but beyond that it won't necessarily spoil or ruin the campaign. However we still advise people to play them in the correct chronological order.

Will there be a UNSC flying vehicle (Falcon, Hornet, etc.) on the multiplayer side of the game (excluding Spartan Ops)? - Phat M0nk3y4

Not in Multiplayer but there are some interesting options available in Campaign.

Will your Halo 4 milestone unlock exclusive armor for Halo 4? - MSchnelkz 17

There will be an armor set and some emblem unlocks available in the CLASSIFIED section of Waypoint. You will need to find codes (hint: Check the Bulletins) and play Campaign, Spartan Ops and War Games in Halo 4 in order to unlock.

We recently got our first look at the Crimson, Majestic and Castle Map packs, expected to be out in December, February and April respectively. Can we expect any more map packs after these, and at what frequency? - GristlyStew721

We are obviously still working on those maps, some of them playable now, although not polished and some (the more distant ones) are basically concept art and geometry at this time. We will ultimately have to put sensible limits on how much DLC we create to prevent too much splintering of content and playlists. So, while some of that can be done via playlist and hopper management, the reality is that whatever we do on top of the announced maps will have to offer something logical to the existing suite.

Can Sprint be disabled? - Buffdaddy Jama

Sprint is a base trait for all Spartans, but you can, as always, adjust the upper limit of your Spartan's speed in custom game player traits. In the “Traits” section of the custom game menu, players can tune a Spartan’s movement speed from 0% of default to 300%. When tuning a player’s movement speed, Sprint scales as well. Sprint itself cannot be disabled, but there are many other ways to modify player speeds, including power-ups and trait zones.

Is it true that Theater isn't available in Campaign and Opartan ops? If so, what was the reasoning behind this and will there be a future patch or download to fix this? - unip8

Theater Mode in Campaign did not make the cut for launch for various reasons of scheduling, rendering issues and some significant engine changes. However, we are treating Title Updates very differently for Halo 4 and rather than simply using them as opportunities for simple big fixes, we are thinking of them as a way to sustain and grow features and options, so it is possible you could see Saved Films made available for Campaign (as well as some other significant features) at some time in the not-too-distant future, but that's yet to be determined.

At what SR rank will the BR be unlocked? - Ommageden

The BR and DMR are unlocked VERY quickly. Unless you wear a blindfold and earmuffs, you should have both unlocked before the plastic wrap from your packaging hits the floor. It's also vital to note that they are unlocked for you to customize your Spartan with. There are plenty of playlists that will make default loadouts that include those weapons, available to people with no Spartan Rank whatsoever, including guests.

How many slots will we get in Halo 4's File Share? More importantly, is there going to be a Bungie Pro equivalent? - Jeff McRae

There will not be a Bungie Pro equivalent, but all users will have 25 slots for their personal catalog.

How does the install process for Disk 2 work? Can we play off Disk 2 without installing it? And if we do install Disk 2, can we play all that content while using Disk 1? - IIBloodDaggerII

Disc 2 contains largely multiplayer content. You can put it in at any time, even before Disc 1, and install the content. You will get a nice slideshow, some pretty music and a gradual progress bar. After a few minutes, you can remove that disc and never deal with it again. Everythingmultiplayer, including Spartan Ops, Forge and Campaign can then be launched from Disc 1. You can, of course, also install Disc 1 to your storage device to make loading quicker and reduce wear and tear on your optical drive, but that's optional and is a 360 system feature, not a necessity.

If you preorder weapon skins (e.g., Arctic BR from GameStop), will they unlock the weapon as soon as you redeem the code, or will you have to unlock the weapon before you get the weapon skin? - a zoojoo

You'll get immediate access to that weapon (or armor for that matter) with that skin; you don't have to rank up or spend Spartan Points. For weapons this is mostly a fairly small head start, since the skinned pre-order weapons are low in the ranks, but some of the armor skins will definitely give you earlier access to that type of armor.

How will Split Screen work in Halo 4? - The Little Moa

Split Screen support in Halo 4 is identical in most respects to Halo: Reach. Two player split in Campaign and Spartan Ops, and four player split in War Games and Forge, although we may restrict this in some matchmaking playlists.

Clan support was a feature that got many players into the competitive spirit of Halo Multiplayer in a challenging-yet-rewarding way. Why has this feature died, or rather been missing in action, since Halo 2? Was it ever considered for implementation in Halo 4, and what was the deciding factor in it not being included? - u4iX

As we mentioned before, we plan to continue consistent and meaningful sustainment updates to improve and enhance player experience. Social constructs are something we too have missed since Halo 2, and we're looking at interesting ways to improve those experiences in the not-too-distant future. I will be using that expression a lot. Get used to it.

Will the Mammoth be featured in Multiplayer? - TheLateLateShow

The Mammoth is currently only used in Campaign.

Can you talk about what criteria matchmaking uses to find suitable teammates and opponents? What does the system prioritize? Location, connection, skill, etc.? - NYSTOFMIND23

Matchmaking will use geography, connection data, history and skill to determine player populations per game. Skill and connection get very high priority, but there will be other factors involved. I should also note that the simplification of our hoppers and playlists means that the quality of those matchmaking criteria will be improved through population density and that alone will make a huge difference.

Have you guys come across any hilarious bugs/glitches in earlier builds of the game that you'd like to share? - Plain Ben

We collected a ton of "best bug ever" stuff including movies and animated gifs. It would be fun to make some of those available in the future. We have some pretty funny Derptana faces caused by animation and mo-cap bits that are horrific and hilarious.

What is Extraction? - DR ROCKSO 721

In the game type Extraction, Spartan teams are tasked with the retrieval of assets from various sites using prototype translocation technology. Once a team has found a viable site, they must initiate the extraction process with a quantum marker and its spherical translocation beacon. As the extraction process occurs, teams must defend their beacon in order to prevent others from converting the existing extraction process into their own favor.

What can you tell us about the betrayal booting system in Halo 4? - omarlotrc

Betrayal booting takes game type and "deliberateness" into account and while in a lot of ways it's similar to the prior incarnations, we've tried to be cleverer about what the game thinks is deliberate versus accidental. And Join In Progress should help ameliorate the negative impacts for everyone involved.

How awesome will Halo 4 be? On a scale between 1-343. - Dont pass gass

I will answer this when players give us their impressions in less than a week.

Speaking of which, see you then! Through the scope of my Battle Rifle, of course…

<3,

bs angel

343i and IGN take you on a tour of all 10 Halo 4 multiplayer maps including an exclusive first look at "Vortex."

Click here for our tour of all the multiplayer maps

http://bit.ly/SxFi79

Lead multiplayer designer Kevin Franklin walks us through an Extraction match.

After a terrifying night of combat and loss, Lasky makes a life-or-death decision to help the Master Chief... but will it be enough to save them all from the Covenant?

The complete Halo 4 OST and Remix's.

Track list:

01. Awakening - 0:00:00

02. Belly of the Beast - 0:05:41

03. Requiem - 0:08:23

04. Legacy - 0:10:39

05. Faithless - 0:13:11

06. Nemesis - 0:18:20

07. Haven - 0:21:53

08. Ascendancy - 0:27:40

09. Solace - 0:32:02

10. To Galaxy - 0:36:52

11. Immaterial - 0:41:47

12. 117 - 0:49:25

13. Arrival - 0:56:52

14. Revival - 1:02:28

15. Green and Blue -1:09:46

Track list:

01. Awakening (Gui Boratto Remix) - 0:00:00

02. Green and Blue (KOAN Remix) - 0:07:23

03. Requiem (Bobby Tank Remix) - 0:11:26

04. Ascendancy (Matt Lange Remix) - 0:17:02

05. To Galaxy (Sander Van Doorn & Julian Jordan Remix) - 0:22:07

06. Haven (Hundred Waters Remix) - 0:28:57

07. Revival (DJ Skee & THX Remix) - 0:33:20

08. Ascendancy (Caspa Remix) - 0:37:00

09. Nemesis (Alvin Risk Remix) - 0:40:55

10. Solace (Maor Levi Remix) - 0:45:36

11. Arrival (Norin & Rad Remix) - 0:52:54

12. Green and Blue (Andrew Bayer Remix) - 0:56:55

13. Foreshadow (James Iha Remix) - 1:00:22

14. The Beauty of Cortana (Apocalyptica vs Neil Davidge) - 1:03:14

BravoMLG walking us through the starting weapons & loadouts, armor, and more in the Infinity main menu! This is what every Halo 4 player will start with when playing the game for the first time.

This video is not a leak and given the green light to post. This video is by BravoMLG. There aren't really an spoilers but if you want to save the game to it's fullest climax, I don't suggest watching just yet.

"The video and introduction to "Infinity" mode in Halo 4. There are no story spoilers in this video, but if you do not want to watch this until November 6th, click out now! Otherwise, thanks for watching and enjoy! Next video coming at

Halo 4 has always been a exciting game for 2012, but many have speculated will the game actually be great like the original trilogy.

Most fears can be put aside as IGN and Machinima both gave the game incredibly high scores. With 9.8/10 and 10/10 respectively.

These scores are some of the highest given to the Halo Franchise, and Halo 5 and 6 are not even made yet.

For more, the videos are below respectively.