Halo 4

"Wake up, John."

- Official tagline

Halo 4 is the seventh installment of the best-selling Halo franchise. The game was developed by 343 Industries, a Microsoft owned internal development studio established for the purpose of creating new properties for the Halo series. Halo 4 is the first of three games in the Reclaimer Saga, and is the sequel to Halo 3.

The game is set exactly four years, seven months and ten days after the events of Halo 3 in 2557, and follows John-117 as he explores the uncharted shield world called Requiem. Here, he discovers new enemies, a newly formed Covenant splinter group, and more of the Forerunners tainted history.

On September 26, 2012, Halo 4 had "gone gold," meaning all development of the game had been completed and mass manufacturing had begun. Halo 4 was released on November 6, 2012 in all countries except Japan where it was released on November 8, 2012. It is also available from Games on Demand for Xbox Live.

E3 Expo 2011
Halo 4 was first revealed on Microsoft's homepage hours before the start of their E3 press conference, alongside Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary due to a mistake by the editing department. The game was then officially announced at the end of Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference with a short teaser trailer entitled "Awakening".

E3 Expo 2012
Details on Halo 4 were further expanded on in the 2012 E3 Expo where Microsoft's E3 press conference revealed more about Halo 4's game-play. It was here where the new enemies were revealed to be Promethean AIs, and the return of the Covenant was officially confirmed. Several minutes of game-play and multiple preview clips of the campaign were shown before the trailer ended with a cryptic message from an "unknown evil".

Campaign
Information on Halo 4's campaign was purposefully kept to a minimum in order to maintain high anticipation for the game. In the August 22, 2012 Halo Bulletin on Halo Waypoint, it was confirmed that the game would feature about eight campaign missions.

Missions

 * Prologue
 * Dawn
 * Requiem
 * Forerunner
 * Infinity
 * Reclaimer
 * Shutdown
 * Composer
 * Midnight
 * Epilogue

Plot
Four years after the events of Halo 3, a mysterious energy passes through the aft section of the. Cortana activates John-117's cryopod as an unknown assailant boards the ship. After progressing through part of the ship the assailant turns out to be the Covenant, to which Cortana expresses concern as she believed that humanity had a cease fire with the Sangheili. As John-117 fights his way through the Covenant boarders, it is revealed that it isn't one rogue Covenant ship on a salvage operation, but an entire fleet orbiting a Forerunner world. Cortana notices the nearest cruiser has it's shields down and suggests firing a tactical nuke at it. Immediately after the cruiser is destroyed, a passage into the planet opens and activates a gravity well that begins to pull every ship in. The already weakened Forward Unto Dawn starts to disintegrate as it passes into the planet. While making their way to the escape pods, Cortana starts acting erratically. However upon reaching the pods, a Covenant cruiser collides with the Dawn, tearing through the escape pods. The hull breach sucks the Spartan outside just as the wreckage passes through.

John-117 awakens to find himself inside the planet. Cortana reveals her behavioral problem is due to her going into the first stages of Rampancy. John-117 suggests trying to find a ship back to Earth to see if Dr. Halsey, Cortana's creator, can fix her condition. Eventually they fight their way through Covenant forces to a localized Cartographer. Cortana says that the only intel she can get is that their location is a shield world called Requiem. She also receives a signal from an unknown source that is definitely "not Covenant" in origin, and suggests looking for the signal. They find that the mysterious signal is being bounced off of a tower near the planet's core, Cortana opens a portal as close as possible to the core just as a large number of a new type of foe appears.

After being teleported closer to the signal it is revealed the signal is from the asking for help. A satellite near the center of the planet is blocking the signal, where two jamming towers are boosting the signal blocking device's power. Cortana suggests taking these jamming towers down to receive the whole signal. After defeating several groups of the unknown enemy, the only intelligence Cortana is able to get on them is the word "Promethean", and that they appear to be more advanced combat AIs than Sentinels. After taking down the first tower it is revealed the Covenant is very interested in finding something inside the core. After the second tower is downed the full signal of the Infinity is received. After discovering the ship is going to enter the planet, Cortana attempts to warn them away but is still unable to get through. Fighting their way to the center of the Satellite the pair discover a spherical object - the source of the signal. After attempting to stop the signal the sphere comes close to John's location where part of the sphere comes out of the bottom. A sole figure is seen on a pedestal. The unknown figure reveals himself to be The Didact, and handily defeats John-117 before declaring that his people, The Forerunners themselves, are returning to the Galaxy after thousands of years, and he remarks on how Humanity must still be weak, as the Covenant do not answer to Humanity and therefore are still unworthy of the Mantle.

John manages to escape the Didact and makes his way to the Infinity, which had entered the planet. The Didact also heads for the Infinity. After fighting off many Prometheans and Covenant, who have joined forces, he finds Commander Thomas Lasky, Spartan Commander Palmer and scattered groups of Marines. Chief clears an LZ for a Pelican to pick them up, and is transported to the Infinity, where he fights off waves of Covenant. Then, he is introduced to Captain Andrew Del Rio and Commander Palmer. Palmer, Lasky, and John are sent on a mission to allow the Infinity to escape Requiem, and are given a Mammoth. After destroying many Covenant vehicles, including a Lich, the mission brings John inside what is assumed to be a trap. It turns out not to be when John and Cortana are separately taken by the Librarian, who explains that the Prometheans were once Humans, and how the Didact is looking to escape Requiem and find the Composer, which he plans to turn on humanity. She helps to accelerate Chief's 'evolution' so that he can survive the Composer. Once John and Cortana are reunited, they proceed outside of the Forerunner structures, where they attempt (and fail) to destroy the Didact. They are returned to the Infinity, where Del Rio gives the command to leave Requiem; stating that they should return to Earth and inform FLEETCOM about what had occurred. Cortana and John attempt to convince him otherwise, but the Captain orders that Cortana be decommissioned due to rampancy. Upon Chief's refusal to hand her over, he orders both Palmer and Lasky to arrest him, but neither of them move. With Lasky's assistance, John escapes the Infinity before it leaves and attempts to destroy the Didact once and for all. However, he is unsuccessful, and hides inside a Lich to follow the Didact into slipspace.

He, along with The Didact and a Covenant fleet, arrive at Halo Installation 03, where the Covenant under the Didact's control immediately attack the UNSC science facility orbiting the Halo, that housed the Composer. After fighting his way inside, John argues with some professors there and grabs a HAVOK bomb to attempt to destroy the Composer. Unfortunately, he is too late, and the Composer is fired and kills all on the base aside from him. He takes a Broadsword to follow the Didact to Earth, where he is assisted by the Infinity, which is now controlled by Commander Lasky, in getting inside. There, the Didact fires the Composer, and extermination of Humanity begins in New Phoenix. In order to bring down the Didact's shields, Cortana clones her rampant personalities to overload the system. John places her chip in a holopedestal, but it is destroyed, and she is brought into the Composer's system. She manages to weakly communicate with John before assisting him in killing the Didact and destroying the Composer. She uses the last of her energy to form herself into a visible form and touches John for the first and last time. She dies right before the Composer collapses around them. John is found amongst the space debris by a Pelican. Talking with John, Commander Lasky echoes a statement Cortana once made to John regarding the humanity of soldiers. John is seen on Infinity's Spartan deck, having his armor removed.

Multiplayer
Halo 4's multiplayer capabilities were explored extensively in the gradual build up to its release on November 6th. Unlike Halo: Reach, multiplayer maps featured in Halo 4 are not based upon campaign levels, but instead were designed from the ground-up, like the other games, with competitive gameplay in mind. Gameplay features a customizable load-out and the return of Armor Abilities

War Games
To link online competitive multiplayer matchmaking to in-game fiction, it has been coined War Games by 343 Industries. War Games are held on vast simulated training grounds for SPARTAN-IVs as part of their preparation for Spartan Ops missions, which take place 6 months after the conclusion of the campaign. These simulations are hosted inside the and allow players to take control of virtual SPARTAN-IV characters and battle in a realistic environment.

Customization
Players are also be able to customize their SPARTAN-IV characters with a variety of different armors and can change the gender at any time. In addition to this, players also have access to Specializations, a set of eight unique armor enhancements that bring combat benefits to the players who use them, such as increased vehicle handling or resistance to EMP blasts.

A major addition to the customization of characters in Halo 4 is the new custom loadouts, allowing players to edit their loadout before games to a much greater degree than that in Halo: Reach. As a player progresses through the ranks, they will unlock additional loadout slots.

Customizable loadout options:
 * Primary Weapon
 * Secondary Weapon
 * Grenade
 * Armor Ability
 * Tactical Package
 * Support Upgrade

Ordnance Drops
To encourage dynamic movement of games and prevent players camping at weapon respawn points, Halo 4 features ordnance drops in matches. Random Ordnance randomly drops weapons, grenades, or power-ups on the map for anyone to use, and Personal Ordnance gives each player a choice of power-ups or weapons which can be earned via performance during a game.

Game Types
Along with the announcement of War Games and its included features, several returning and new game types were announced. Game types confirmed by 343 Industries that will be featured in Halo 4's multiplayer have been listed:


 * Infinity Slayer
 * Big Team Infinity Slayer
 * Regicide
 * Oddball
 * Capture the Flag
 * Flood
 * Dominion
 * Extraction
 * King of the Hill
 * Team Slayer "Pro"
 * SWAT
 * Team Snipers
 * Grifball
 * FFA Throwback
 * Team Regicide
 * Crimson DLC
 * Majestic DLC
 * Castle DLC

Maps
Similarly to the Halo 4 game types, all of the maps that are featured in Halo 4 are listed below, including DLC map packs. Halo 4 has ten Multiplayer Maps available on the disc and four DLC map packs.

Default
 * Multiplayer
 * Adrift
 * Abandon
 * Complex
 * Exile
 * Haven
 * Longbow
 * Meltdown
 * Ragnarok
 * Solace
 * Vortex

Crimson map pack
 * Wreckage
 * Harvest
 * Shatter

Majestic map pack
 * Landfall
 * Monolith
 * Skyline

Castle map pack
 * Daybreak
 * Outcast
 * Perdition

Champions Bundle (Bullseye Pack)
 * Pitfall
 * Vertigo

Spartan Ops
With the announcement that Firefight will not be included in Halo 4's gameplay, 343 Industries announced that they have replaced it with a new episodic co-op series called "Spartan Ops". Spartan Ops featured weekly releases of missions on Halo Waypoint that are free to download and will follow the story of SPARTAN-IVs as they complete vital missions on Requiem six months after the conclusion of the campaign. Season 1 includes ten episodes with five missions each for a total of fifty missions.

Forge
Forge will be returning in Halo 4 with vast improvements to that of Halo: Reach's Forge mode. These improvements include dynamic lighting (to create more realistic forged environments), more forge items, magnetic linking of objects (to ease attachment), and three Forge-centric maps, each with a different terrain and forge pallets. A new Forge map was announced at PAX 2013 named "Forge Island" which will have a series of flat spaces.

These three Forge maps were made available upon release:
 * Ravine
 * Impact
 * Erosion

Another Forge map was released in March 2013:
 * Forge Island

Characters

 * CAPT Andrew Del Rio
 * CDR Sarah Palmer
 * Cortana
 * MCPO John-117
 * CDR Thomas Lasky
 * The Didact
 * Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey
 * Dr. Sandra Tillson
 * Jul 'Mdama
 * Gabriel Thorne
 * Jared Miller
 * Roland
 * MSGT Marcus P. Stacker
 * The Librarian
 * Faber
 * Forthencho

Species

 * Flood
 * Forerunner
 * Human
 * Jiralhanae
 * Kig-Yar
 * Mgalekgolo
 * Sangheili
 * Unggoy

Organizations

 * Ecumene
 * Prometheans
 * Covenant Empire
 * Covenant Remnant
 * Unified Earth Government
 * United Nations Space Command
 * United Nations Space Command Defense Force
 * UNSC Navy
 * Home Fleet
 * Battlegroup Dakota
 * Naval Special Warfare Command
 * SPARTAN-II Program
 * Office of Naval Intelligence
 * ONI Security
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * Spartan
 * Fireteam Shadow
 * Fireteam Majestic
 * Fireteam Crimson
 * UNSC Army
 * UNSC Air Force
 * Prehistoric human civilization
 * Insurrection

Locations

 * Cascade
 * Mindoro
 * Circinius IV
 * Corbulo Academy of Military Science
 * Charum Hakkor
 * Chi Ceti IV
 * Muroto
 * Concord
 * Earth
 * United Republic of North America
 * New Phoenix
 * Erebus VII
 * Eudemon X49-05
 * Kholo
 * Halo Array
 * Installation 00
 * Installation 03
 * Ivanoff Research Station
 * Installation 04
 * Installation 05
 * Omega Halo
 * Harvest
 * Utgard
 * Line Installation 9-12
 * New Carthage
 * Pilvros City
 * Oban
 * Partition
 * Requiem
 * Apex
 * The Cauldron
 * Great Anvils
 * Galileo Base
 * Haven
 * Lockup
 * Quarry
 * Ravine
 * The Refuge
 * Sniper Alley
 * Two Giants
 * Vortex
 * Sothra Hakkor
 * Talitsa
 * Terceira
 * Tribute
 * Casbah
 * Unidentified ONI archeological site
 * Unidentified Forerunner Installation
 * Unidentified Forerunner Moon

Weapons

 * Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine-920
 * BR85HB SR Battle Rifle
 * Combat knife
 * GAU/53 Multi-Barrel Heavy Rotary Cannon
 * H-295 FOM Target Designator
 * M1075 ASW/AC 35mm MLA
 * M247H Heavy Machine Gun
 * M3063 Automated Heavy Machine Gun/Self Tracking
 * M363 Remote Projectile Detonator
 * M369 Smooth Bore High Velocity Cannon
 * M395 Designated Marksman Rifle
 * M4093 Hyperion Nuclear Delivery System
 * M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon
 * M410 Dual Heavy Machine Gun
 * M45D Tactical Shotgun
 * M46 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * M512 Smooth Bore High Velocity Cannon
 * M5920 Surface-to-Ground Missile Launcher/Anti Matériel
 * M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle
 * M6086 ST/Medusa MP
 * M655 Heavy Machine Gun/Anti-Matériel
 * M68 Asynchronous Linear-Induction Motor
 * M6H Personal Defense Weapon System
 * M739 Light Machine Gun
 * M79 Multiple Launch Rocket System
 * M85 Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * M8C Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Cannon
 * M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade
 * M97 Guided Missile Weapon System
 * MA5D Individual Combat Weapon System
 * Mark 2547 Heavy Rail Gun
 * Mark 2551 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon
 * Mark 2556 Medium Fusion Destructive Device
 * Sniper Rifle System 99-S5 Anti-Matériel
 * Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade
 * Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword
 * Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle
 * Type-27 Special Application Sniper Rifle
 * Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher
 * Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon
 * Type-50 Directed Energy Rifle/Heavy
 * Type-51 Carbine
 * Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapon
 * Type-55 Anti-Infantry Stationary Gun
 * Type-55 Directed Energy Rifle/Advanced
 * Z-040 Attenuation Field Generator/Localized
 * Z-110 Directed Energy Pistol/Exotic
 * Z-130 Directed Energy Automatic Weapon
 * Z-180 Close Combat Rifle/Asymmetric Engagement Mitigator
 * Z-250 Directed Energy Engagement Weapon
 * Weapon/Anti-Materiel Z-390 High-Explosive Munitions Rifle
 * Z-510 Directed Energy Focus Weapon
 * Z-750 Special Application Sniper Rifle
 * Z-8060 High-Impact Particle Weapon
 * Z-8250 Anti-Ship Exterior Defense Network

Technology

 * Composer
 * Imprint Matrix
 * Janus Key
 * M2705 Regenerative Kinetic Dispersal Field
 * M2859 Matériel Acquisition Pod
 * M805X Forward Acceleration System/Fulcrum Mitigating
 * Mark-VII Cryogenic Suspension Chamber
 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor
 * [GEN1]
 * Mark VI
 * [GEN2]
 * MX-1050 Quantum Plane Translocation Marker - Local/Hybrid
 * Promethean Crawler
 * Crawler Prime
 * Crawler Snipe
 * Promethean Knight
 * Knight Lancer
 * Knight Commander
 * Knight Battlewagon
 * Promethean Watcher
 * Series 12 Single Operator Lift Apparatus
 * Sprint
 * Type-3 Refraction Dissonance Modifier/Camouflage
 * Type-27 Responsive Holographic Form Emulator
 * Z-1500 Automated Systems Drone
 * Z-2500 Automated Protection Drone
 * Z-5080 Short-Range Spectrum Augmenter/Vision
 * Z-90 Photonic Coalescence Emitter/Aegis
 * Z-9930 Information Vector Console

Vehicles

 * AV-14 Attack VTOL
 * Song of Retribution
 * D79H-TC Pelican
 * D82-EST Darter
 * F-41 Exoatmospheric Multirole Strike Fighter
 * G79H-TC/MA Pelican
 * HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense System
 * M12 Force Application Vehicle
 * M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
 * M12G1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle
 * M12R Light Anti-Aircraft Vehicle
 * M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle
 * M510 Siegework/Ultra-Heavy Mobile Anti-Aircraft Weapons Platform
 * M808 Main Battle Tank
 * Mantle's Approach
 * Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage
 * Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft
 * Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter
 * Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle
 * Type-44 Troop Carrier
 * Type-51 Individual Breaching Carapace
 * Type-53 Squad Breaching Carapace
 * Type-54 Mass Deployment Carapace
 * Type-56 Ground Support/Ultra Heavy Deployment Platform
 * Type-58 Ultra-Heavy Site Excavator/Embedded
 * Z-330 Independent Actuation Defense Escort/Heavy
 * Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage
 * Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft
 * Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter
 * Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle
 * Type-44 Troop Carrier
 * Type-51 Individual Breaching Carapace
 * Type-53 Squad Breaching Carapace
 * Type-54 Mass Deployment Carapace
 * Type-56 Ground Support/Ultra Heavy Deployment Platform
 * Type-58 Ultra-Heavy Site Excavator/Embedded
 * Z-330 Independent Actuation Defense Escort/Heavy
 * Type-56 Ground Support/Ultra Heavy Deployment Platform
 * Type-58 Ultra-Heavy Site Excavator/Embedded
 * Z-330 Independent Actuation Defense Escort/Heavy
 * Z-330 Independent Actuation Defense Escort/Heavy
 * Z-330 Independent Actuation Defense Escort/Heavy

Limited Edition
343 Industries announced that Halo 4 would be available for purchase as a Limited Edition on May 16, 2012, alongside the announcement that there would be no plans to launch a Legendary Edition, as was tradition with previous Halo installments. The Limited Edition was released on November 6, 2012, at a cost of $99.99 USD/CAD or £64.99 GBP.

Halo 4 Limited Edition contains:
 * Bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE:
 * Unique in-game Spartan IV armor skin.
 * Unique in-game weapon skin for the Assault Rifle.
 * An exclusive in-game emblem.
 * Xbox LIVE Avatar prop.
 * Xbox LIVE Avatar Spartan IV armor set.
 * The Limited Edition also contains the UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet:
 * A Spartan armor customization schematic.
 * An introduction to the massive ship UNSC Infinity.
 * Insight into the Spartan IVs.
 * War Games Map Pack Pass:
 * Access to nine maps - three future competitive multiplayer map packs, each including three locations.
 * Scanner helmet.
 * Strider helmets.
 * Falcon in-game emblem.
 * Early access to unique Specializations.
 * The Special Edition of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
 * Bonus in-fiction bonus content expanding the characters and stories of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn and their connections to Halo 4.
 * Special Featurette: Bringing Gaming into Reality.
 * Making of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

Game of the Year Edition
The Game of the Year Edition will most likely be the final retail edition of the game made. It was announced on August 27, 2013, and was released on October 8, 2013 for $39.99. This edition contains certain content that previously was only available through pre-orders.

The Halo 4 Game of the Year Edition includes: Bonus Content Details
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops Season 1
 * War Games Map Pass
 * Champions Bundle
 * Avatar Items
 * Master Chief Avatar Cloak (inspired by Halo for Xbox One)
 * UNSC Avatar Shirt
 * Ghost Avatar Prop
 * LIVE Themes
 * Haven Premium Theme
 * Longbow Premium Theme
 * Emblems
 * Mjolnir
 * Spartan
 * Bulletproof
 * Assassin
 * Bonebreaker
 * Armor Skins
 * Recruit Prime
 * Hazop Forest
 * Oceanic Circuit
 * CIO Web
 * Venator Raptor
 * Gungnir Pulse
 * Helmets
 * Strider
 * Scanner
 * Locus
 * Deadeye
 * Weapon Skins
 * Assault Rifle Prime
 * Battle Rifle Arctic
 * Light Rifle Imprint

Console Edition
At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that there would be an exclusive Halo 4 themed console bundle for the Xbox 360 Slim edition. In this announcement, the accessories and prices were also revealed. The bundle will be available for pre-order and selected stores, and will also be available to buy on November 6, 2012, at the cost of $399.99 USD or £269.99 GBP.

The bundle will contain:
 * Halo 4 standard edition.
 * Wired headset
 * Two Halo 4 themed controllers.
 * One Halo 4 themed Xbox 360 Slim with 320GB hard drive.
 * Xbox LIVE tokens for exclusive bonus content:
 * FOTUS in-game armor.
 * FOTUS avatar armor.

The console and controllers will feature an exclusive blue glow to the Xbox button ring, and the controller center button; these are usually green.

Halo 4 Controller
Along with the Limited Edition Halo 4 Console Bundle, a limited edition Halo 4 controller was announced. This product will be available by October 21, 2012 and is priced at $59.99 USD.

The controller will feature a different design to those of the Limited Edition Halo 4 Console Bundle, with a United Nations Space Command emblem on a dark grey translucent body. The controller will include an Avatar T-shirt as exclusive downloadable content.

Halo 4 Tritton Warhead Headset
This Headset was announced at the 2012 Comic-Con, with the price being $300. It could have been pre-ordered at most game stores.

Pre-Order Bonuses
It was confirmed that there would be numerous pre-order bonuses, however these bonuses varied from store to store. The following table lists the items received from all participating retailers:

Note: Amazon.co.uk pre-orders include the emblems, whilst Amazon.com pre-orders include only the Web Armor Skin.

Forward Unto Dawn
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is a live-action webseries that debuted on Machinima Prime from October 5, 2012 until the release of Halo 4 on November 6th, 2012.

Aside from marketing Halo 4, the goal of the webseries is to introduce the franchise to people unfamiliar with the games. 343 Industries franchise business management director, Matt McCloskey, said to Variety: "make Halo accessible for people who haven't played the games."

Reception
Halo 4 received generally positive reviews upon its release. On aggregate review GameRankings and Metacritic, the game holds scores of 87.42% and 87 out of 100 respectively.

Ryan McCaffrey of IGN gave a score of 9.8, calling Halo 4 "a bar-raising triumph for the entire first-person shooter genre." The lighting, movements, and animations were well-praised, as well as Neil Davidge's work as the composer for Halo 4, noting it as a "bold shift," but stating that the music is "complementary rather than additive." McCaffrey lauded the campaign for its pacing, as well as "deftly mixing on-foot combat, vehicle sequences, quiet story moments, and key Chief-and-Cortana interactions."

Forbes writer Erik Kain gave high praise to the story, writing that Halo 4 had the "most stunning cutscenes I’ve seen in a video game" contributing to a "beautiful, tragic love story" between Cortana and Master Chief. Mike Mahardy of Game Informer complimented the characterization improvements of Chief and Cortana, calling their evolved love story more "focused" and "relatable" to the player, in comparison to the "cloudy and impersonal" stories from the prior games of the franchise.

Despite high sales and good reviews Halo 4's multiplayer population has been declining rapidly since its release date all the way through 2013 with daily peaks barely reaching over 20,000.

Trivia

 * Halo 4 is the first Halo game by 343 Industries that is not a re-release.
 * After Halo 3 was finished, Bungie considered developing Halo 4, but they decided to develop Halo: Reach instead.
 * Halo 4 is the second Halo game to not include the Plasma Rifle, the other being Halo 3: ODST, which had the Brute Plasma Rifle. This game has the Storm Rifle to replace it.
 * This is the first Halo game to show the faces of Forerunners.
 * Halo 4 does not feature dual-wielding, even though it does follow after Halo 3, which did include dual-wielding.
 * Halo 4 is the first Halo to give a storyline as to why the Red and Blue teams of Multiplayer are fighting each other.
 * Halo 4 is the first Halo game to not include Firefight, since its introduction with Halo 3: ODST.
 * Halo 4 was released on November 6, 2012, the same date as the U.S. presidential election.
 * Halo 4 is the second Halo game to include voices from Rooster Teeth Productions, the first being Halo 3.
 * Halo 4 was first leaked early from its initial reveal at E3 2011 an hour early by www.Xbox.com, along with Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the Halo title that would later be released that year.
 * Like Halo: Reach, Halo 4 is rated M for Blood and Violence.
 * However, the German USK rated Halo 4 "16+" when Halo: Reach was rated "18+".
 * In the Prologue cutscene, the Sangheili seem to wear Storm armor, and the Spartans wear armor similar John-117's current armor. This could have been a reason to show-off Halo 4's graphics.
 * Halo 4 is the first Halo game to have less than 10 missions.
 * Halo 4 is the third Halo game to not feature Marines at the first mission, with Halo 3: ODST being the first and Halo: Reach being the second. (though technically ODST's are in the Marine Corps)
 * In the first trailer, John is seen using his helmet's flashlight, which can't be activated in the actual game.
 * Halo 4 is the last main Halo game to be released on the Xbox 360.
 * Halo 4 features the same species of Covenant seen in Halo: Combat Evolved; Sangheili (Elites), Kig-Yar (Jackals), Unggoy (Grunts), and Mgalekgolo (Hunters).
 * Halo 4 is the first Halo game to not feature some form of integrated lighting equipment (flashlight, night vision, VISR, etc.).
 * Halo 4 is the first Halo game since Halo: Combat Evolved to have only Spartans in multiplayer.
 * Halo 4 is very similar to Halo: Combat Evolved in storyline as the Master Chief wakes from cryo sleep on a boarded ship (Pillar of Autumn/Forward Unto Dawn) and crashes on a Forerunner Installation (Installation 04/Requiem) to awaken an Ancient Evil (the Flood/the Ur-Didact).
 * Halo 4 is the first game in the series in which the player controls two different generations of Spartans; John-117, a Spartan-II, during the campaign, and Spartan-IVs, in all other game modes.
 * With 12 Human weapons, 10 Covenant weapons, and 7 Forerunner weapons, all including grenades, Halo 4 has the most weapons featured in the series.