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Halo Wars is a strategy game based on the Halo universe. In campaign mode, players will command the armies of the UNSC warship “Spirit of Fire,” consisting of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. Halo Wars will immerse gamers in an early period of the Halo universe, allowing them to experience events leading up to the first Halo title for Xbox.

With the guidance of Serina, a spirited artificial intelligence (AI) persona, gamers will direct legions of UNSC soldiers, Warthogs, Scorpions and more, each group having its own strengths and uses in battle. Adventurous commanders can also call upon ancient Forerunner technology, if they are fortunate enough to find it hidden throughout the battlefield.

Covenant forces are also waiting for players to lead them into battle in multiplayer skirmishes via the New Xbox Experience. Call upon an arsenal of new and familiar Covenant units such as Grunts, Elites, Ghosts and even Scarabs to defeat foes on the battlefield. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious.

Created from the ground up for the Xbox 360 console and controller, Halo Wars is being developed by the  real-time strategy developer Ensemble Studios. Halo Wars can be played online through the New Xbox Experience and the single-player campaign.

Features:

• New take on a legendary world. Set in the iconic Halo universe, Halo Wars predates the original first-person shooter Halo. Fans of the franchise will have the opportunity to experience the early battles between the UNSC and Covenant.
• Players join the crew onboard the “Spirit of Fire,” a Phoenix-class colony ship converted for UNSC military use and guided by the AI persona Serina. The “Halo Wars” story line follows the Spirit of Fire’s discovery of an ancient artifact during a journey to the planet Harvest, the first planet to be attacked by the Covenant.
• Strategic command of armies in large-scale combat. Halo Wars puts gamers in command of the battlefield over an arsenal of UNSC units and vehicles as they engage Covenant forces. They can counter and crush their opponent by tactically fielding the superior army. Players can also choose among Leaders that possess elite skills which can turn the tides of battle. Using various combinations of Leaders and units, players can create countless strategies tailored to their preferred playing styles and personalized strategies.
• Challenge friends to skirmishes using the New Xbox Experience. See who the superior commander is through multiplayer online skirmishes supporting up to 6 players with the New Xbox Experience. Players can choose to command either unique civilization, UNSC or Covenant, each with unique attributes and strategic characteristics. Ancient Forerunner technology can also be found to create unique units to gain an upper hand in battle.
• Groundbreaking strategy game for the Xbox 360. Since inception, Halo Wars was explicitly designed to cater to console gamers and bring to the Xbox 360 a genre that has typically been played on the PC. Gamers can easily command and manage powerful armies, effortlessly control troops and incredible machines, engage in epic battles and expand their empire using an intuitive user interface for the Xbox 360.

Tags: Things you need to know by Ian Crossland © 2011
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Gamers get a very early look at terror.

by Nate Ahearn January 14, 2009 – Xbox 360 gamers can forget about waiting until March 13 to sink their teeth into Resident Evil 5. Instead owners of Microsoft’s system will get a two-level demo exclusively for one week on January 26. The two levels are Assembly Place and Shanty Town and they can be played cooperatively on one system, with AI support, or over Xbox Live with a friend.

Players will encounter the Majini Executioner and the Chainsaw Majini as well as hordes of other infected citizens. The demo also includes the option of using the new “action controls” that are said to be inspired by games like Halo 3. The original Resident Evil control scheme is available as well.

Fans can also look forward to the trailer that was previously only shown at the Tokyo Game Show last year. The video will hit Xbox Live on January 16 with the demo following ten days later on January 26.

Tags: Things you need to know by Ian Crossland © 2011
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Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has become the first DS title to be given an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification.

Edge’s preview of Chinatown Wars – which features an interview with Rockstar Games’ Dan Houser – explains that the title features a drug-dealing minigame, prompting fears that the title will find friction with classification groups and national media outlets.

Fortunately for Rockstar, the BBFC has stated on its website that, though the title includes “very strong language and drug references”, it has not undertaken any content cuts.

The decision is in line with what the Houser brothers, and indeed those at Rockstar Leeds, wanted as a target audience for the title, as Dan Houser explained to Edge: “No one disagreed with Sam [Houser, Rockstar president and Dan's brother]‘s very clear edict that GTA has to be an M [18 equivalent] rating. It can’t be softened to make it family-friendly – that’s not the game we’re making. We’ve never not done well by sticking to our guns.”

The BBFC also claims there are nearly three hours of cut scenes and non-playable game footage in Chinatown Wars. The title is set for a release in March.

Article supplied by Edge-Online

Tags: Things you need to know by Ian Crossland © 2011
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