Hello, Grifball fanatics! The Halo 4 Grifball playlist will be launching soon. We’re super excited about it and wanted to share some of the details with you.

We created two different game types to tickle your fancy: Grifball and Grifball Pro. Here is a breakdown of each:

Grifball
Single 12-minute round. First to 5 scores wins. Auto pick-up enabled.

Grifball Pro
Five 3-minute rounds. Auto pick-up disabled.

Before we dig deeper into the settings, let’s look at the courts you’ll be playing on. All of the below creations come from runNOKYARDrun, and each of these maps will be featured in both Grifball and Grifball Pro voting options.

Primordial

A sign at the door reads: “When you are done playing Grifball please use the provided space mop to clean any spilled blood. The Eggheads do not want Human DNA in the Primordial Goo Mixing Tank”.


Thin Ice

Although the court may seem dark at first glance it has quickly become a favorite among Grifball League players due to the startlingly bright visibility of enemy Spartans.


Sarge’s Laboratory

This court, set in the Grifball Court area of Erosion, features Hockey style boards and something players will never see. In order to counter a glitch where the ball may become stuck in the ceiling the entire upper portion of the court is covered with invisible 4×4 Blocks and Coliseum Walls.


Grifball Fissure

Set in the picturesque Ravine, this court is one part UNSC, one part Forerunner, and features an invisible soft ceiling to keep the ball inside the court.


Termiterium

Set in a reclaimed Termite Mound Structure this court plays with Forge’s lighting system to provide a low light zone where players stand out like radioactive termites.


Hangar 101

The Admiral’s private hangar features holographic lettering and a fully functional force field. The court shares several features with Halo Reach’s Grifball court Brightside. It is positioned to incorporate a natural rock wall, and the entire court is constructed at a 35 degree angle.

Now, a look at some extra juicy details for you Grifball veterans:

We’ve spent a lot of time working with the Grifball community to build this playlist, and we can’t wait to show it to you. See you on the court!

From Official Xbox Magazine:

The brilliant concept of Spartan Ops – weekly downloadable co-op missions that continue the story of Halo 4 following the events of the campaign – has sputtered at times. If you’ve had your doubts about Spartan Ops, Episode 7, which debuts next week, may just change your mind.

It starts with the impressive cinematic, which finally pushes the story of Dr. Catherine Halsey in an interesting direction. Mother of the Spartan program, Halsey shows herself to be both too devious to be trusted and too useful to be ignored. In a game franchise where good and bad is black and white, Halsey is the rare person in the gray. And this episode continues Spartan Ops’ efforts to better define one of the most important, but perhaps lesser understood, characters in the Halo universe.

Of course, you don’t have to even play Spartan Ops to watch this cinematic short. It’s available just by hopping into the Spartan Ops menu. But this is one episode you will want to play from start to finish. That’s because the Covenant and Prometheans have invaded Infinity. And the result is the most fun we’ve had with Spartan Ops to date. Read our complete article via the link below.