A number of new details have emerged from Halo 4's presence at E3 2012, as players managed to get some hands-on time with the game's multiplayer setting.
Here are a few of the things we learned:
War Games
In Halo 4's lore, the War Games are essentially "simulated" combat pitting human against human to prepare you for the live ops—Spartan Ops.
Playing through the War Games and Spartan Ops will allow you to gain points and unlock new aesthetics as well as new customizable gear.
Spartan Ops
Spartan Ops is a series of cooperative missions that will be released for free for the entire first season of Halo 4. You'll have to pay for the seasons thereafter.
Regicide
Regicide is a new War Games competitive mode that's essentially King of the Hill.
Infinity Slayer
Infinity Slayer has a new point system where you're awarded points for making kills. Double kills, killing sprees, head shots, and so forth add up to points. You can earn ordinances and drop them in with Infinity Slayer.
Weapons
The Battle Rifle (BR) has three shot bursts. There's now an indicator when your shots are hitting. Hash marks appear right around your cursor when you're hitting your targets.
Incendiary weapons like the Scattershot and the Laser are Forerunner weapons. The Scattershot can be bounced off terrain.
Anyone who uses a shield is effectively immune to any body shots. Using the Scattershot, you can bounce fire off the ground and cause the bullets to hit the target by flying under the shield.
Sniper Rifles have a longer reload time than in Halo Reach. It's still powerful, and headshots are an instant kill.
Promethean Vision
"Forerunner Vision" is actually Promethean Vision. It causes a red wave to pulse from your current location, revealing all nearby enemies. You can use it to varying degrees. Just tapping the button to use it will provide you with Promethean Vision in a short radius, while holding down the trigger will cause it to use its full energy and reveal long-range targets. You can also hear when someone is using Promethean Vision so you're aware when you're pinged by it.
Ordinance Drops
Ordinance drops will be provided based on the amount of points you accumulate as you play during a match. You have a selection of ordinances to choose from with the D-Pad, each of which uses a different amount of points. Ordinance drops include power boost, overshield, speed boost, and so forth. Ordinance drops also include weapons.
Speed boost will allow you to move faster, reload faster, and shoot faster.
When someone is powered with an ordinance drop, they'll have a certain aura around them to indicate what ordinance they're using. A red aura would indicate a power ordinance, yellow for speed, and blue for shields.
Unlike in Call of Duty, there's no building up to a certain Ordinance to get a better drop. You have to use it as soon as it's full—or wait until your next life to use it.
