Spartan Ops

Spartan Ops is the Halo 4 Cooperative Mode replacing Firefight from Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach. It supports a maximum of 4 players and ties into the SPARTAN-IV Program and the Campaign of Halo 4.

Spartan Ops mainly revolves around Fireteam Crimson, a team of Spartan IVs deployed on the shield world Requiem. The Covenant Remnant and the Prometheans are encountered in Spartan Ops. Spartan Ops requires an Xbox LIVE Gold Membership to play.

Overview
Spartan Ops is an episodic co-operative series, taking place six months after the end of Halo 4's campaign. Seasons are made up of ten Episodes, containing five Chapters each, for a total of 50 Chapters per Season. Episodes are released in free weekly DLCs. Each Episode contains a short CGI movie, further explaining the story. Your customised loadouts are available for each Spartan Ops mission, and playing will increase your rank and earn you Spartan Points, unlike the Campaign. You work as part of a team of Spartan IVs known as Fireteam Crimson and perform various types of objectives, including eliminating all enemies, destroying key targets or activating consoles to progress. When it is finished, you are extracted by Pelican in most episodes. You then gain your Rewards and move on to the next Spartan Ops mission.

Season 1 Part 1
In February 2558, Spartan IV Fireteam Majestic along with several other Spartan IV teams arrive onboard UNSC Infinity, which departs for Requiem. Once there, Infinity engages in combat with the Storm Covenant fleet, and deploys ground forces, including Fireteams Castle, Majestic, Domino, Ivy and Crimson as well as detachments of Marine, Army and Navy forces on the planet. Fireteam Crimson run through a series of search and destroy, rescue, artifact recovery, extraction and assassination ops. Spartan Jared Miller is usually responsible for Crimsons ops with Spartan Robert Dalton in charge of ordinance, airstrikes and extraction. Commander Sarah Palmer occasionally steps in as she deems Crimson to be the squad of choice to deploy into the most dangerous ops. Before being extracted from their op, a large detachment of Storm Covenant forces including a Cruiser, Banshees and several Phantoms surround Crimson and capture them taking them to an unknown Forerunner structure.

Season 1 Part 2
Set sometime after Season 1, Spartan IV Fireteam Crimson are held prisoner by the Storm Covenant. Spartan Miller and UNSC Infinity's AI Roland manage to track Crimson's location. Spartan Robert Dalton orders a diversionary airstrike allowing Crimson to break free and kill their captors. During their escape they meet with MIA Icebreaker squad led by Lieutenant TJ Murphy who hacks an enemy Phantom allowing Crimson and Icebreaker to escape. Crimson then participate in ops far beyond enemy lines due to the Storm Covenant believing the captured Phantom to still be one of theirs. Crimson is then directed to sabotage and gather intelligence similar to what they were usually assigned before their capture.

Season 1 Episode 1
In February 2558, 6 months after the Master Chief defeated the Didact, UNSC Infinity, led by Captain Lasky, recalls all their SPARTAN-IVs for deployment on the Forerunner world Requiem. Fireteam Majestic is met by Infinity 's AI Roland and abruptly becomes aware of their new Commanding Officer before being led to their living quaters. Infinity engages the Covenant Remnant Fleet straight out of Slipspace deploying Frigates and Spartan teams into Requiem.

Season 1 Episode 2
After the recovery of a Forerunner Artifact by Fireteam Crimson, upon transporting the artifact, it activates creating a scan of Infinity's systems causing a loss in most of the power and gravity. The Infinity began falling into Requiem's opening until Commander Sarah Palmer uses 'physical persuasion' on the artifact granting power to the Infinity and its engines. Dr Glassman inspects the artifact only to be pulled into it shortly after.

Trivia

 * The Spartan Ops campaign takes place 6 months after the events of the Halo 4 campaign.
 * By completing all the Chapters from Departure on Legendary, the achievement A Legendary Episode is unlocked.
 * Different Missions in each of the Episodes have a Red vs. Blue audio easter egg that can be activated by shooting a hidden radio. Shooting the radio also results in the beginning tune of "Intro" from the album Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue by Trocadero. This track is the Red vs. Blue opening theme song.
 * The ingame dialogue doesn't change if the player is playing solo or in a party.
 * Most of the maps in Spartan Ops are reused maps of the Campaign or the War Games.