John 117 Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 KIRKLAND, Wash. -- "Wake up, Chief. I need you." Beginning with those words, spoken by the sexy, shimmering artificial intelligence Cortana to the emerald-armoured super-soldier called Master Chief, Halo 4 will mark the return of one of this generation's most iconic video game heroes. But even a guy as tough as the 26th-century cybernetic warrior Master Chief might be daunted by the expectations that are weighing on this game, launching Nov. 6 on the Xbox 360. With a new studio (led by a Canadian, no less) at the helm and a fan community that ranges from casual sci-fidilettantes to ferociously competitive online warriors, Halo 4 will be one of the most-scrutinized and most-played games of 2012. As if that wasn't enough pressure, Halo 4 aims to reboot the space opera shooter that fans have adored since 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved cemented the success of Microsoft's original Xbox console, and will be the latest game in a series that has sold in the neighbourhood of 40 million copies. But Halo 4 isn't a reboot in the Hollywood sense of the word, said Josh Holmes, creative director of Halo development studio 343 Industries. "Unlike Batman, we're not resetting the state of the universe, we're not starting the story over," said Holmes, who until 2008 headed Disney-owned and now-defunct Propaganda Games in Vancouver. "This is not the origin story of Master Chief. This is a very deliberate continuation of a story that's already in motion." During a recent sneak peek at 343 Industries in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, Wash., we delved into the backstory of Halo 4, chatted with some of the 250 people who are making the game and went hands-on with its revamped online modes. (QMI Agency was the only Canadian media outlet invited to this advance look at Halo 4.) Halo 4 will be the first game developed by the Microsoftowned 343 Industries, which took over the Halo franchise from original series creators Bungie Studios. It will pick up directly after the events of 2007's Halo 3, which ended with Master Chief in a cryogenic sleep pod aboard a crippled starship, under the watchful eye of his faithful A.I. companion Cortana. From speeding up the game's action to expanding the emotional range of the characters to creating a weekly episodic online component to supplement the story, Holmes and company are making several carefully calculated changes to one of the most successful gaming properties of the last 10 years. But with Halo 4 intended to be the beginning of a new trilogy based on the continuing story of Master Chief, the vision is a long-term one. Frank O'Connor, 343 Industries' franchise development director, says Halo can -- and ideally will -- last 20 more years. "The technology will change, people's habits will change, we will kill off characters and resurrect others, and it won't be the exact vision that we have now," O'Connor said. "Our intent is to grow and nurture the franchise for as long as it makes sense." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Boo Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Wow, you're really good with finding this info, aren't you? I never knew 343 was led by a canadian... WOOT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undead Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Its funny how it says that their going to kill off characters... everyone knows that Cortana is going to be one of the people they kill off. Then who's next? Chief? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIREN4 Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 20 more years of Halo? That's quite a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuette Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 Its funny how it says that their going to kill off characters... everyone knows that Cortana is going to be one of the people they kill off. Then who's next? Chief? no they said resurect too, so maybe Cortana will be resurected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undead Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 no they said resurect too, so maybe Cortana will be resurected I think they meant the ones that had already fallen. Like Johnson for example. I'm not positive though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorB77 Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 From speeding up the game's action to expanding the emotional range of the characters to creating a weekly episodic online component tosupplementthe story, Sounds like Spartan ops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory Element Posted May 7, 2012 Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 20 more years of halo!! getting a job will be hard to do if im guna be plaing halo for that long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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