Xbox 360 Official Magazine Offers Hands-On Halo 4 Info in Four-Page Spread

Over a four-page spread in Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine, a hands-on guide through the upcoming Halo 4 details story, new enemies, combat strategies and weapons. The spread also features a short interview with Executive Producer Kiki Wolfkill.

The pages, all available for perusal over at imgur, begin with a short overview of the series lore and introduction to the game`s narrative, telling us a little more about the tale starring Spartan John-117 and the episodic co-op missions of Spartan Ops—specifically Cauldron—as well as "more traditional" modes found in War Games, which bring players back to the sandbox shootout environment while still providing Armor Abilities enhancements, new enemy AI and a host of other little tweaks.

The introduction draws a distinction, since, of course the Spartan is an original Halo hero: after all, what Microsoft had displayed at E3 of the game`s confined path felt scarcely familiar to the sandbox gameplay players had become used to.

However, the piece affirms, Halo 4 does not just abandon the classic feel of the series. Rather, the game is a "juxtaposition between old and new," with new enemy and combat forcing "you to realise quite how entrenched the Halo series' enemy ecosystem had become in your mind and just how useless those time-honoured tactics have now become."

The piece explains that old strategies, like lobbing a plasma grenade, will result in the Watcher enemy catching it and flinging it back to you with greater force. Halo 4 doesn't want you to get more comfortable: instead, it wants to challenge the player to find new ways of interacting with the environment.

Take a look at the rest to see more specifics in terms of enemy descriptions and new features, as well as the short interview with Kiki Wolfkill for a peek into the creative process for Halo 4.