Halo 4

"Wake up, John."

- Official tagline

Halo 4 is the recently announced seventh installment in the bestselling Halo franchise. A teaser trailer shown at Microsoft's E3 Media Briefing on June 6th, 2011 confirmed that Halo 4 is to be the first installment in a new series of games known as the Reclaimer Trilogy.

Plot
"Set in the aftermath of Halo 3, Master Chief returns to confront his own destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. Halo 4 marks the start of a new trilogy that begins with its release in 2012."

- Official summary

Halo 4 marks the return of John-117 as a playable protagonist after three Halo games focusing on different sets of characters. Having been lost in space in the finale of Halo 3, John-117 and Cortana, adrift aboard the wreckage of the UNSC frigate, find themselves near a mysterious Forerunner planet, first seen in the Legendary ending of Halo 3.

The Forerunner Saga novel Halo: Primordium, the post-war novel Halo: Glasslands, and the terminals in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, will "definitely" have "resonant connections" to Halo 4's story.

Gameplay and design
Halo 4's creative director is Josh Holmes. The game's creative team, which comprises nearly 200 individuals who have been developing the game for nearly two years, intend to continue the Halo series' tradition of inspiring wonder in the player while providing engaging, visceral gameplay. The game will utilize much of the "sandbox" that has been featured across all six prior Halo games and other media, in addition to introducing new characters, weapons, vehicles, and other elements.

John-117's experience and the player's experience are meant to be intertwined, with the Master Chief essentially serving as the player's avatar within the Halo universe. The relationship between John and Cortana will be heavily featured and greatly expanded. It has been suggested that the game will reveal how humanity and the UNSC have adapted to the post-war world, particularly how they have co-opted Forerunner technology.

Audio
Sotaro Tojima, best known for his work on Konami's Castlevania: Circle of the Moon and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, serves as Halo 4's audio director and composer. The team has performed many live audio recording sessions, several of which occurred in Tasmania. Some of these recording sessions have taken place in generally inhospitable environments, such as underwater, in fire, and in ice, through the use of specially designed microphones; other recording sessions have utilized "home made" explosives. Tojima intends for the game's audio to be clearly grounded in the Halo universe, though to also have a more realistic quality than in past titles. The game's music is meant to convey a clear sense of wonder and nostalgia that is present throughout the series, though it will also introduce new themes and styles.

Announcement trailer
Released during Microsoft's E3 2011 media briefing, the trailer depicts Cortana awakening John-117 from cryo sleep on the wreckage of Forward Unto Dawn, followed by John securing Cortana's storage chip and rushing through the wreckage to witness the ship being pulled into an enormous opening on the surface of a mysterious planet.

Director's cut
This version of the Awakening trailer, which was released during GamesCom 2011, features a few changes from the original version. The background melody is different from original video, and continues until the end of the trailer. When John reaches the holotank, he does not speak to Cortana. Near the end of the trailer, he throws away his weapon rather than reloading it.

Concept Art Glimpse
A video presenting several pieces of concept art was initially presented at Halofest and was subsequently released on Halo Waypoint'. The trailer presents concept art of a world which appears to have a similar atmosphere to Earth's, several location drafts which feature buildings and ships that follow the Forerunner's style of architecture and design, concepts of the Forward Unto Dawn 's wreckage, and some concepts of the unidentified planet. Two of these images were repurposed as the cover art for Halo: Cryptum and Halo: Primordium.

Characters

 * Cortana
 * John-117

Locations

 * Legendary planet

Vehicles

 * M12 Force Application Vehicle
 * M12 Force Application Vehicle
 * M12 Force Application Vehicle

Weapons

 * Unidentified UNSC weapon