343 studios: "The next Halo won't be Call of Duty, but will feature big innovations."

[Zaik]

Big innovations like an 8 foot tall faceless helmet man in armor with an AI sidekick.

We'll have vehicles named after animals too.

Also there will be guns you have seen in other games, but with different skins on so that you don't get confused and think we didn't completely invent the idea ourselves.

 

[baddude1337]

I honestly think either a squad based game based on a marine, playing a bit similar to Republic Commando (In that the SBD's were nothing for a jedi, a big deal for the clones, could be the same for elites and brutes) would be quite fun if pulled off well.

What I've always wanted to see in Halo is much more epic scale battles, even more so than Halo Wars but on the ground as one of the soldiers.

 

[Lonely Swordsman]

If it keeps going in the direction Reach has started (ie. still the same gunplay but more fun toys like holograms, jetpacks ect.) I might be interested. The earlier Halo games I found fairly boring, standard shooters but I liked Reach when I played it at my friend's.
I know most people think the armor slot options are just tacked on gimmicks but I think more TF2 or JK style gimmick combat could improve Halo by a lot.

 

[Vrex360]

Indeed. The main thing I'm watching forward to, however, is killing Spartans and marines. Apart from the fact that the UNSC would be a formiddable foe to fight, the merciless massacre of human colonies must be trying for even the most devoted member of the Covenant. It would be great to experience the events prior to Halo: Reach, to invade Reach, to follow the Pillar of Autumn and re-experience Halo: Combat Evolved through the eyes of an Elite

Yes, this.
A Million, Billion Faffillion gazillion pertillion times this.

If you ask me, the Covenant made for a much more interesting story arch than the UNSC. I mean it's a galaxy spanning empire based off of a religion that is fundamentally flawed, that conqurs world after world and is now stuck in a genocidal war as it reaches the final stages of its conquest.
And we see it all from the perspective of the race of warriors who once firmly held the beliefs with honor but who have now started to question it and are being forced to confront their crisis of faith to fight back against the taboos of their society to finally find freedom.
I mean you can't honestly tell me there isn't a great game story in there somewhere.

I had an idea of doing one based on the perspectives of many elites from many different periods in the Covenant's history, so that we get the full story from beginning to end through various environments, characters and styles of play.
I mean seriously, a game like that, centered on the Elites, would be amazing.

OT: Honestly I'm a little bit bothered by the term 'Halo 4'. Because frankly, I think that the saga of the Masterchief ended just fine. It even ends in such a way that's poetic, by ending the way the trilogy began. All the loose ends were tied, all the characters had their respective resolutions and all antagonists defeated.
Big epic story, final dramatic conclusion... finished.
I see no reason to tie on another story to that, especially not one developed by Bungie. As much as I love Halo, I feel another sequel would just kind of kill the original trilogy, it would be like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

But still, I am curious to see where they take the game series and what alleged innovations await down the line... I just hope they don't accidentally kill my nostalgia in the process.