Halo 4‘s new Flood Mode was revealed yesterday (October 3rd), and fans of the Infection mode seen in previous iterations in the series will want to hear all about it.
Infection was always a popular game type ever since its official inception in Halo 3, and 343 Industries haven’t strayed too far with that winning formula, but have instead tweaked it just enough so that it feels like their own creation.
Described as the “spiritual successor” to Infection, Flood Mode sees players start out as either one of two infected Flood or eight humans. The infected Flood have enhanced speed, a focus on melee attacks and will also have their own animations, assassinations and weapons. As was the case with Infected, the Flood will have to hunt down and kill the survivors until there is only one left, an experience which a statement from 343 Industries describes as “poo-inducing”:
Halo 4’s Flood mode is a round-based, ten-player game. It is a true asymmetric experience with the added twist of dynamic teams; this really changes things up as each game is different, especially in the incredibly intense and high-action final seconds.
At the beginning of each round, two players spawn as Flood forms and eight players spawn as Survivors. Survivors are standard Spartans equipped with shotguns and magnums, while Flood move very quickly and can only use a melee attack. When a Survivor gets killed by a Flood, the Survivor will convert and respawn as a Flood. The round ends if a Survivor makes it to 3:00 or if all players are converted to Flood.
One of the things we concentrated on for War Games was establishing player roles in Multiplayer, so we put a great deal of attention into being the King, Flag carrier, Grif, etc. Being the final Survivor is another role we focused on, and it’s a very intense experience having nine other Flood rush at you. Some (and by some, I of course mean David Ellis) would even say it’s poo-inducing.
Although I, along with many other Halo fans, was skeptical of Microsoft granting development duties of Bungie’s baby to another developer, the more I hear about Halo 4 the more than I am convinced it can’t be anything other than awesome. The verdict’s still out on the story portion of the game, but from what I’ve seen of the multiplayer, with the addition of Grifball and mechs (which you can read all about by clicking right here), 343 Industries are doing a hell of a job at making this game feel like their own.
As if we weren’t excited enough, IGN have posted this walkthrough of the new Flood Mode for your viewing pleasure:
