Halo Wars Arrives on March 3, 2009

Microsoft Game Studios announced today that Ensemble Studios' action-based strategy game set in the Halo universe, Halo Wars, will be available in U.S. stores on March 3. Pre-orders for “Halo Wars” are taking place at participating retailers nationwide now. Fans who pre-order will receive an exclusive in-game Warthog with flame decals. The game will also ship on March 3, 2009 in Canada, Mexico and South America. A few days earlier, on February 27, 2009, the game will be released in Europe and the Middle East, while Japan and other countries in Europe will get the game on February 26, 2009. Microsoft also confirmed that there will be a Limited Collector’s Edition of Halo Wars that includes a special in-game “Honor Guard” Wraith, a graphic novel, six Leader cards and a “Spirit of Fire” patch. As an additional exclusive, LCE owners will get early access to the in-game “Halo 3” Mythic Map Pack. The Limited Collector’s Edition retails for an estimated retail price of $79.99, while the standard edition is available at $59.99. A first for a “Halo” franchise game, “Halo Wars” is rated “T” for Teen.

Halo 3 leads Xbox Live holiday deals

For gamers outside the US, a sale honoring the Thanksgiving weekend in November probably wouldn't have made much sense. The December holidays tend to be a bit more universal, though, so for its next wave of discounts to Xbox Live fare, Microsoft is opening up to gamers of all regions.

The Xbox 360 maker today announced its Holiday Deal of the Week program. The initiative will run through December and see Xbox Live Gold members getting a discount on a different online marketplace item each week. The cut rate for new items will be announced on Xbox Live director of programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb's blog on Mondays, go into effect on Tuesday, and expire after a week.
Kicking off the program, Microsoft will offer the Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack for 400 points ($5), a $2.50 savings. The map pack adds three new battlegrounds to Bungie's acclaimed shooter: Ghost Town, Blackout, and Lockout. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Halo 3: ODST

'Halo 3: Recon' Story And Voice Talent Details

Some more Halo 3: Recon details have slipped online from the upcoming issue of Game Informer and it looks like Bungie is trying something new with their gameplay formula. The player will assume the role of a silent member of an ODST drop squad sent into New Mombasa during the Halo 2 storyline.
At some point, the player will be separated from his squad members and have to search for them in an open world. The player will discover clues "such as a sniper rifle hanging from a street light," which will trigger a "Lost-style flashback” in which the player takes control of the missing squad mate.
During these flashbacks, the gameplay will be the classic Halo gameplay we know and love, but will unfold in 30-minute episodes. This ties into the shorter planned length for the game as a whole.

Bungie also talks about the differences between an ODST soldier and Master Chief and how it will affect gameplay. "You don't feel like a chump. You feel like a very Capable ODST marine, but it's a different feeling," said Bungie's Joseph Staten.
Nathan Fillion (Firefly), who voiced one of the background ODST soldiers in Halo 3 will be returning as the voice of one of the game's characters.
Sounds like CSI: Halo to us. Will Bungie be able to pull off this new gameplay direction? What do you think?
Source

Xbox 360’s Halo 3 Recon: First Orbital Picture

So you have been playing your Halo 3 on your Xbox 360 for some time now, and it is starting to feel a little tired. There is an answer, and that is Halo 3 Recon. There will be pictures of this in the December issue of Game Informer, but images of the first Orbital pictures are now available for fans to see.
The scanned images have now been leaked on the Internet, and are now available. These pictures show new information on Halo 3 Recon, as well as the upcoming Halo 3 Mythic Map pack, and I have to say, both look awesome.
The Halo 3 Mythic Map pack will be available in February 2009, and Halo 3 Recon should be with us in November 2009. There are many who doubt that Halo 3 Recon will do well, but consider the fact that 2/3 of all Xbox 360 owners have Halo 3. By my calculation, this should be the biggest selling game of 2009.

See the pictures

Bungie announces Halo 3: Recon

Halo fans rejoice, a new game in the series should be ready for Christmas. Unfortunately, Halo 3: Recon won't be ready until next year's Christmas. But, hey, they always say to get your shopping done early, right? We might as well plan on what we'll be playing next year.
This time around we won't be taking on the role of Master Chief. But I don't think we'll need to worry about whether or not the new guy has some butt-kicking skills. The real question will be whether Halo 3: Recon takes the series a step forward or if it is just an attempt by Microsoft at squeezing a few more bucks out of the Halo name.
With Christian Allen, who worked on the Ghost Recon series, having joined Bungie in 2007, the persistent rumor has been that the next installment of Halo would have squad based tactical elements.
Microsoft has confirmed that Halo 3: Recon will take place before the events of Halo 3 and, while maintaining the Halo experience, will have more elements of stealth and cunning.

Halo 3 Still the Most Popular Xbox 360 Game

In addition to improved navigation and streaming movies, the new Xbox 360 menu lets you browse "all games" by popularity, which is ranked "by the most paid downloads in the last 24 hours," a Microsoft representative told me on Wednesday. As of Wednesday, the "most popular" Xbox 360 games are as follows, according to the New Xbox Experience:

1. Halo 3
2. Rock Band
3. Rock Band 2
4. Guitar Hero 3
5. Gears of War
6. Gears of War 2
7. Dead Rising
8. Call of Duty 4
9. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
10. Grand Theft Auto IV

Microsoft was quick to mention that the above list is not up to date, but that it will be by launch on November 19. In any case, I can't imagine the updated stats to look much different, at least in terms of download popularity (aka Halo 3 maps, Rock Band songs, etc).

How does the above list compare with your Xbox 360 playing and download habits?