However, wouldn't it have been great if this came out in the lead-up to Halo 4? Imagine playing through Spartan Ops with the information about Spartan IVs presented in New Blood. We'd understand that the IVs were meant to be a shadow of those that came before them, and fundamentally bound by the emotions and worldviews of the lives they had before they were Spartans. That is was inevitable that at least some of them wouldn't show the discipline and loyalty of their predecessors.

Whether we look at the IVs from within the universe or from the perspective of 343's writers, these guys aren't replacement Spartan-IIs. They're something entirely different. This is something I had basically decided in my headcanon, but it's been frustrating that 343 never laid out the core ideas behind the IVs before they threw them at us and told us to like them.

I maintain that 343 has some cool storylines brewing, but they seem to have some difficulty actually conveying those ideas. New Blood is a step in the right direction, but I hope next time they introduce a new faction it doesn't take 3 years to explain what they're about.