It seems that May showers have brought on not only rain, but a torrential downpour of Halo 4 news. Awful metaphor aside, the last few weeks have truly been eye-opening, as some key tidbits of info hit the interwebz regarding 343 Industries’ take on the popular Halo franchise. If you’ve been out of the loop, never fear! We’ve got you covered with a round-up of all the latest Halo 4 news right here. Check it out past the jump!

1.) Halo 4 Box Art Revealed

Perhaps the least interesting news of the bunch, gamers were finally able to piece together the Halo 4 box art several months before release. Featuring a suitably badass-looking Master Chief on the cover, Halo 4′s box art looks set to introduce gamers to a more mature Halo experience. The gritty and visceral artwork evokes a more realistic sci-fi vibe that most gamers might not be accommodated to, and whether or not Halo fanatics agree with the move has yet to be seen.

2.) Limited Edition Boxset Revealed with Details

In keeping with the increasingly militaristic presentation of Halo 4, the Limited Edition boxset prominently showcases the UNSC logo with a brushed aluminum case. For the only slightly absurd price of $100, you’ll get early access to 6 of the new multiplayer Specializations in Halo 4, a cool Spartan avatar and prop, the ability to download 9 multiplayer maps free of charge after they are released, as well as an hour and a half of footage from the live action webseries, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Interestingly enough, Halo 4 won’t have a Legendary Edition, which is a rather shocking departure from the norm. Limited and Standard Editions are all that will be available at launch, but the amount of content you’ll get on disc and in the Limited Edition of Halo 4 is sure to satisfy fans of the venerable FPS franchise.

3.) New Game Modes and Enemies

Although it was likely a given that Halo 4 would have introduced some new features, the extent to which 343 Industries intended to do so was unclear. Until now, that is. Enter the “Infinity” multiplayer experience. Everything in Halo 4′s multiplayer component takes place on the UNSC Infinity, a sort of hub world where players can customize and fine-tune their Spartan IV with experience and progressions made across all of Halo 4′s modes. One of those modes is Spartan Ops, a new cooperative mission-based and episodic mode that follows the crew of the UNSC Infinity after you’ve finished the fight once more. One can only imagine that these will follow the same format as the challenges from Halo: Reach, but 343 Industries claims these are cinematic episodes designed to keep players immersed in the world of Halo for months to come.

As far as enemies go, Halo 4 looks set to introduce two new enemies to the already densely populated Covenant roster. Say hello to the Crawler and Watcher, two new Covenant baddies to spray full of lead when Halo 4 launches. Revealed by the latest line of Halo 4 action figures, the Crawler and Watcher offer up two unique enemy AI patterns that should give players a new way to pour AR rounds downrange. Have a look for yourself below:

4.) New Live-Action Webseries, “Forward Unto Dawn”

To complement the release of Halo 4 this November, Microsoft has announced the live-action webseries, “Forward Unto Dawn”. The series will appear on Machinima’s YouTube channel, and will likely be similar in presentation to the Mortal Kombat live-action webseries that released earlier this year. Said to last approximately 15 minutes per episode, the five-week long webseries will feature a brand new character and expand on the already rich Halo backstory. Stay tuned for more info at SDCC this year!

Excited for Halo 4? Can 343 Industries bring an all-new brand of gameplay to the epic franchise? Leave your thoughts in the comments!