Halo 4 More info

Ok so you must have seen the new first look ViDoc for Halo 4 which is totally awesome. Personally not having enough time to analyse all aspects of the video fully check out some of the ViDoc breakdown videos like to see things that you may have overlooked when watching originally.


List of changes:

• Battle Rifle is back  -  and its been given a new scope. 

• Overhauled sounds  - all the new sounds have been recorded from scratch to get the exact perfect sounds in-game.

Hud Changes 

• 3 different grenade types  - currently there are three 0's for grenade slots. Each one able to hold three grenades, 9 in total? will have to see if that changes.

• Halo 3-style Radar - radar seems to have the up an down elevation arrows, and what looks like an arrow at the edge of the radar to reveal distant enemies beyond the nearby range. Team mates appear GREEN, enemies appear RED. 

• Damage Direction Arrows - looking pretty interesting.

• Secondary Weapon -  displayed on left hand side.

• Armour ability - (Jetpack) displayed on left hand side.

• Lighter Kill Text - much more transparent and not solid blue as Halo 3 was. So no more ridiculous text blocking up half the screen.

Misc

• NO beta  - halo 4 won't have a public beta. As confirmed by 343industries. So beware of beta key fraudsters.

• New items to spend Credits on - which won't be limited to just armour. Maybe a perk system? although this is not in-keeping with Halo.

• Additional medals scoring system (game type?) - notice (in the Vidoc) that next to the medals earned are a number and the score of a BR slayer game was upward of 300 which is way too high. This appears to be an additional variant of team score. Obviously this will not replace traditional kill-scoring paradigm but rather introduce a new feature for certain game types.

Halo 4 is still in development, so some of these items may change or not happen at all, please bear that in mind when considering this post.

Well that's all we have so far, look out for more details soon.

Halo 4 Update

So finally we have some info related to Halo 4! Oh Yes! I hear you say...

If you haven't already done so, check out the new FIRST LOOK video below:

Among improving on the graphics and model style of the armour that we will see in the campaign and multi player, a big choice has been to bring back the original halo 3 battle rifle with the triple-shot burst fire functionality. This will probably cause lots of dynamic change to the game like experienced back on halo 3.

Personally I'm pretty pleased that things will be picking up from where we left off in terms of the battle rifle, the new model specification etc...

Two maps are featured on the video, they are Wraparound and Warhouse. Both look aesthetically pleasing and have lended some features from previous maps from halo3 and Reach, in terms of style and design. Is it me or does warhouse appear to be a mix of Halo Reach countdown and the downloaded map Anchor 9? But don't get me wrong it looks incredibly awesome, keeping the same feel and texture we are already familiar with.

Purely judging from the video footage we can tell that the character models appear nicely trimmed and moving around fluidly in keep with Halo tradition.

And 343 are clear they want the whole experience to be much more cinematic, again keeping true to and expanding on the main story and emotional journey of previous games.

All very promising so far. And we cant wait for more....

How to Use It Effectively - The Banshee

The Banshee was given it's name by the shrill shrieking noise it makes during flight. So when you hear it coming you need to deal with it fast. The reason why a Banshee is such a potent killing machine is because the gunner and the pilot are one. The pilot is always pointing at where he intends to shoot. Add to that the very agile nature of the craft, it being relatively small and able to perform flips, makes this vehicle a very evasive and effective killing machine.

A banshee needs to watch out for other aircraft and in particular scorpion tanks, which could blow them up in one direct hit.

Being agile mean that the Banshee is fairly weak, only able to withstand so much small arms fire. High velocity bullets like sniper rifles will rip the craft apart in a few shots.

When piloting a Banshee your key objective is to stay on the move and avoid lots of attention. Not easy when you are flying high in the air with no cover, right? The Banshee's greatest strength is it's ability to quickly kill enemies using the fuel rod gun (secondary fire weapon). Infantry, and light vehicles get one-shotted with ease.

Try to focus your fire on infantry, who make easy prey. However if an enemy is virtually underneath the Banshee don't circle around to the ground in an attempt to desperately get a difficult kill as this will make you an easier target for grenade sticks, plasma pistol and grenade EMP effects and sky-jacking attempts. Instead break off and find a new target.

Spotting infantry is easy from your vantage point in the sky. You need to get a feel for how to set up for an attack. To set up effectively you need to bear in mind where your target is, could he run for cover? does he have teammate support who may attack you? are there any enemy vehicles nearby? If using the fuel rod gun, ensure you get within range to allow for travel time of the projectile to hit the target accurately.

The same applies for attacking ground vehicles. The only big difference is when taking on an enemy tank. Depending on it's strength the tank will require two shots from the fuel rod gun to destroy it. From the front tanks have stronger armour. Try to get behind the tank and attack from the rear, this will prove deadly to them, and will ensure that you don't get fired upon, putting you under less pressure at least initially.

When attacking another Banshee you need to be aware of a few things. An important point is to keep at a range that allows you to fire with the standard canons, but allowing you some time to evade (roll or somersault) to avoid a fuel rod gun shot. You can also use somersaults to get above and behind an enemy to get the advantage over them. Another good tactic is to bring the battle down to the ground, luring an enemy Banshee nearer your allies who can then fire or sky-jack the enemy vehicle and claiming it for your team.

Notice in this video that the Banshee pilot always keeps moving, performing somersaults and boosting around. This makes him virtually unable to be hit or attacked, which is exactly what a Banshee pilot should be doing.

One thing not to forget is that all covenant vehicles possess a boost ability that allows for quick movement, but at the cost of being unable to fire whilst boosting. A Banshee can use this ability to snap around the map very quickly and instantly rain death on unsuspecting victims, in a lot of cases for the entire length of a match.


A Banshee can control the map, control the players on both teams and can ultimately decide the game, if used effectively!

Try to take out a Banshee wherever possible, as you will find it much easier when one is not threatening you and your team throughout the course of a match.

How to Use It Effectively - The Wraith

The Wraith is the Covenant's battle tank. It is bulky, slow, but very powerful and like the Scorpion it has two seats, one for the driver and one for a secondary gunner. The Wraith fires a massive plasma bomb that is heavy and deadly. Because of this it travels in an arcing trajectory, which allows the Wraith to hit targets over hills and behind obstacles.

Just like the Scorpion, the biggest threats to a Wraith include hi-jackers, other tanks and aerial attackers. However the wraith does have a limited boost function, which can be used to escape a jack attempt or to attempt a splatter on an infantry opponent who rushes you.

Try to avoid tight and enclosed spaces, and always have supporting infantry nearby to protect you from jacking opponents.

Advanced tactics of the Wraith include firing across long distances to a known enemy location, whilst you are under no immediate threat. The main canon never overheats, so you can fire it all day long. This tactic will only work for a limited time as people will catch on. But this can still allow you to catch a few players off guard grabbing some kills.

When going up against another tank try to position yourself near cover so you can fire at your target, cover while the main canon reloads, then come out of cover and resume firing. Sometimes the fight may be up close and personal with another tank, avoid hitting at point blank range as this will cause you to take damage from your own shots. Make good use of the boost function to evade shots. This requires good timing.

When attacked by an aerial opponent you have two choices:

1) fire back and attempt to hit them, or
2) bail out and take cover.

Trying to hit a distant aerial target is virtually impossible for any player, unless the target happens to stray too close or if he's clearly not paying attention to you. If you get caught out you can always bail out of the tank if needed, just remember that it takes a couple of seconds to get clear. Sometimes even if you think you have cleared the tank, it can explode and still kill you.

The Wraith driver in this video keeps to his team's side of the map, staying near his allies for support. He engages in tank vs tank combat and executes a well timed dodge with the boost function, avoiding destruction. 

One thing in particular you will notice is he always keeps moving. This is important because once you slow down in the Wraith you become a slow target and a big opportunity for hi-jackers and other vehicles. Note that it is necessary to lead you target quite a lot due to the slow speed of the plasma bombs. 

When threatened by a hi-jacker from directly infront, consider boosting into them to get a splatter, neutralising the threat. 

Practice with the Wraith to get used to the arcing trajectory of the main canon. You can fire over the entire length of a map and steal some quick kills, but your primary objective is to get used to hitting targets at medium range who are in direct (or indirect) line of sight.

Have fun.

How to Use It Effectively - The Revenant

Quite simply the Revenant is the illegitimate love child of the ghost and wraith tank. It has similar style to the ghost, being able to hop around fairly quickly, whilst having, effectively, a large version of the concussion rifle as it's primary weapon that arcs similar to the Wraith tank.

As such, the same strategy as the ghost applies when using the Revenant: circle infantry opponents and attack from range. However because each shot arcs and is more powerful (shot per shot) than a ghost plasma shot, the Revenant is capable of engaging other vehicles like Ghosts and Warthogs much more freely. The explosive nature of the main canon can flip vehicles, which is particularly handy to wipe out a Warthog full of opponents.

Revenants are still inferior when fighting tanks. Avoid going toe to toe with a tank, rather focus on keeping out of their way and pay attention to Warthogs, other Revenants, Ghosts and of course infantry.

In this video the revenant does get used, and when it does you will see that it acts just like a ghost. Generally you will find Revenants in larger battles involving objective based games. Always keep on the move, as mobility is always important.

Just practice with the Revenant and get a feel for what it's good and and what it's not so good at. Try to lead targets when shooting at long range. And if you feel like a battle is too overwhelming keep you distance and wait for team support.