This is actually pretty good.
Limited edition announced:
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/16/halo-4-limited-edition-includes-multiplayer-map-dlc-videos/
Here's a huge swathe of info about the game. Let me break it down with quotes.
Latest News:
New live action web series called Forward Unto Dawn to appear on Machinima & Waypoint. This is a big budget (largest live action budget so far) standalone series looking to bring new people into Halo lore.
"Forward Unto Dawn" will play out over five weekly installments, around 15 minutes each, telling an original story about the game's Master Chief and how he inspired a young UNSC cadet who will eventually become a leader aboard the UNSC Infinity spacecraft. Introduction of the new character will tie in with the plot of "Halo 4," while providing a flashback to the beginning of the "Halo" franchise's war between the humans and the evil Covenant.
NO 1-50 Halo 3 rank, NO Arena Reach ranking, Spartan laser, NO dedicated servers, NO multiplayer bots (Infinity), Female Spartans, New Railgun, 3rd multiplayer map, MP Pause Menu for loadouts, limited QTE's, DMR & BR Mechanics, both 5 shot kill.
GENERAL:1. No public beta.
2. Launches Nov 6th 2012.
3. E3 2012 confirmed.
4. Xbox 360 exclusive. No comments on next generation support.
5. Reach game engine & netcode based, heavily modified/brand new engine.
6. Campaign story a direct continuation of Halo 3 ending.
7. Gameplay is faster, darker & more mature.
8. New enemies confirmed with "group mechanic" which introduces new gameplay.
9. Approx. 250 staff at 343i from many A-AAA studios.
10. True native 720p support with FXAA plus motion & facial capture.
11. New HUD designed for more athletic movements.
12. Theatre replays confirmed. No details/gametypes/campaign yet.
13. Forge confirmed, no details.
14. Halo 4 concept theme for xbox dashboard available for purchase, giveaway this Friday on Official Halo Waypoint Twitter account.
15. In certain modes players choose their spawn timing e.g. choose to spawn immediately or select loadout change or simply pause to strategise. Objective game types use specially-tuned spawn timers based on game length, object respawn times and scoring. Customisable for tweaking (or turn off) in custom games.
16. Base movement speed not slow and was inspired from Halo 3 mobility.
17. Lots of control layouts so pretty close to whatever you want configuration wise. Southpaw & inverted confirmed with many more available but waiting on more details.
18. Loadouts are Primary, secondary, grenade, AA & two extra slots. So far confirmed additional slots are modifications with confirmed quicker regeneration and/or more ammunition. Confirmed more like modding a car for handling than swapping out the entire engine, so different to COD modifications. Also a new pause menu for changing loadouts in multplayer.
19. NO dedicated servers, confirmed by Josh Holmes in latest Game Informer podcast.
CAMPAIGN & STORY ELEMENTS:1. Chief returns facing new and old enemies.
2. Cortana/Chief relationship explored more with direct affect on new Halo games.
3. Universe lore finally solidifying and leading directly into Halo 4.
4. Elites NOT playable in Infinity (multiplayer). No details fo Elites in campaign or spartan ops yet.
5. Up to 4 player campaign co-op, with unsure about 2 or 4 split screen on same console.
6. New enemy weapons, no details yet.
7. Campaign starts from Halo 3 planet, a forerunner shield world (Requiem). Inner & outer shell with dyson sphere encasing a planet. Protects from Halo’s firing.
8. Covenant attacking ship Cortana awoke John on (Forward Unto Dawn).
9. Master Chief more agile than previous titles. New armour designed for this reason.
10. Factions of UNSC, covenant and others at new shield world, Requiem.
11. Cortana’s lifespan and stability will feature very early on.
12. The year is 2557. 4 years, 7 months and 10 days since Halo 3 ending.
13. Story prologue to recap events.
14. Cortana gave John’s armour a firmware update.
15. NOT fighting flood in Halo 4. Cut scenes or Halo 5/6 have no details yet.
16. Pelicans.
17. Quicktime events, very limited use & little interruption to gameplay.
343i KEY STAFF:1. Cortana: Jen Taylor.
2. Multiplayer Announcer: Jeff Steizer.
3. Conan O'Brien & Andy Richter lending voices to Halo 4.
WEAPONS:1. BR (BR85HB) unlockable (3 shot burst). BR has recoil and NO bloom where at long distance includes minimal spread, this is to create sandbox balance so DMR is more powerful at longer distances. In current game version 5 shot kill (5SK, 3 bursts = 1 shot).
2. DMR (M395 DMR) long range, set rate of fire with bloom. DMR beats BR at long range, BR better closer up. A little slower than Reach DMR but less bloom than Reach. In current game version 5 shot kill (5SK).
3. Assault Carbine.
4. Assault Rifle (MA5D ICWS).
5. Rocket/Grenade pistol.
6. Energy Sword.
7. 4 types of grenades, Frag & Plasma types confirmed.
8. Pistol (Magnum). Magnum has bloom and very similar to Reach with a 6 shot kill (6SK).
9. Covenant Carbine.
10. Shotgun.
11. Rocket Launcher.
12. Sniper Rifle (SRS99-S5 AM).
13. Plasma Pistol. Effective with sustained shots and returns noob combo but not as tracking as Halo CE.
14. Knife, details if wieldable not yet known but confirmed for assassinations.
15. New spawn system suits new and returning Halo players. Initial weapon drops at start of game. Timers activate for next drop spawns with HUD elements for time and destination of arrival. Spawns are dynamic for gametypes e.g. long-range weapon drops (i.e., sniper rifles) and close-range weapon drops (i.e., shotguns) are likely to occur on close quarters maps. Customisable ordnance in custom games and not-at-all-random is a more accurate descriptor than random.
16. Railgun (ARC-920, New Weapon) Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine-920: A compact-channel linear accelerator that fires a high-explosive round at incredible speed, delivering both kinetic and explosive force to both hard and soft targets alike.
17. Spartan laser.
18. NO dual wielding.
VEHICLES:1. Warthog.
2. New vehicles, no details yet.
ENEMIES:1. Grunts.
2. Elites.
3. New enemy, array of enemies and weapons.
4. Forerunner details will reveal in game, vague at the moment.
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ARMOUR ABILITIES:1. Forerunner Vision now renamed to Promethean Vision which confuses colours and complex geometry but useful for close range looking behind a limited number of walls. Works like sonar pulsing with auditory indication so other players know when used. Can be tricked by other abilities too.
2. Sprint now default ability, so sprint + 1 other armour ability allowed. Has a usage meter and slow down mechanic when getting shot.
3. Hologram.
4. Jetpack.
5. Camouflage.
GAMEPLAY MECHANICS:1. NO firefight, see new Spartan Ops mode.
2. Custom loadouts, custom armour and armour abilities are back.
3. New progression system with Spartan Points. Slowly unlock weapons, abilities and modifications for loadouts. Multiplayer AND Spartan Ops use same custom character.
4. No dual wielding.
5. Radar uses arrows instead of dots. Red = enemy, green = teammate.
6. Loadouts are primary weapon, secondary weapon, grenade type, armour ability and TWO more slots for modifications. Confirmed so far are quicker regeneration and more ammunition.
7. New “Joining Games In Progress” feature, no details yet.
8. NO aim down sights (ADS).
9. Faster movement, gameplay, strafe effective again & larger jump height.