If you’re a person who is pre-ordering the new Halo 4 console, you should know by now that you’ll get a very special armor skin called the “FOTUS” armor skin. So what does that mean?

I had guessed the meaning of what “FOTUS” meant. Now I have had that guess confirmed as correct. I can’t site the specific source, but can say it was from a 343 employee.

The correct meaning is: Fist of the Unicorn Skin

The “Fist of the Unicorn” part is the name of the band of the Pillar of Autumn. You can see a poster for them in the very first level of Halo CE/Anniversary. “Skin” obviously because it’s an armor skin.

So there you have it, folks!

-HFFL

GET INTO THE MINDS OF THREE RECRUITS AS THEY ENTER CORBULO ACADEMY IN HALO 4: FORWARD UNTO DAWN.

Forward Unto Dawn: “ENLIST”

This is a good short video that quickly gets into the minds of three recruits. Tom Lasky the main character of the soon to come Forward Unto Dawn mini-series is one of the recruits. You find that he had an older brother who went to the school as well and was very well liked.

With that knowledge, we now get some further insight into Lasky himself. It appears he has had to follow in the shadow of his brother all his life and it’s hard to measure up. This in part plays into his lack of confidence of being a good soldier. Until that is, when the Covenant show up…

I just saw these two images posted on another site. While I do not like to post rumors, I think these two need to be looked at. If true, these are some excellent examples of helmets. If not, then, well, I’ll be bummed.

First is the “Strider” helmet. It reminds me of the Pilot helmet from Reach:

Next is the “Scanner” helmet. This one kind of reminds of of Commander Cody’s helmet from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith:

I like both, though more so the Strider helmet.

As said, for now these are rumors, so take them with a grain of salt.

I can’t wait to see what all the armor looks like in Halo 4. November can’t come soon enough!

-HFFL

From the Halo 4 OST (Original Soundtrack) titles we can glean that there will be more, much more than just Covies to fight. Here is my conjecture on the subject.

1. Awakening = Chief Wakes up from Cryo Sleep
2. Belly Of The Beast = Chief/Cortana escape the Forward Unto Dawn, fighting Covies along the way.
3. Requiem = The first foray on Requiem, more Covies
4. Legacy = Chief finds info about Forerunners/Reclaimers (Thus he and all of humanity are the “”Legacy” of the galaxy)
5. Faithless = This one’s a bit harded, but I’ll take a stab at it. Covies, at least the ones in Halo 4 still hold true to the prophets beliefs thereby thinking that Chief is faithless. More covie fighting.
6. Nemesis = Our first look at the Didact sphere and possibly what’s inside, even if blurred/obscured, fight against Prometheans
7. Haven = Chief explores more of Requiem, finally the UNSC Infinity arrives and Chief has his “Haven” even if temporary
8. Ascendancy = Cortana seems to likely fit into this one. Perhaps Chief is finding a cure for her rampancy. More Promethean fights
9. Solace = Chief seemingly loses Cortana (similar to how he did with the flood/gravemind). He has to track her down to save her. More Promethean fights.
10. To Galaxy = This one could be quite interesting. Chief finds more sentient beings on Requiem? If nto alive and walking around, maybe in a sort of Cryo stasis. The seeds of a new sentient Galaxy?
11. Immaterial = Another battle against the Didact and his forces. The Didact believes Chief to be Immaterial as he’s only one being. (Man, is he wrong…)
12. 117 = Still having not found Cortana, this is a very somber level with Chief examining himself, his history, his war experience. For the first time we get a look into Chief as a man as opposed to just the armored super soldier. Not as much fighting, this could be more about exploration of Requiem and trying to find Cortana again.
13. Arrival = The Librarian arrives at Requiem, the forces of the Didact face off against the forces of a now combined UNSC/Librarian coalition. This is why we’ve seen two different colored Prometheans.
14. Revival = The Librarian being convinced of the Flood’s eradication years earlier, allows for the release of the other sentient beings Chief found earlier. Some are other human races. Cortana is “fixed.”
15. Green And Blue = Again a reference to the coalition. Green represents Chief and the UNSC while Blue represents the Librarian and her forces. The Didact survived with plenty of forces intact and has stealed away to another more powerful and MUCH bigger installation…The Ark. No, not the one from Halo 3, but the other BIGGER one.

So do you have a thought on what the track titles could mean? If so, please write a reply. I’d like to read what others may be thinking about these.

-HFFL

From Halo Bulletin 8-15-12:

Operator Specialization: Spartan optimization for the operation and control of a wide-range of vehicles; space, air, ground, and sea.

Wheelman Armor Mod: The Wheelman armor mod gives Spartans the skill to coax every bit of stamina and durability out of vehicles they are piloting.

Wheelman armor – which features cylinder packs that could be preplaced with more oxygen or cooling material depending on the mission – makes you suffer the negative effects of an overcharged Plasma Pistol burst for less than the normal time. Vehicles you drive are also more durable over a longer period of time. You can still get hijacked, but the window for that is smaller.

HFFL’s thoughts:

Objective: Wheelman/Driver boost-take slower damage to the vehicle you are currently driving

Subjective: AWESOME! This is a Wheelman’s dream! Couple this with another who has the “Pathfinder” mod on and your hog gets a LOT stronger. This mod is definitely one I’ll use time and again as I love driving people to perfections. This is going to just make it that much easier!

Armor: For those of you who wanted a Noble 1 “Carter”/Security/Gear of War armor set, this is for you. I mean that actually as a compliment. I really REALLY like this armor set. One of only two of the specializations that have a larger visor. This set feels and looks more spartan to me than most of the others, even with those “Gears-like” circles on the chest.

Emblems: IHmm, not enough “Gears of War” references? Well then take a look at the emblems for this mod. Two clearly have gears in them. The bottom is a gear, just with a lot more “teeth” than normal. Again, though, this isn’t at all a knock on the emblems. In fact I can see this set of armor being worn by “Gears” fans who also play Halo. So it’s all good.

From Halo Bulletin 8-15-12:

Pathfinder Specialization: Spartan optimization for deep, unconventional deployment within unknown enemy territory and with little to no assistance from command.

Gunner Armor Mod: The Gunner armor mod decreases the time of weapon overheat when occupying a vehicle weapon position and increases Spartan speed while carrying a detached turret.

The Gunner armor mod – which was designed to explore alien worlds – has two major functions: One, when you’re on a mounted anti-infantry gun (Warthog and the secondaries of Wraith, Scorpion, etc.), the guns overheat less quickly, allowing you to fire longer at the maximum rate of fire. And two, when you pull the gun off an emplaced mount, you move faster, allowing you to use those guns more effectively offensively instead of just defensively. You still won’t be able to use Armor Abilities or Sprint, but you can move faster, bringing some heavy firepower to any offensive attack.

HFFL’s thoughts:

Objective: Mounted weapons overheat slower, move quicker than normal with ripped off turrets

Subjective: Yes! This mod has some uses for me. Mostly as a gunner. I’m both a driver and gunner, so the ability to slow down the amount of time it takes for my gun to overheat is going to help rack up those kills with less worry about having to wait for cool down. I’m not big on ripping off turrets and walking around with them though. You’re a big target, even if you can move faster.

Armor: I like it. Shoulder armor is tough looking. Now about that “Cylon” helmet? It’s not too bad, but maybe the helmet is just a smidge too wide? Well for me anyway.

Emblems: Hmm, these one kind of perplex me. I do like the one at the bottom.

From Halo Bulletin 8-15-12:

Stalker Specialization: Spartan optimization for target shadowing missions which require tactical invisibility despite operating at an extremely close range to the target itself.

Nemesis Armor Mod: The Nemesis armor mod allows users to target and track down previous attacking enemies, highlighting them on the armor’s passive sensors.

Nemesis armor – which features lines that are both strong and stealthy – gives you an icon on your HUD of the last person that killed you. While some people utilize it to get revenge, others use it to avoid that person (for obvious reasons). It’s also useful when playing defense for seeing where an offensive player is going. On maps with limited visibility, Nemesis can provide a short window of intelligence in the movement of enemy players or teams, allowing a respawning team to react and steal a match. In play testing, we’ve seen players trusting the extra information implicitly and falling for feints or being target fixated with the extra information and being lured into unfavorable situations. As with everything in Halo, this upgrade allows you to tailor your play to your style but remember that the enemy team is aware of the ability and will be countering and often using it or another option to tip the scales back in their favor.

HFFL’s thoughts:

Objective: Radar showing who previous attacked you.

Subjective: Hmm, I see this mod being exploited for all kinds of douchbaggery. Yet, I can see a downfall in that. Someone who is so focused on killing that person that just killed them may likely fail to see other things going on around them and be killed again. This is one mod I’m likely to stay away from. It will be one of the last mods I choose during reenlistment. It’s rare when I deliberately want to seek out someone for revenge. It happens, but I know it takes my concentration out of the whole game and hurts the team.

Armor: Another good looking set of armor…oh but wait for it…the helmet. Sigh. Why did we lose large visors? I can easily see where this helmet could have had a much larger visor.

I give you two examples. One with more visor, the other with even more visor…

In my own humble opinion, either of those two make for a better looking helmet. I mean really, how the hell are these spartans supposed to see during combat? You can’t rely on armor alone. You need to use those military skills you’ve trained for all your life. Much of that includes actual vision…LOL.

Emblems: “Nick Eared Fox” is cool. I really like the “Triangle Eyes of Terror” Wait what? who writes this stuff? Oh me, okay never mind.

From Halo Bulletin 8-15-12:

Rogue Specialization: Spartan optimization for single-operative missions which require a lone Spartan to be deployed on their own for incredibly long durations of time, even years if required.

Stability Armor Mod: The Stability armor mod allows users to increase their aiming stability when being fired upon.

The Stability armor mod – which features several sharp fin elements and sharp angles – makes you flinch less when you’re zoomed in and getting hit. It will be valuable to players that prefer using precision weapons and often find themselves engaged in long-range battles. If two similarly skilled players, both with DMRs and using scopes go head-to-head, the person using Stability has a small advantage. Skill and steady hands will still win the day but Stability allows you to keep your aim on target when facing multiple bullet strikes. Similarly, the player with DMR and Stability will have a larger advantage over a player with AR at long range. But (and yes, there’s always a “but”) the player they’re fighting may have made a choice for a different mod in that slot, which may come into play with an additional grenade or something else. Victory is never guaranteed…

HFFL’s thoughts:

Objective: Stability of shot while being fired upon.

Subjective: I definitely like this mod. I’ve grown much more accustomed to shooting from ranged  distances rather than close up. So this mod is one I’ll likely use often.

Armor: This armor is KICK ASS! Beefy shoulders, but not overwhelming and YES the helmet is AWESOME! Finally one of the specializations with a proper larger visor. I’m definitely more partial to the red/orange/silver visor than the plain gold.

Emblems: OMG, 343, you created this mod for me didn’t you? Okay seriously though, these emblems are great. The Howling Wolf (Hmm, sounds like a good name for a gaming group) is a much improved version over the previous iterations. The “Skull Fox” emblem (not it’s real name, but what I’m calling it) just screams to be used.

Of the 5 specializations I’ve discussed thus far, THIS is the one I’m most likely to use. Not just for the mod, but for the armor and emblems. It’s the whole package to me.

From Halo Bulletin 8-15-12:

Tracker Specialization: Spartan optimization for long-range target tracking (trans-continent and off-world), particularly in scenarios where conventional tracking has failed or such a substantial time has passed that the trail has gone cold.

Requisition Armor Mod: The Requisition armor mod allows users the ability to recall their own ordnance requests in order to acquire more helpful weapons in the field.

The Requisition armor mod – the helmet of which has a scanning device on the front of the visor – allows you to choose a new set of personal ordnance when personal ordnance is granted. When the menu for a personal ordnance appears on your screen, hitting left, down, or right on the D-pad selects the relevant option. When you have Requisition and hit “up”, you receive a new random selection of choices. This armor mod doesn’t have knowledge of what ordnance had previously, so while you’re not guaranteed better choices, you’re more likely to get the weapon you’re good with or your favorite power-up, if you didn’t get it the first time around.

HFFL’s thoughts:

Objective: This mod gives you a “Do-over.” Don’t like your ordnance drop coming in, use this to change it.

Subjective: Considering what has been promised as a fast paced game, I’m not yet convinced this is a good mod. I definitely see it’s usefulness, especially in slower paced games where tactics are involved, instead of straight slaying though.

Armor: This armor is very good. Ah, but yes, that helmet. Take out those three white dots and make that whole area the visor, and it would look better. More “Recon” in style. Still it’s one of the better ones, IMO.

Emblems: Okay, these I really dig. (Yeah, that’s a ’70s term you young’ins…) From the ringed planet with satellites to the “Daily Planet” emblem at the bottom, I like them all.

From Halo Bulletin 8-15-12:

Engineer Specialization: Spartan optimization for the subversion, repair and reconstitution of a wide range of technology, including Covenant and Forerunner complex networks.

Drop Recon Armor Mod: Armor mod allows users to predict the location and time of an Ordnance Drop through an external suborbital monitoring system.

The Drop Recon armor mod – the helmet of which has four socket connections for add-ons, depending on the task – lets you know that Infinity Ordnance is coming and what the Infinity Ordnance is. You see the waypoint and type of weapon that is coming down prior to the weapon entering the game (the specific time is still being fine-tuned). Organized teams will find this armor mod useful because, with communication, there is the likelihood you can beat everybody to the weapon spawns your team finds most desirable.

HFFL’s thoughts:

Objective: The Engineer’s mod gives you the tactical advantage of knowing the location and time of an Ordnance drop.

Subjective: Okay, first I’m really curious if we’re able to switch mods during games? If so, this one could be useful a little later in games as people start to rack up more kills. During the beginning of games it’s kind of useless since Ordnance drops occur when people tally up a specific amount of kills.

Armor: The armor looks “strong.” Though the helmet, for which I put the heaviest amount of criticism on for all of these specializations, doesn’t quite work for me. Why that little “Brazilian” strip of a visor? Rather that whole are where the four circles are and the visor could have been a bigger visor, thereby highlighting the helmet more.

Emblems: The emblems for this specialization fit it to a “tee.” I like the screw emblem the best of the Engineer emblems.