E3 2011: Halo 4 inbound Holiday 2012

“John, wake up!” The first teaser for the new Halo epic begins much like Fight Club. Nerve cells react in brain fluid before the camera pulls out revealing series hero, Master Chief in the cryogenic sleep chamber we last saw him in during Halo 3's conclusion. This is no reboot. This is not a new character. This is Halo 4, which Microsoft promises to be the beginning of a new trilogy.

He bursts out of the chamber and floats towards a projection of Cortana, just feet away. Yes, floats. The hull of his ship has been destroyed and Spartan-117 finds himself weightless in Zero-G. He turns his attention towards the ship wreckage and boosts the rocket thrusters on his armor, propelling him forward. Dodging wreckage, he unholsters his trademark pistol and fires to clear a path. He comes to the edge of the ship, which is aflame for some unknown reason and hurtling right towards...a portal of some sorts. Winter 2012 is the last image we see, complete with the logo for the new series developer 343 Industries.

We're a little melancholy to not see Bungie's logo up there, but we're confident in 343 Industries considering they got their feet wet by developing Halo Reach's Defiant map pack. Hopefully, Halo 4 will be the breath of fresh air the series needs. And if that fast jetpack segment – straight out of the Dead Space 2 handbook – is any indication, then we're sure the series will continue strong.