Almost 6 months on from the launch of Halo 4, the crew at 343 Industries are still working at smoothing out some of the game's fundamentals, basing decisions both on community feedback and logged muliplayer game data.

Producer Andy "Bravo" Dudynsky goes in-depth on their intentions for weapon tuning in a new ,a href="http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2013/04/17/The-Halo-Bulletin-41713.aspx">Halo Bulletin blog update, with the disclaimer that plans are still very much a work in progress (thanks Polygon):

Please note these details are not final, and we’ll once again provide an update on the current status of the weapon tuning efforts next week.

As you may have guessed, the first area that we felt the need to tackle was primary weapons, specifically the precision rifles. There are two schools of thought with rifle balance: One suggests that we should reduce the power of the DMR, and the other suggests that alternate weapons should be bumped up to balance out the sandbox. Both things being said, there can be a middle ground. Looking at the DMR, we currently feel that the kill time should remain unchanged, as the weapon has become a clear favorite amongst the community due to its reliability and consistency. So tuning the Battle Rifle, LightRifle and Carbine against this weapon presented quite a challenge.

The blog goes on to describe potential changes that will increase the potency of the Battle Rifle, LightRifle, and Carbine, as well as the chain guns on both the Warthog and Mantis.

Halo players wanting to voice their own feelings on the matter are invited to join the Weapons Feedback discussion on the game's official forums.

343 Industries has today announced the third Halo 4 map pack for the multiplayer portion of the sci-fi FPS title. The new map pack is titled Castle and will feature three medium-to-large battlefields that put an emphasis on vehicular warfare and large battles over open spaces, where team strategy is key to successfully conquering the battlefield.

Daybreak places you amidst military facilities, against the backdrop of an idyllic mountain range, while Outcast plunges you into the natural tunnels and arches of a secluded rebel outpost. Perdition takes players into the heart of an urban battleground, where tactical speed and situational awareness are essential to achieving victory. The Castle Map pack provides 9 new Achievements worth a total of 250 Gamerscore.

The Castle maps will also be bringing a new playlist titled "Castle DLC" and will pit two teams consisting of six players against each other that focuses on both team play and coordinated objective gameplay.

Halo 4 Castle Map Pack will be available for purchase on April 8th. Check out the new trailer below plus a handful of screenshots to boot.

343 Industries has unveiled three new strategy videos featuring the upcoming Majestic Map Pack for space FPS Halo 4, giving you a broad overlook at just what to expect from the three small to medium sized maps focused on 4v4 battles.

Landfall’s emphasis is on infantry battles against a glittering ocean on a distant world, while Monolith exposes you to the naked vacuum of space – and the firepower of opposing teams, and Skyline’s distinctly industrial feel provides new challenges in somewhat familiar, but occasionally confined spaces.

The map pack is available either as part of your War Games Map Pass or for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE. Check out the videos below.

Virgin Gaming, Xbox 360 and 343 Industries have announced a rather massive free-to-enter (with an Xbox Live Gold account) tournament for Halo 4 with a huge prize pool of Halo-branded goodies, topped off with grand prizes of a UNSC-themed 2013 Ford F-150 ute, and the chance to appear in 343's next Halo game.

The tournament will be run by tracking players personal scores on the Spartan Ops, and War Games global leaderboards, and we've confirmed with our local Xbox contacts that Australian Halo 4 players will be eligible to participate.

Other prizes range from stuff like T-shirts, and DVD copies of the Forward Unto Dawn short film, to Halo-branded headphones, and the crazy portable-console-screen-in-a-suitcase GAEMS Personal Gaming Environment.

During the qualifier phase (Dec. 17 - Jan. 10), players will need to climb the ranks of the global leaderboards by competing in either the Spartan Ops or War Games leaderboard. After the qualifier phase, players will be tiered into three groups (based on their results on the qualifier phase leaderboards) and will enter the finals phase (Jan. 12 - Jan. 19). In addition, players can also participate in Weekly Challenges found on Halo Waypoint at http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/intel/challenges for a chance to win great prizes.

During the finals, the leaderboards will reset and prizes will be awarded to the top performers in each tier. While terrific prizes are available within all three tiers, the grand prizes will be offered exclusively for those that have battled their way to the top tier.

Tournament information is available at both halo4infinitychallenge.com or halowaypoint.com however, we're told that "localised registration sites" will become available on December 12th, so you'll likely have to wait until then to register as an Australian player for the December 17th kickoff.

Yes, that really is a Ford F-150 dolled up like a Halo Warthog.

343 Industries has revealed details for the first of three map packs coming to their sci-fi shooter Halo 4. The Crimson map pack will feature three new environments to wage war on come December 10th: Wreckage, Harvest and Shatter.

Wreckage: Wreckage is the manifestation of the chaos of war. A medium-sized, asymmetrical map great for accommodating a wide range of objective-based game modes including King of the Hill and Capture the Flag, it is a ravaged environment of crashed debris, where the surrounding destruction creates complex paths perfect for throwing off your opponents, or testing the limits of your Warthog. This devastated landscape provides plenty of cover, and tons of nooks and crannies are at your disposal while fighting for your turn to become King. Wreckage supports up to 16 players in Infinity Slayer and up to 12 players in a variety of other modes, including Capture the Flag, King of the Hill and Oddball.

Harvest: Harvest is a canon concept brought to life – the doomed agricultural planet where humans first made contact with the Covenant. A small to mid-size map, Harvest is ideal for Capture the Flag. Here, you’ll need to get creative to effectively use light vehicles which are limited to the exterior pathways and can’t get into the bases, making this map perfect for infantry firefights and face-to-face skirmishes. Snipers will also feel right at home; long sightlines are broken up by great cover and hiding spots. Harvest allows up to 12 players to face off in Capture the Flag, Infinity Slayer, King of the Hill, SWAT and Slayer Pro.

Shatter: Shatter is themed around natural crystalline surfaces and the huge UNSC factories mining them. This large, symmetrical map is a playground for the Warthog and Mantis - its open pathways make it easy to get around, whether on foot or in vehicles. Shatter is a great fit for Dominion and the new game type Extraction. For some close-quarters face-time, escape the open landscape and duck into a mining facility, or slip through a doorway and hunt unsuspecting Spartans. This map has variety for different types of players. Shatter enables multiplayer mayhem for up to 16 players in Infinity Slayer and up to 12 players in other modes, such as Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Dominion and Extraction.

343 Industries has also revealed a new game mode will be arriving alongside the Crimson map pack, called Extraction and will see players competing in a "5 vs. 5 objective-based game type where opposing Spartan teams are tasked with extracting assets from various sites around the map". Crimson Map Pack owners will have exclusive access to a single premium playlist that will only feature the new maps and will be the only place players can enjoy unique 6 vs. 6 matchmaking experiences, the new game type “Extraction,” and a wide range of voting combinations for different maps and modes.

The Crimson Map Pack will be available for download starting December 10th for 800 Microsoft Points. Players who have purchased the Halo 4 War Games Map Pass or Halo 4 Limited Edition will find a 15 percent savings versus purchasing them individually. Check out a glimpse of what the three new environments look like below, or Banshee your way over to our game page for more.

VG24/7 are reporting that the recent Halo 4 title by 343 Industries has garnered $220 million in its worldwide launch, making it the biggest entertainment launch this year to date. The new title has seen it surpass this years biggest movie title, The Avengers, and even surpassed the all-time record Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

GameStop confirmed Halo’s day one sales were even greater than anticipated to become the retailer’s biggest Halo launch, and the biggest game launch of the year to date. Microsoft claims the shooter is on track to reach $300 million in its first week, which will make it the most lucrative launch in the franchise’s history. Lifetime franchise sales have topped $3.38 billion.

Halo 4 has also pulled in more than 4 million players, with Microsoft saying that the first five days 31.4 million hours had been poured into the game. In addition to the new Halo title, the recent live-action short series Halo: Forward Unto Dawn on YouTube has grabbed more than 46 million views.

For the past three years Activision's Call of Duty series has taken out the entertainment award, with a recent conference call claiming that the upcoming Black Ops 2 title is expected to sell more than Modern Warfare 3. For comparison, Modern Warfare 3 made over $775 million in its first week, beating Call of Duty: Black Ops record of $650 million and $550 million for Modern Warfare 2.

Microsoft has revealed a new teaser trailing that gives a glimpse at upcoming episode two of Spartan Ops for Halo 4, a new co-op campaign being offered for free. 343 Industries has said that new episodes will be released every week from initial launch, up to 50 episodes all up in a 10 week timeline.

This week on Halo 4: Spartan Ops – The mysterious artifact recovered from Requiem takes control of vital systems on board the UNSC Infinity, forcing the Spartans of Crimson and Majestic back down to the planet to look for a way to free the ship. Commander Lasky and the UNSC need you, Spartan… get back in the game!

Check it out below and let us know your thoughts on how you are enjoying Halo 4 and its new episodic co-op campaign.

With Halo 4 launching yesterday to Australian gamers, some users are experiencing some troubles while trying to connect to the various Halo services. Microsoft has updated their blog stating that due to the larger amount of players jumping onto the newly released game, some server issues have occurred however they are investigating.

s you can imagine, there are a tremendous number of new players connecting to Halo 4 right now. We’re aware that some users are experiencing occasional issues connecting to the Halo 4 services, and we are currently narrowing down possible solutions.

For those wanting to be kept up-to-date, Microsoft will be keeping their Halo Waypoint Twitter, Halo 4 Facebook and Halo Waypoint Forums updated with information.

As Microsoft brace for the Xbox's biggest launch of the year this week with the hotly anticipated Halo 4, the last episode in their promotion live action web series "Forward Unto Dawn" has now rolled out to conclude the tale.

The easiest way to watch all five fifteen minute episodes at present is over on Machinma's Youtube channel, but a 90-minute extended version is said to be included with Halo 4's Limited Edition release.

Watch part 5 embedded below, or hit up this Youtube playlist for the lot.

Halo 4 drops tomorrow, November 6, exclusively for Xbox 360. Find out our thoughts in this in-depth review.

When Microsoft announced that Bungie would no longer be taking part in the Halo universe, a series that has truly defined the Xbox consoles, many were left worried that new developers 343 Industries might not be able to fit the shoe with the upcoming game Halo 4.

With a battle rifle in hand and a virtual Cortana by his side, our own Master Chief Nathan “NachosJustice” Lawrence set out to see just how well 343 Industries has done with the latest Halo title, and whether both the campaign and multiplayer have truly got what it takes for fans of the series.

At the end of the day, Halo 4 stands as a particularly polished piece of fan fiction that not only deserves to be released, it carves its own way in an established universe, carefully paying homage to the tropes of what has come before, while boldly establishing its own mythology and gameplay lore.

Click here for our full review.