John 117

It’s quite an accomplishment to keep fans guessing after more than four games released in the same series, but 343 Industries is accomplishing the task. Halo 4 will be bringing plenty of changes and new features to both singleplayer and multiplayer, and today is a sign of just a few more. Thanks to images leaked online, we have our first look at two potential enemy types from Halo 4: the Watcher and the Crawler. Knowing what they’ll look like and be called is one thing, but understanding what this means for the overall plot is still unclear. The image in question features the back panel of one of the McFarlane line of toys being developed in tandem with the game itself. Aside from confirming that Master Chief, an Elite Zealot and an unnamed ‘Spartan Warrior’ would be characters featured in the game, the newly redesigned Covenant Grunt revealed last month was given the ‘Storm’ classification. But what has taken the lion’s share of the attention since the image made its way online is the tease of two new forthcoming characters – the Watcher and Crawler, and the first images of each. Predictably, the Crawler looks to be some type of four-legged, glowing alien predator that would be right at home in the Gears of War universe. The Watcher on the other hand is far more mysterious. Have a look at the images: The Crawler design is fairly straightforward, and at least initially looks to fit the mold of fast-moving-and-directly-attacking enemy type that all shooters apparently must have these days. Considering the fact that Halo distinguished itself based on enemy AI and squad intelligence, showing a wild animal as a possible enemy type may not result in much optimism from skeptics. Especially in 343′s first outing in the series. As for the Watcher, speculation can extend far beyond how the enemy will function in combat. The image depicts what looks to be a floating apparatus with what may be an alien creature piloting it, at least from this one photo. If the Watcher is an alien, it certainly doesn’t resemble any so far seen in the series to date. That makes sense given the brand new setting and environments of Halo 4, and some Forerunner style is visible in the design. For extremely loyal fans of all things Halo, though, the term Watcher is somewhat familiar. The Sentinel Watcher appeared as a Forerunner defense mechanism in the campaign of Halo Wars, tasked with controlling the Flood outbreak. The range of configurations shown in the above image for the Sentinel Watcher bears some resemblance to the leaked image, reinforced by its presence on a Forerunner shield world – just like the setting of Halo 4. The extended Halo universe lists numerous variants of Sentinels, but none of that accounts for the existence of the Crawler. It’s entirely possible that both characters are a new form of alien life that Master Chief will be encountering. Obviously the developers have kept plenty of details to themselves, especially when discussing how the setting and plot of the upcoming game will fit into the extensive timeline of the Halo series. But with Elite Zealots – those Covenant warriors most loyal to the Prophets, and most devout in their devotion – and new Forerunners on hand, the plot could range from an extension of the Holy War of the previous games to a brand new chapter for Master Chief and humanity. Hopefully this leak will encourage 343 to provide more details about at least some of the new enemy types, but expect far more information come E3 2012. Until then, what are your theories on the Watcher and Crawler?

Okay......halo reach was amazing. I agree. But why do some people hate it? Here are the reasons. 1. There is no variety in Reach. In all the other halo games.. there is a great interchange of friends and foes. Only covenant in Reach. 2. its kinda horrible to die in the end.....and it makes you sad. 3. it did not have the same feel as halo

guys.........this speculation is older than E3! a very old theory....

welome to the forums!

welome to the forums!

welome to the forums!

welome to the forums!

welome to the forums!

welome to the forums! as for the hack.......could've been me!

welome to the forums!

welome to the forums!

welome to the forums!

welome to the forums!

are they spartan 2 or 3.........more like a detective story?

This story follows what happens to Cortana and the Chief after Halo 3. I have not read any other Halo 4 threads, so if any of my ideas sound like yours, then great minds think alike, I suppose. -The game starts with the Chief and Cortana floating towards the unknown planet that we saw in Halo 3. They enter the atmosphere and crash onto the surface. Throughout the game, you discover all the secrets behind its' creation. WHAT THE PLANET IS -The planet is a Forerunner built world. It was built along with the Halo rings and the Ark. Like the Ark, it is outside of the Milky Way galaxy, and is out of range of the Halo rings. The planet, while artificially built, is completely self-sustaining, having the ability to grow food, create oxygen, etc. All the necessities to sustain life. -When the Forerunner activated the Halo's, they left the galaxy en route to this newly built planet. The planet was meant to be a new start to the Forerunner civilization, a safe place that they could begin rebuilding and expanding on. -By some unknown means, some flood still remained and managed to find a way to board their ship(s), hiding out until the Forerunner reached their destination. -After the Forerunner made it to their new homeworld, they fell under a second attack. After their first battle with the flood, they were much more vulnerable and were easily overwhelmed. With the Halo's being out of range, and no other options, the Forerunner were overrun by the flood. HOW THE CHIEF ENDS UP ON THIS PLANET -The Ark has two portals, one leading to Earth, the other leading to this planet. The Halo's cannot be fired directly from the planet, so they have a portal leading to and from the Ark, in case they ever needed to fire them again. -Reading the Terminal on Halo, you found out that Mendicant Bias was talking to the Chief. Right before 117 activated Installation 04, Mendicant Bias states that he made a mistake turning against his creators and he wants them to know he has changed, and the Chief will be his example. When the newly re-built Installation 04 fired, it heavily damaged the Ark. Right before the portal collapsed, Mendicant Bias changed the coordinates from Earth to the Forerunner planet. Thus, the Chief and Cortana go through the portal as the portal switches to the Forerunner planet coordinates. WHAT THE GAME WILL BE ABOUT -The Chief and Cortana discover that the Forerunner planet is infested with flood, and they are actually the infected Forerunners. Because these flood are infected Forerunners, they are highly intelligent. Unlike previous forms of flood, they can think and work together without a central Gravemind. They can build, repair, modify and even invent new Forerunner technology. These flood present a fresh new challenge, as they are highly tactical in battle, using technology and outsmarting opponents in battle situations. Unlike the other games, these flood could be very formidable foes. Throughout the game, you will be battling the flood infested Forerunner and their technology. You will have to become resourceful, adapting to the new weapons and technology, as no UNSC or Covenant weapons or equipment will be on this planet. -*The original Forerunner technology knew what had happened to the Forerunner, and began to rebel against their infected creators. So throughout the game, the original Forerunner technology existing on the planet would aid you while battling the flood and their creations.* -The Chief and Cortana's main priorities are to get off the planet, and if possible, eradicate the local flood while doing so. They devise a plan to highjack a Forerunner ship and use its' slip-space capabilities to make it back home. -They also figure out a way to either eradicate the local flood, or destroy the Forerunner-built planet. (I have not thought of an interesting way for them to do either of these yet, so I'll keep thinking...) -The Chief and Cortana manage to steal a Forerunner ship and make it off the planet. The game ends with the flood (and possibly the planet) being destroyed, Cortana setting coordinates to Earth, and the ship jumping into slip-space. FINAL NOTES These are the basic plot points I could think of so far. I didn't want to get into too deep into a storyline, because a single scenario can go a million different ways, so instead of coming up with a whole storyline that can go a billion different ways, I decided to just come up with a few solid plot points that wouldn't change. I know a lot of people will think that a game with only flood as enemies will get boring, repetitive, etc. But these flood won't be anything like the flood from the other games. Thanks to the super intelligence of the Forerunner, they can be turned into a very formidable and dangerous foe, rivaling that of the covenant, maybe even worse. Also, this scenario lets developers be as creative as they want and completely change the Halo weapons, tossing out all the old weapons without having to give a single explanation. You're on a new planet, not a single human or covenant has ever been there, no UNSC or Covenant weapons will be there. It'll be completely new weapons, all Forerunner and whatever the flood may have invented. Imagine the kind of firepower the Forerunner would have! New locations, new weapons, new vehicles, new grenades, new enemies, this game could refresh the Halo franchise and add all new stuff to it, instead of recycling everything from game to game. What do you guys think? I'll update stuff as I think of it.