I’ve just been speaking to a representative from Microsoft.  He’s been telling me about the changes they’ve been implementing in Halo 4 since the reveal of the Tomb Raider reboot.

‘We thought that it was such a bold direction to take, we wanted to make sure our flagship title wasn’t made obsolete before it’s even released.’

Master Chief has been given a face lift, screenshots show, and his macho image has been completely redesigned.

‘It’s difficult to relate to a character if they’re a gun-toting, ass-kicking space marine, so we’ve stripped away the armour and changed Master Chief’s physique to match a more typical mortal man.  He can only carry one gun at a time and his ammo capacity has been limited severely.’

I asked why this was necessary.

‘Because we want the player to relate to Master Chief in a different way.  We think that players don’t want an empowering character to play, they prefer a character they can nurture and protect.  Changing the essential formula is a brave move, but one we think will pay off when players actually experience the campaign.’

My contact explained that the story of Halo 4 will now be heavily narrative based and feature several scenes with Master Chief forced to make difficult choices and deal with perhaps unpalatable consequences.

‘We can’t match what they’re doing with Tomb Raider, even we’re not that crazy, but Master Chief will be forced to fight like a cornered animal against human enemies with little more than a switchblade and a snooker ball in a sock.’

Halo 4 will be released in November this year.