‘HALO 4’ NEWS: Limited Edition Details & Weekly Multiplayer Episodes
Golly gosh! Would you figured that a trillzillion-dollar franchise like Halo 4 would have a limited edition? I would have! Ha! Psyche. Thought I was going for ironic comment but really I was doubling-down on the equally as lame gotcha riff.
Kotaku:
Upcoming first-person shooter Halo 4 will have a whole bunch of multiplayer options, including a weekly episodic mode called “Spartan Ops,” publisher Microsoft said today.
Spartan Ops is a series of episodes that will be released weekly and tell the story of the UNSC Infinity spaceship and its crew, Microsoft says. You’ll get weekly cinematics and weekly missions. You can play the Spartan Ops missions in either single-player or co-op, and they’re all totally free.
There’s also a mode called War Games that will be more like the competitive multiplayer you’ve seen in other Halo games. They take place on the “combat deck” of the UNSC Infinity and they’ll involve “visceral and immersive experiences,” Microsoft says. Which is pretty much a meaningless description, but hey. Microsoft says it will reveal more details on the War Games soon.
It sounds like you’ll have to dish out extra for maps in War Games mode, though. Microsoft is offering up a Halo 4 Limited Edition for preorder at $100 that comes with three map packs (each including three different maps) that will be all “available for download post-launch.” The Limited Edition also ships with a bunch of new customization options and an enhanced 90-minute version of the upcoming live-action digital series Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.
Limited Edition Details:
Halo 4 Limited Edition
Available for preorder today, the Halo 4 Limited Edition maximizes your multiplayer experience and puts you in the boots of a Spartan-IV aboard the UNSC Infinity — the hub of your Halo multiplayer career.
The Halo 4 Limited Edition will be available at the estimated retail price of $99.99 and includes:
– War Games Map Pack Access
The competitive multiplayer modes of Halo 4 are known as War Games. The Limited Edition includes access to nine maps – three future competitive multiplayer map packs, each including three locations, available for download post-launch on Xbox LIVE. Yes, you read that correctly; you get nine maps in the form of future DLC with the purchase of the Halo 4 Limited Edition. Score!
– Specializations
Everyone will have access to select Specializations, but those that purchase the Halo 4 Limited Edition will receive the ability to unlock six Specializations early, available at launch on Xbox LIVE. You can use them, one at a time, to achieve higher ranks in your Spartan career. In addition to gaining access to new ranks, Specializations unlock new customization options. We’ll be releasing more information about Specializations at E3, so expect additional details about this particular feature then.
– UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet
The UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet includes a Spartan armor customization schematic, information about UNSC weapons, an introduction to the massive ship UNSC Infinity, and insight into what it means to be one of humanity’s finest warriors: The Spartan-IVs. Story lovers will especially enjoy this in-fiction offering that provides a glimpse into the indoctrination of Spartans aboard the Infinity.
– Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition
The Special Edition of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is a 90-minute extended version of the live-action digital series which will take fans back to the terrifying beginning of the Human/Covenant war, when the Master Chief inspired a young cadet who would eventually become a leader aboard the UNSC’s greatest vessel ever: the UNSC Infinity.
Digital content also includes in-fiction bonus content that expands the characters and stories of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, special featurette Bringing Gaming into Reality, and a behind the scenes look at the making of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.
– Bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE
The Limited Edition includes the following 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, and Xbox LIVE Avatar Spartan IV armor set.
TL;DR: There’s tons of exclusive shit and nonsense, per every other limited edition out there.