As many shooter enthusiasts know, some important details about Halo 4′s multiplayer gameplay were leaked from the upcoming May issue of GameInformer recently. We’ve had the pleasure of looking over the public information and we’ve picked out the juiciest, most interesting parts of the game’s multiplayer for you to enjoy.

A new Spartan Ops mode is included in the game, which pits players in Spec Ops styled missions over the course of several months. The entire design of this game mode is planned to return gamers to Halo 4 over and over again, in an effort to complete their mission. Spartan Ops will apparently be as large as the game’s single player mode – news that will help fight off criticism that Halo’s story is ‘too short’ or ‘compromised’ in favor of multiplayer.

New in-game abilities include sprinting, which is not a suit upgrade. You’ll have full control over your player’s sprinting ability while playing in multiplayer matches. Unfortunately, the magazine didn’t include any information on the length or intensity of sprinting, although we expect it will be much like the sprint functions seen in other modern FPS games.

Jetpacks and active camouflage, two of the previous game’s more controversial multiplayer aspects, will return in Halo 4. Gamers will also have access to a new ability: limited x-ray vision, which can see through walls and some doors. No word yet on how in-depth the vision is – we’re guessing it’s a little less useful than the ‘wall hax’ we used to see in PC-based shooters of the past.

Finally, the game has a new currency: Spartan Points. Spartan Points are earned throughout single-player gameplay and can be spent on Spartan Ops content, new armor, and other abilities. No word on whether Spartan Points can be ‘bought’ using Microsoft’s own currency, or whether they’ll give a specific in-game advantage to players as they’re earned.

There are some other new features that might excite – or annoy – serious Halo fans. Weapons will be dropped using a randomized timer system, eliminating ‘drop guessing.’ Spawn points are much the same as in past games, but players can now control their pre-spawn delay time. As well as this, some new Goldeneye-style medals have been added to make multiplayer scoring a little more fun.

All in all, it’s a pretty significant leak, and certainly good news for serious Halo fans. While there’s nothing in there that makes or breaks the game as a multiplayer package, we can’t help but say that we’re seriously excited for what the next installment brings. Check out this, and more coverage, in the May edition of GameInformer magazine.