The Daily Verse: Halo 4 Info, Mass Effect 3 DLC and Patch and More Witcher

So we’ve got a massive wall of text with some trailers for seasoning for you today. Among them is a massive amount of Halo 4 information, Mass Effect 3 updates and add-ons, and a new Witcher 2 trailer. I recommend getting started right now, maybe you’ll be done before nightfall!

The Halo 4 News You’ve Been Waiting For!
Recently some huge infodumps havbe been released to the web regarding the highly anticipated Halo 4. Demoncarnotaur at NeoGAF has been gracious enough to compile it all. We decided we’d distill it for you a bit more, since his list is a bit difficult to follow and somewhat repetitive.

• A Podcast will be released at some point by 343 explaining everything we are explaining below. We don’t know when this will go up.
• The game is set in 2557, 4 years, 7 months and 10 days after Halo 3.
• The game will feature native 720p with FXAA.
• The new HUD is designed to you will feel like you’re looking at the world through a helmet.
• All animation is now done with Motion Capture.
• Minor Spoiler: Cortana is approaching Rampancy and this will be important to the plot.
• Minor Spoiler: There will be no romance between Cortana and Master Chief.
• Power weapons will not always drop in the same place, but there are ways to determine where they will drop.
• Cortana has chosen a new visual appearance since the Chief went to sleep, so expect her to look different.
• Grunts and Elites have been confirmed to return, but will not be the antagonists of the game.
• Minor Spoiler : The planet at the end of Halo 3 is called Requiem. It is a planet enclosed in a Dyson Shell, and the Chief will land there.
• Minor Spoiler: A new enemy faction will come from Requiem. They will have unique enemy types, weapons and will be more advanced than the Covenant.
• They expect to make huge living environments, like jungles with actual animals in them.
• The skybox is filled with massive pillars reaching down from above and the surrounding view is painted by the inside of the Dyson Shell.
• The game is split into two segments, single player being called Campaign, and Multi being called Infinity
• The multi-player will have ties to the Single Player story-wise.
• Custom games will be heavily customizable, and initial playlist will be clean and focused. Players will not be presented with a stack of lists, but there will be a variety of different tastes.
• Multiplayer in Halo 4 will not be using True Skill.
• Armor Lock will not be an armor ability.
• There will be no Firefight mode
• Battle Rifle will have recoil
• There won’t be Dual Wielding
• Multiplayer features Spartan IV’s – adult volunteers taken from the best of special ops soldiers, equipped with a new version of the Mjolnir armor (lightweight variation) and deployed onboard the UNSC Infinity.
• The UNSC Infinity is the largest ship the UNSC has ever created. Over three kilometers long. It was designed with cutting edge technology and features some additional technological enhancements provided by the study of Forerunner technology – including faster and more accurate slipspace travel.
• Minor Spoiler: The UNSC Infinity is deployed on a top secret mission into deep space but will cross paths with the Master Chief during the campaign.
• The Spartan IV’s onboard train in the Infinity’s “combat deck” (think holodeck or Danger room). The deck can simulate any known environment and plays host the multiplayer games players are familiar with.
• New Co-Op mode called Spartan Ops for up to four players in online Campaign-esque missions.
• Spartan OPs introduces new movies sequences and missions on a weekly basis which tells the story of the UNSC Infinity’s mission and battles the new Spartan IV’s face.
• Spartan Op missions are objective based and feature new content, events and locations each week. Spartan Ops missions also reward Spartan Points and feature selectable difficulty levels like Campaign.
• Spartan Ops missions are not DLC, they are included in the overall Halo 4 package but it is unclear if the content is available on the disc or must be downloaded separately.
• Weapons in the overall sandbox include Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, DMR, Assault Carbine, Covenant Carbine, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle, Magnum and Plasma Pistol. There are numerous unrevealed, new weapons.
• Loadouts are composed of a primary and secondary weapon, a grenade type, armor ability and modifications. It is unclear how the modification system works or what things it modifies or how.
• Returning Armor Abilities include Hologram, Jet-Pack and Camo. A new ability to see through walls was shown and Sprint is now a baseline ability all players will have access to at all times.
• Free-For-All Variant, Regicide. Lead slayer is “King” – each of the King’s kills raises his “bounty”. The bounty is claimed by whomever kills the King.
• In Team Slayer (not confirmed for other game types), players can re-spawn instantly after death if they choose. Additionally, power weapons are introduced into a game on a random timer and appear at random drop points on the map. Instant re-spawns will not be enabled in objective based modes.
• Medals are returning, including new medals for “revenge kills” and for causing a distraction.
• Spartan Points is the new currency system in Halo 4. They will buy things such as armor, armor abilities, Spartan Ops missions (see below) and more.
• Forerunner Vision is an armor ability that allows you to see through walls. Visuals for Forerunner Vision are still being worked on.
• Forerunner Vision isn’t really like UAV in COD, this will be clarified in the future. You cannot use Forerunner Vision to see players anywhere on the map.
• There will be no Elites in multiplayer.
• There will be at least four types of grenades.
• You can now join multiplayer games in progress.
• Changes haven’t been made lightly and may still be tweaked based on player feedback.

The Witcher 2 – 52 And A Half Trailer

Mass Effect 3 Patch Fixes Several Bugs
Bioware has announced the release of a patch for all platforms this week. The game will auto-update with these patches on April 9th for PC, and April 10th for Xbox and PS3 . You can see a list of what’s been fixed below.

• Issues when in some cases Shepard’s customized facial features from
  ME1/ME2 may not be properly imported to ME3
• An issue when quickly and repeatedly selecting to Resume a Save could
  result in Player Level reset and a potential locking of powers.
• An issue when selecting Multiplayer in the Main Menu while under a poor
  network connection could result in an unresponsive state.
• A potential crash while accessing an in-game terminal from Eden Prime
  level.
• An issue when attempting to login while Server is down. It would display a
  Server Down message and accepting the Server Shutdown message would shut
  down the game.
• A potential memory crash while loading a Quick Save of a custom FemShep.
• An issue when restarting missions and acquiring an above max amount of
  weapon mods results in displayed debug text on-screen.
• An issue when an unresponsive game state could occur during transition
  after the Conduit level.
• An issue when DLC game saves can be accessed from an account without DLC
  if another account on the same computer has access to the related
  DLC. (PC Only)
• An issue when saves from different accounts on the same computer may
  become locked if one account has access to DLC which the other account
  does not. (PC Only)
• An issue when potentially the game could enter unresponsive state when
  transitioning from the Holding Docks area to the Normandy Docks area of
  the Citadel. (PS3 Only)

Bioware Expands On Mass Effect 3 With Free DLC!
Bioware has released free downloadable content for Mass Effect 3 this week. It adds new maps, weapons, items and character to the multi-player. The press release with full details is below.

Join the fight to save the galaxy with the first multiplayer downloadable content pack for Mass EffectTM 3! Available to download for owners of Mass Effect 3 for no additional charge*, the Mass Effect 3: Resurgence Pack adds two new maps to the game’s critically acclaimed cooperative multiplayer experience, along with a variety of new playable characters, new weapons and new items that can be unlocked by acquiring reinforcement packs in the game’s multiplayer store. The Mass Effect 3: Resurgence Pack will be available for download on April 10 on Xbox®LIVE, the OriginTM client software and PlayStation® Network in North America, and PlayStation® Network in Europe on April 11.

The Mass Effect 3: Resurgence Pack includes the following content:

• Two New Action-Packed Maps – Take the battle to Firebase Condor, a warzone outpost located on one of Palaven’s moons and Firebase Hydra, an old abandoned quarian colony which has since been converted into a critical power facility. Each map represents a crucial asset in the overall fight against the Reapers.
• Six Powerful New Unlockable Characters – Assume the role of new characters for each class, including the Asari Justicar Adept, Krogan Battlemaster Vanguard and characters from new playable races with the Batarian Soldier, Batarian Sentinel, Geth Engineer and Geth Infiltrator.
• Lethal New Weapons – Obliterate wave after wave of enemies by unlocking the Striker Assault Rifle, Kishock Harpoon Gun and Geth Plasma SMG.
• New Consumables – Cash in your credits to purchase reinforcement packs that could include the following new consumables:
• Strength Enhancer – Applies a melee damage boost for one mission
• Targeting VI – Applies a headshot damage bonus for one mission
• Stabilization Module – Stabilizes weapons while firing and moving for one mission
• Shield Power Cells – Shortens the length of time shields take to begin recharging for one mission

As part of the Mass Effect 3 Galaxy at War system, success in the cooperative multiplayer experience in Mass Effect 3 links back to the player’s single-player campaign, helping Commander Shepard rally the forces of the galaxy to eliminate the Reaper threat once and for all. Multiplayer puts players in the role of a team of elite Special Forces soldiers sent to protect resources and assets that can help the greater war effort.

Mass Effect 3 – Resurgence DLC Trailer

That’s all for today on The Daily Verse! Stop by every day for your gaming fix. Also, follow us on Twitter, and make sure to drop us a line down in the comments! We’re always keeping our eyes peeled to bring you all the best news in the ‘verse!