Microsoft and 343 Industries announce the arrival of “Halo Week: Drop Shock”, a unique opportunity to enjoy a multitude of new “Halo 4” content, as well as special prizes, promotional prices, new downloadable content and Volume 2 of the Original Soundtrack. Whether you're a Spartan expert or just starting out in the War Games, the “Halo Week: Drop Shock” maps, music and promotions will put all the tools you and your friends need to prepare for battle at your fingertips.
The list with all the details in full, you have it available after the jump.
Monday, April 8 - Castle Map Pack Coming to Xbox LIVE
As a kick-off to this week of Spartan celebrations, the Castle Map Pack lands globally today, Monday, April 8.1. Developed by Certain Affinity in collaboration with 343 Industries, the Castle Map Pack offers players three exciting medium to large-sized maps with which you can fully exploit the possibilities of vehicle warfare and open space battles, those in those that team strategy is key to emerge victorious from the battlefield.
Along with the Castle Map Pack, 343 Industries also launches the “Competitive Skill Range” (CSR), a new ranking system that measures the player's performance in War Games by facing him in various competitions with rivals of very similar abilities and that also displays your rank on your Halo Waypoint profile. From 11:00 am on April 8 to 11:00 on April 22, players will be able to test themselves with the list of War Games "Castle DLC" and in the event of reaching or exceeding level 35 , get a new exclusive avatar.
Tuesday, April 9 - Debut of Volume 2 of the original Soundtrack of “Halo 4”
With the goal of achieving the same success as the Original Soundtrack of “Halo 4”, the work of award-winning songwriters Neil Davidge, 343 Industries now announces the debut of the second volume, in collaboration with 7Hz Productions. Xbox 360 will give away from its international profile on Twitter several download codes for a limited number of users, in order to celebrate this launch. So stay tuned for @ Xbox posts.
Volume 2 of the Original Soundtrack for “Halo 4” includes a total of 20 songs that capture and project the musical universe of the game. Eleven of these titles are Neil Davidge's creations, while 8 of them belong to 343 Industries songwriter Kazuma Jinnouchi. The Soundtrack also includes Kazuma's own interpretation of the legendary "Never Forget" from "Halo 3" by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori. The songs in Volume 2 follow a chronological order, according to their appearance in the game, so that the user will be able to feel when listening to them that they are transported directly to the world of “Halo 4”.
Volume 2 of the Soundtrack for “Halo 4” will be available from April 9 at www.halo4soundtrack.com
Wednesday April 10 - Rank up your Spartan with Extra XP Challenges
343 Industries is determined to heat up the competition with new Extra XP Challenges during “Halo Week” so that you and your friends can quickly increase the rank of your Spartan by playing online.
With 14 daily and 6 weekly challenges, players will have the opportunity to earn extra Experience Points by competing in any "Halo 4" mode, be it War Games, Spartan Ops or Campaign mode. These challenges have been specially designed for "Halo Week: Drop Shock" with the aim of rewarding users with more XP than in the standard challenges. Daily Challenges will run once a day throughout the week, so stay tuned to win as many as you can.
Thursday, April 11 - Spartan Ops Day with special drawing
"Halo Week" wouldn't be complete without a day especially dedicated to the acclaimed Spartan Ops. Whether playing solo or co-op with up to three friends, players will be able to explore every corner of Requiem through purpose-built chapters and unlock the secrets of the mysterious Forerunner world. Starting at 11:00 AM on April 11 and ending at 11:00 AM on April 21, players who complete 5 Spartan Ops missions will earn an exclusive avatar.
Fans will also be able to relive their favorite missions from Season One of Spartan Ops by taking on her from the very first episode, during "Halo Week: Drop Shock."
Friday, April 12 - “Halo 4” downloadable content, discounted on Xbox LIVE
And if you still don't have the Wargames Map Pass or the two new Map Packs, on Friday you can purchase these “Halo 4” downloadable content at a discounted price. The price list is as follows:
Wargame Maps Pass: 1600 Microsoft Points (originally 2000)
Crimson Map Pack: 600 Microsoft Points (originally 800)
Majestic Map Pack: 600 Microsoft Points (originally 800)
Xbox 360 will celebrate “Halo Week: Drop Shock” with raffles through their social networks, so don't hesitate to follow their profiles on Twitter yFacebook if you want to win avatars and exclusive content.
More information - Halo 4 in MVJ