14 DAY TRIAL // Halo fans will be able to get a re-imagined version of Combat Evolved this fall but the game they are really waiting for is Halo 4, the first main game in the series that will be launched after original developer Bungie left the series.
Frank O'Connor, who is the director working on Halo 4 at developer 343 Industries, has told 1UP during an interview that, “We called it a new trilogy, but that’s really just a chronological description. It’s a direct continuation and evolution of the Master Chief’s story. We’re going to be pretty front and center about that. This is about the Master Chief and we’re going to make him a deeper and richer character than he’s been, but just in the way that I’m sure Bungie would have naturally done anyway.”
It seems that the main ideas behind the character, like his lack of voice and his gruff personality, will remain the same but that the team is working on ways to explore his life and his inner feelings.
O'Connor also says that 343 Industries is ready to make significant changes, adding, “We had a lot of people saying, ‘Why does the Chief’s armour look different?’. Well, the Chief’s armour has looked different every single game. It’s a natural evolution of trying to make your graphics better and having different artist approach it.”
The developer also offered some information on what Cortana, the Artificial Intelligence that accompanies Master Chief, might do in Halo 4, saying that she is evolving into something else on account of all the information and experiences she has been exposed to.
343 Industries has already said that it will only offer details about the story told in Halo 4 close to launch date, although a beta for the multiplayer side of the game might be offered next year.
Halo 4 will be launched exclusively on the Xbox 360 at some point during 2012, probably the fall.