Microsoft
On Oct. 3, 2012, the developers behind “Halo 4” made the most exciting announcement yet: “Halo 4” has officially gone gold. What that means is that 343 Industries has finalized their version of the game and have officially shipped it off to manufacturers to be reproduced thousands and thousands of times over to make all the retail versions that people can buy come Nov. 6, 2012. This announcement came just one day after 343 released a new video showcasing a new vehicle and the return of the fan-favorite map, Valhalla. Going gold wasn’t the only news coming out of this week’s Halo Bulletin though, 343 had a few more details on their new game mode, “Flood”.
“Flood” is the spiritual successor to “Zombies”, a custom game type which became so popular during “Halo 2”, it was actually added to matchmaking for future titles. “Flood” follows the exact same premise as “Zombies”, where two players start out as the “infected” and attempt to infect the other eight “humans”; whose sole purpose is to survive as long as possible. In the original game type, zombies were given swords and humans were given a shotgun and magnum.
This is where things start to get a little more interesting. In “Halo 3” and “Halo: Reach”, zombies were just Spartans with green armor. In “Halo 4”, they’re going to have a completely unique character model which is a Spartan that has been infected by the flood. Not only that, but they’ll have a giant flood claw to use as a melee attack. They’ll also have special armor effects, a different view for characters playing as the flood, dynamic music, and a unique assassination animation. There will also be ten medals specific to the flood game type, which will range from surviving the whole time as a human or converting a Spartan to the flood.
Also addressed in the bulletin was the reveal of a map titled “Abandon”, a deserted ONI research base on the alien planet Erebus VII. At one time it was a lively active center for information, but the team of researchers mysteriously vanished and now it lies eerily vacant. The map feels very claustrophobic and frantic, which results mainly in close-quarters battles. There are areas around the outskirts that will allow for mid-range battles, but most of the action will likely take place inside the abandoned buildings.
If you’re looking to get your hands on a free copy of “Halo 4”, be sure to check out their soundtrack remix contest. The grand prize features a Samsung Series 7 Laptop, the Halo 4 Limited Edition 320GB Xbox 360, a Halo 4 Trigger Headset, and a complete collection of the Halo Soundtracks. All you have to do is grab the samples provided from the soundtrack and put your own personal spin on it. For complete details, check out http://halo4remix.com.
Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you!
