Halo Wars

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Halo Wars is a Real-Time Strategy game that begins in 2531, during the Covenant eradication of the Outer Colonies in the Human-Covenant War. The game is being developed by Ensemble Studios, and is currently planned as an Xbox 360 exclusive.

Summary
In Halo Wars, players can command armies of familiar and new UNSC units in its first encounters against the Covenant, a coalition of alien races that threatens to eradicate all of mankind. "Halo Wars" will immerse gamers in an early period of the Halo universe, allowing them to experience events 20 years prior to Halo: Combat Evolved.

With the guidance of all the AI Serina, the player leads UNSC soldiers and vehicles against classic Covenant foes, such as Grunts, Elites, Ghosts, Banshees etc. Each group has its own strengths and abilities in battle. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious over their foe.

Halo Wars can be played online via Xbox LIVE and through the single-player or co-op campaign. Published by Microsoft Game Studios, "Halo Wars" is a title exclusive to the Xbox 360. Despite speculation of a version for the PC, Ensemble and Microsoft have repeatedly said that no such plans have been made or even considered for it. It has been confirmed that the Covenant will be a playable race only in skirmish.

Ensemble Studios began recording the music for the game in March, with Ensemble's Music and Sound Director Stephen Rippy flying to Prague for the orchestral and choral parts in Seattle for the piano and mixing. At this point in time, they are working on in-game units and how they interact with each other. Alpha testing has also begun, with testers having been reported as playing the game over Xbox Live.

The game was featured at the 2008 E3 event, held in July. It was shown on G4's E3 08 LIVE as a hands on demo.



Plot


"At this point in time, the Covenant is at its most evil. They are hell-bent on the destruction of humanity, on scouring us from the universe."

- Graeme Devine, Lead Writer, formerly Lead Developer.

The game's story is told through in-game cut scenes and in-game moments, as with the other Halo games. The game is set in 2531, it focuses around the Marine forces of the UNSC Spirit of Fire as they engage Covenant ground forces after the discovery of an ancient artifact during a journey to the planet Harvest, at which point has been partially glassed, the first planet to be attacked by the Covenant.

The story will thus begin with the UNSC's early battles on Harvest, but will also feature another colony world, Arcadia, which holds "something of great interest to the Covenant." The planet is subsequently invaded by the Covenant, and the UNSC must evacuate the planet while engaging the invasion force. While no Halo Installations will be featured in the campaign, they are likely to be present as at least a few multiplayer maps. The majority of the campaign (15 missions in total) will take place in the polar/mountainous, parts of the jungle, and ruin regions of the world, allowing Ensemble Studios to "do some great stuff with mountains, snow, ice, forests and some Forerunner structures." In addition to striking into new territory, past events not just from the games will be expanded upon.

It has been confirmed that the Master Chief will not be making an appearance in the game. There will be a group of SPARTANs that are called SPARTAN Group Omega. In contrast, the Spirit of Fire is set to be "full of new characters," such as the AI Serina and the Spirit of Fire 's commander, Cutter. At least some of these characters will go planet side to aid the player. It has also been confirmed that the single player campaign is purely from the UNSC's perspective. Co-op for campaign over Xbox Live has been announced too.

Possible Elements

 * It has been confirmed in the February Monthly Update that there will be no space battles in the game.


 * Halo Wars will incorporate the concept of "Socket Bases", in which only specific areas can be used to build specific buildings.


 * 'Supply runs' are set to be featured, allowing a regular rejuvenation of supply for the production of units as opposed to a resource gathering system.


 * Forerunner structures have been added into the game.


 * Ensemble has stated the camera angle and zoom can be adjusted so that the player can zoom in on one unit, while playing, and then see the whole battlefield.


 * Downloadable content has been planned for the game, ranging from new units and maps to potentially new campaign levels. . This could perhaps expand to new game campaigns.

"We have plans for extra units and extra maps, and then beyond that we’ll look at what else we can add further down the track, such as extra campaigns and so on. I think it’s definitely a good way of consistently breathing new life into the product via DLC."

- Graeme Devine


 * It may also feature a map editor, either shipping with the game, or as downloadable content from Xbox Live Marketplace.

"We actually talked quite a lot about that, we’ve got a very powerful map editor, so we’ve talked about whether we could release that with the game or via Xbox Live and allow people to make their own maps, and then work out a way for users to share the maps. I would love for that to be in the final product. Because I think user created content is just fantastic. I think it’s absolutely the future, because people love to tell their own stories, people love to make up their own little war campaigns, and there are a lot of people out there who are incredibly talented.”"

- Graeme Devine


 * It is stated so far that the currency featured in the game will be Energy and Resources. It is a strong certainty that large vehicles such as the Covenant Scarab will be costly.


 * It is unknown whether or not the Covenant Drone race will be included for the Covenant. At this time in the Halo Universe, they still filled a minor technical role, rather than combat.


 * In multiplayer, certain vehicles and powers are only available for certain leaders. You have to choose from at the beginning of the match.


 * It has been announced that the cinematics will cover level loading. This means that the videos will be the loading screens. It is unknown if you will have to watch them or if you can skip them.

Characters
Aside from cutscenes and on-the-battlefield appearances, characters in Halo Wars often appear in "talking head" animations, where a small view screen appears in the upper corner showing the face of the character speaking at the moment. This is typically utilized when Captain Cutter or Serina issue in-game orders or advice.

UNSC

 * Captain Cutter
 * Serina
 * Professor Anders
 * Sergeant Forge

Covenant

 * An unknown Arbiter
 * An unknown Brute Chieftain
 * Prophet of Regret

United Nations Space  Command

 * Infantry
 * SPARTAN Group Omega: SPARTAN-IIs are individual units who are superior to Marines. They can receive the ability to dual-wield weapons and can hijack enemy vehicles, so the player can control them. They can also be upgraded with Chainguns and AIs which can increase their speed, much like Cortana does for John in Halo: The Fall of Reach, and help them hijack vehicles faster. When a SPARTAN hijacks an enemy vehicle, their rank is added to the vehicle's rank and the captured vehicle's stats are increased. Only three SPARTAN's can be released at a time. It has been confirmed that their health will regenerate over time; Spartan's do not have shields, as they are outfitted with the MJOLNIR Mk. IV, although this should also mean that they couldn’t support AI's, a fact that has been apparently overlooked.
 * UNSC Marines: Marines are the basic infantry of the UNSC who have the special ability to throw grenades. They can be upgraded to include a Rocket Launcher. . They usually operate in teams of five.
 * Flamethrower Marine: Called the Hellbringers, these Marines are specialists equipped with heavier armour and flamethrowers which can be used to torch entire infantry units. They can be upgraded with Flash Bang Grenades, which stun enemies when hit, napalm ammunition that will most likely increase the damage they caused and oxide tanks, which also increase damage.
 * Machine Gun teams: These are Marines who carry about an AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun that can be deployed and fired.
 * Medic: This is a unit capable of healing injured infantry. These are gained when an infantry unit reaches a large size.


 * Weapons
 * M6D Personal Defense Weapon System (Magnum)
 * M19 SSM Rocket Launcher
 * M90 Close Assault Weapon System (Shotgun)
 * MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System (Assault Rifle)
 * SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
 * NA4 Flamethrower
 * AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun
 * Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle (Spartan Laser)
 * M7/Caseless Submachine Gun (SMG)


 * Vehicles
 * M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (Warthog) : Can be upgraded to carry a M41 LAAG or a M68 Gauss Cannon at a reduction of speed. Can jump gaps, and has ramming ability.
 * U.N.S.C "Flaming" Warthog M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (Warthog) : Can be upgrade to carry a M41 LAAG or a M68 Gauss Cannon at a reduction. Can jump gaps. Contains abilty to ram enemies. Only available if game is pre-ordered.
 * M808 Scorpion MBT: The M808 Scorpion is the basic human tank that can be upgraded to the 'grizzly' variant
 * Variant 1: The Scorpion mounts a much larger cannon
 * Variant 2: Same as above but the coaxial gun has been upgraded.
 * Grizzly variant : The upgrade of the Scorpion, it packs two cannons and a flamethrower.
 * Behemoth-class Troop Transport (Elephant): The Elephant, as it is more commonly known, can carry squads into combat and can fulfill the role of a barracks out in the field, along with having the ability to upgrade to pack a cannon and a twin engine to upgrade speed. It is Captain Cutter's unique unit.
 * D77-TC Pelican Dropship: Pelicans can carry units into combat and provides fire support.
 * Shortsword-class Bomber: Shortsword bombers operate low level bombing runs that can decimate enemy units.
 * Hornet : The Hornet is a light gunship that can get extra passengers to provide support and fire on enemy ground and air targets.
 * Sparrowhawk: The Sparrowhawk is a tank busting aerodyne that provides heavy fire power in an air fight.
 * Rhino: The Rhino is a heavy unit that has a greater defense but lower attack than the Scorpion.
 * Wolverine: The Wolverine provides anti aircraft fire to shoot down enemy aircraft, like Banshees.
 * Cobra : The Cobra is a heavy anti-building vehicle armed with a couple of gauss cannons, which can easily tear apart enemy armor. Can be deployed to fire a larger single gauss cannon, sacrificing its mobility.
 * Cyclops "mech" : The Cyclops is a re-appropriated support exoskeleton, usually used for construction and ammo carrying purposes that can crush enemies in close combat. It is a faction-specific unit.
 * Vulture: The vulture is a large gunship, rivaling the Pelican in size that can deliver heavy amounts of fire against both infantry and tanks
 * Albatross: The Albatross is used to ferry supplies from the Spirit of Fire to ground side facilities.
 * UNSC Heavy Dropship: Appearing at the beginning of the Field Trip To Harvest cinematic, the new dropship, larger than both the Pelican and Albatross, delivers extremely large objects to ground positions, such as portions of firebases.
 * Spirit Of Fire: The Spirit of Fire provides both direct and indirect support by sending down troops and buildings, sending bombers or directly firing one of its MAC guns on the surface.


 * Buildings
 * UNSC Firebase: Provides the basic base of the UNSC with optional 'add on' buildings that can increase its usefulness.
 * UNSC Reactor: The Reactor provides power for a UNSC base to run on.
 * UNSC Air Pad: This provides UNSC air units along with upgrades for them.
 * Missile silo: Might house offensive warheads, similar to the 11-B1 ICBM.
 * Vehicle Depot: A Vehicle depot provides heavier vehicles for the UNSC to use.
 * Field Armory: A Combination of Machine Shop and Laboratory that provides high tech upgrades for the UNSC.
 * Drill Grounds: (unconfirmed).
 * UNSC Barracks: The barracks can provide a number of infantry types for combat.
 * UNSC Supply Pad: Supply is used to get supplies from the Spirit of Fire via Albatross dropships.
 * Base Turret: The Base Turret appears to be a light autocannon that provides heavy anti-infantry defense and light anti-vehicle defense.


 * Spirit of Fire
 * MAC Blast: Varying numbers of slugs can be used to cause varying levels of destruction, with each being individually aimed.
 * Carpet Bomb: A Shortsword bomber is called in, bombing a region on the battlefield.
 * Cryo Bomb: A Bomb that freezes even Scarab walkers, allowing them to easily be destroyed with conventional weapons.

Covenant

 * Infantry
 * Lance: Lances consist of a Sangheili Minor or Major, leading groups of smaller Unggoy. They have the secondary power to throw plasma grenades.
 * Ranger: Rangers possess the ability to go anywhere on the map and destroy enemy infantry.
 * Stealth Sangheili: Armed with a dual energy swords and an Active Camo generator, they can tear UNSC infantry apart.
 * Honor Guard Elites
 * Arbiter: leader unit in Multi-player. He also might be Cutter's counterpart.
 * Mgalekgolo (Hunters): Hunters are heavily armored and armed with Fuel Rod Guns, like they are in Halo: CE. They are excellent anti-tank infantry, and that shot will most likely kill a group of marines in 2-3 hits. Its unknown if they will be able to meele enemy units if up close, but it is speculated that they will have that option.
 * Kig-yar (Jackals): Jackals come in large lances of around ten or more and provide decent defense against Marines armed with conventional weapons but little defense against grenades, explosives or vehicles. Can also be armed with Beam Rifles.
 * San 'Shyuum (Prophets): Prophets fight from their Gravity Thrones and can attack enemy infantry with their destructive plasma weapons.(Multi-player only)
 * Jiralhanae (Brutes): In battle the Brutes wield Brute Shots, which are devastating against infantry and effective against light vehicles. Due to their limited battlefield use prior to the events of Halo 2, they may be leader-specific units, and may be able to upgrade to Chieftain.
 * Jiralhanae Minor.
 * Jiralhanae Major/Ultra.
 * Jiralhanae Chieftain.
 * Unggoy (Grunts): Armed with Plasma Pistols that can be upgraded to Needlers. Needlers are a very good weapon against spartans. They have an Elite sergeant in the group. They can have 1 member of the squad carry a Fuel Rod Gun. Same as Marines being able to have a Rocket Launcher.


 * Weapons
 * Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword (Energy Sword)
 * Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer (Gravity Hammer)
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol (Plasma Pistol)
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle (Plasma Rifle)
 * Type-25 Carbine (Spiker) (Possibly)
 * Type-25 Grenade Launcher (Brute Shot)
 * Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher (Needler)
 * Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon (Fuel Rod Gun)
 * Type-50 Sniper Rifle System (Beam Rifle)
 * Type-51 Carbine (Covenant Carbine)


 * Vehicles
 * Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft (Banshee): The Banshee can attack infantry, tanks and other air vehicles due to its mixture of twin plasma cannon's and fuel rod.
 * Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform (Scarab): The Scarab is a super-unit that can destroy ground /air vehicles, along with infantry with ease. The Scarab is extremely resilient to fire but not MAC strikes. Both Halo 2 and Halo 3 versions were seen. It is possible that they start out as those seen in halo 2, but they possibly can be upgraded to a halo 3 version with better armor and stronger weapondrey.
 * Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Ghost): The Ghost is a light attack vehicle that excels against infantry but not other vehicles.
 * Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Chopper): Is able to be used by the Brute faction.
 * Type-25 Wraith: The Wraith is the main battle tank of the Covenant and is armed with a plasma mortar and a plasma turret and can decimate enemy vehicles and infantry and can be upgraded with a shield. Its special ability is plasma burn.
 * Type-52 Wraith: May not appear in the final game.
 * Honor Guard Wraith: In the special edition only.
 * Unknown Wraith: May just be an early design.
 * DX-class Dropship Spirit: The Spirit is the rival to the UNSC Albatross, capable of carrying both vehicles and infantry and giving them fire support.
 * Covenant Flyer: An Unnamed Covenant flying vehicle, a potent craft fitted to fight against hostile air vehicles.
 * Covenant Carrier : Used by the Covenant to support ground operates and to glass the surface of a planet.
 * Locust: A smaller version of the Covenant Scarab.


 * Buildings
 * Deployable Lookout Tower: Can be used to garrison units from either player (in co-op), increasing their combat capabilities.
 * Covenant Firebase: Provides the basic base of the Covenant with optional 'add on' buildings that can increase its usefulness.
 * Anti-Vehicle Barrier: Same device used to block tunnels in the Tsavo Highway.


 * Ship Support
 * Glassing: This appears to be used as a Covenant superweapon. The glassing ship can fire this from orbit to destroy ground positions and units. Can be upgraded for an even more devastating effect. This is named the "cleansing beam" in the most recent demo.

Forerunner

 * Sentinels
 * Sentinel Shop: Produces Sentinels for the player who controls it.
 * Forerunner Supply Elevator: Produces limitless supplies for the player who controls it.

The Flood
"There is quite a bit of concern regarding how we’re going to fit the Flood into our game and keep it in canon which surprised me, but I promised them all that the Halo 1 canon is intact and that they would have to wait and see how we integrate the Flood."

- Graeme Devine

The Flood have been announced to be a faction within the game, though the player is unable to use them. The Flood gain bases and units by taking over Human and Covenant bases and troops, and most likely growing flood biomass around it to signifity that it is under flood control. Nothing else is known at this time.

What has been shown in one of the more recent Halo Wars demos was that Flood Infection Forms, Combat Forms, and what look remotely like Gravemind tentacles and Proto-Graveminds will be the Flood's main attack force. Whether or not any pure forms or any new forms of Flood will appear will have to wait until Halo Wars is released.

Technology Advancement
The tech tree will be a different experience for both factions. When playing as the UNSC, the player advances by building reactors, upgrading buildings, and purchasing upgrades in a fairly standard, though streamlined, manner. The Covenant moves through the tech-tree in Ages rather than small steps.

Leader Abilities
Certain characters belonging to both the Covenant and the UNSC have been confirmed to in-game be "leader units", all of which have unique in-game abilities. Currently known leaders are Captain James Cutter, Sergeant John Forge, Professor Anders, an unknown Arbiter, an unknown Brute Chieftain and the Prophet of Regret. Captain Cutter's unique ability is to call down an Elephant from the Spirit of Fire, which is a mobile barracks in the game. It is believed that the Prophet of Regret's ability is to glass the enemy forces (known as the "cleansing beam" in Halo Wars), which causes significant damage to both structures and units.

Alpha Test
An Alpha test was done for Halo Wars, concluding during May, 2008. The test was open only to several thousand Microsoft employees, including Bungie Studios, in order to locate any bugs or glitches, and to test its performance over Xbox Live. It consisted of a brief "tutorial" and multi-player, and was "limited to a specific set of units." It is unknown how long the Alpha test was conducted, or when it began. The Alpha testing is now complete, as stated in the May Monthly update.

During the Alpha test, anti-air units were glitching so that their effectiveness was lessened, and Scorpion tanks and aircraft were extremely powerful. Aircraft strength was lessened to prevent players from sending in air-strikes against the enemy Command Center and crippling them too easily, ruining many a protocol player's chances of victory. This actually isn't an element of the game, but in fact a "balance issue".

Ambient Life
Although only in the conceptual stages at this point, ambient life forms will be encountered in the gameplay. They may be found on the battlefield, and might react to the actions of the player's forces (such as firing a weapon, flying around or near them, etc.). Examples include the Space Owl, the Harvest Whale, the Arctic Beast, Ice Hound and some sort of eel-snake creature that has yet to be named. The ambient life forms will be on the Multi-player Maps and they will be interactive. However, in a recent interview, some Thorn Beast were observed. The Thorn Beasts seen in the game, merely run away from units, not battles; if there is a bombing next to it, it will not flinch. However, since the game is still in development, this lack of a reaction may be changed in the near future for a more realistic gaming experience.

Multi-player
Just like Halo 2 & 3, Halo Wars will have the strong characteristic of online gaming. Halo Wars' live gaming characteristics include Direct voice communication & Online leader boards. There's no specific information regarding to the player ranking. As of now, multi-player is said to be up to 6 players at a time in a match. Two player online Co-op for the campaign story will also be in the game. It has also been stated that online games would be rather quick, estimated at around 20 minutes per game. All of the vehicles on multiplayer change color to match their team which would mean Scorpions on the blue team are blue, and Warthogs on red team are red.

Multiplayer Maps

 * Sway


 * Beasley Plateau - a multiplayer map recently unveiled, set on a dense jungle plateau.


 * Chasm - a multiplayer map recently unveiled, set on a frozen region of Harvest.


 * Each multiplayer map apparently takes place on a different "world", each with its own musical theme and playlist.


 * The Halo Rings won't be in the story, but will be included in future maps for multiplayer.

E3 2008 Trailer
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Five Long Years is a Halo Wars cinematic preview released on the July 14th of 2008 depicting the five year long struggle to reclaim Harvest from the Covenant. The trailer can be downloaded from the Halo Wars official website or here.

Field Trip To Harvest
right|300px Field Trip To Harvest is a cinematic preview that was released to the public on October 3rd, 2008 showing the UNSC's retaking of the planet Harvest and the Covenant's finding of a Forerunner structure. Also, in the conversation between a Zealot and the Arbiter, there is mention of "the Infections". This could be an introduction to the Flood in Halo Wars, or just a name for the Humans on Harvest.

Cut Content
Two units, the UNSC Cougar and the Covenant Air Artillery, were under development early in the game. The developers later announced that they had been cut, as they had decided to focus on more recognizable Halo units. However, a recent screenshot would seem to suggest that the Cougar may have been added back in.

Early Plot
Originally the storyline was supposed to feature a Covenant mining asteroid that was located at a Forerunner ore refining mechanism, this concept tries to show the scale of the large Forerunner machinery in place, machines that are still operational (although now controlled by the Covenant). In the end the mining aspect of the story was removed from the game, for many clear and obvious reasons.

Trivia

 * On April 1st, 2008, an "interview" with Graeme Devine revealed Forerunner would be a playable faction, including a "Rampancy" in the AI and the ability to build a Halo and fire it if the player decided to give up. Although some people took it for truth, it was easily shown to be an April Fools joke due to the article's source which linked to the Wikipedia article for the first of April and Ensemble's own remarks about the articles.
 * According to the E3 demo video, soldiers can shoot the Grunt's methane tanks and the Grunt will explode, much like in Halo 3.
 * It is possible to run over enemies with the Warthog, and it's likely the Scarab can step on other vehicles.
 * While there will be an economy mechanic, including one resource, for the game, it may play less of a role in the Campaign missions.
 * There will be a unit limit.
 * The Doritos snack food held a sweepstakes where the winner got a voice role in the game.
 * Each individual soldier will have his own separate reaction to background stimulation in an attempt by Ensemble to add a "human element" to the game.
 * Halo Wars didn't start as a Halo game at all. Six months were spent developing a control scheme for a viable RTS for the Xbox 360, which was later pitched to Microsoft, asking to use the Halo IP, to which Microsoft agreed.
 * It appears that "parking lots" of UNSC vehicles were set to be featured. This looks set to be dropped from the final version.
 * Orders can be given for troops to take cover and/or take shelter in buildings.
 * It is likely that Easter Eggs will be featured in a manner similar to the previous three Halo games.
 * During the introductory level in the E3 demonstration video, UNSC Marines can be seen doing push-ups behind the barracks, being drilled by a Drill Instructor.
 * The Halo Wars Alpha has begun testing on Xbox LIVE among internal testers on the map Sway.
 * Bungie staff played in the Alpha Testing.
 * If you look closely at the helmets on the box art, they seem to resemble Mark V helmets, not Mark IV. This is an in-game redesign of the armor system to be more reminiscent of the Mark V armor, rather than the Mark VI.
 * The D77-TC Pelican is the model used in Halo Wars, not the D77H-TCI which is only introduced during Halo 3.
 * At this point in time, there are over 5,000 sound files for sound and voice in the game. Three more voice-over sessions set to be held over the summer will raise this number significantly.
 * A cinematic called Five Long Years was released on 7/14/2008 and contains the first depiction of the Halo Wars Campaign.
 * Many new UNSC units were seen on G4's hands-on coverage of Halo Wars on July 14th.
 * In the E3 08: Five Long Years video the Pelicans seen airlifting marines have the Legendary symbol on their noses.
 * E3 '08 Halo Wars gameplay has proven the existence of Honor Guard Elites in Halo Wars.
 * An image of E3 gameplay has also proven that Brutes will be playable units in Halo Wars.
 * The UNSC forces can order supplies for the ship Spirit of Fire while Covenant forces will get supplies from Gravity Lifts.
 * An article released by ShackNews states that Halo Wars is Ensemble's last game, and that they are laying off any personnel not essential to the game's completion.
 * Though the Flood have been confirmed to be in the game, they will not be a playable faction, unlike the UNSC and Covenant.
 * An unknown Arbiter will appear in the campaign, as seen in a recent trailer.
 * Theoretically the Hunter race was first seen in 2537 in Operation: PROMETHEUS, but Halo Wars takes place in 2531, about 6 years earlier.
 * The Five Long Years trailer was released on 7/14, another possible 7 reference.

Internal

 * Circle Menu
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo Wars Announcement Trailer
 * Halo Wars: Limited Edition

External

 * Official website
 * Halo Wars announcement
 * Halo Wars Fansite
 * Halo Wars E3 Trailer
 * Extended Halo Wars E3 montage
 * Heavengames.com
 * Halo Wars Profile Page
 * "Halo Wars" GC 2008: Halo Wars Hands-on