Halo: Reach Screenshots Show Squadmates, Unlockable Perks Confirmed

[UPDATE: An Xbox spokesperson contacted Shacknews to dismiss any notion of a "murder" mode being in Reach and told us the video is completely faked. The screens, however, are confirmed as real and part of the batch that went with the Game Informer cover story.]

The first official Halo: Reach screenshots have leaked onto the Internet, accidentally posted by retailer EB Games and promptly pulled but here for your viewing pleasure.

Gameplay details rumoured last year have also now been confirmed by the latest issue of Game Informer magazine. Bungie's prequel does indeed revolve around a squad of Spartans fighting together and features unlockable Call of Duty-style perks in the form of switchable armour, each granting an ability such as sprint or temporary invisibility.

A snippet supposedly of leaked footage also cropped up today, revealing a "Murder Mode" action used "to kill an enemy without being spotted"--a stealth kill, then.

Halo: Reach is slated for release exclusively on Xbox 360 in the fall, with a beta coming this spring for Halo 3: ODST owners. A teasing trailer was released in December.