Halo Wars CE to include Halo 3 Mythic map pack

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 6th 2008 at 1:30PM }

click to enlarge

It seems Halo Wars is set to become the new Crackdown, with Microsoft enticing franchise fence sitters with goodies from Halo 3. The real-time strategy game set within Bungie's sprawling, hoop-filled universe will arrive this forthcoming February in both regular form and a Limited Collector's Edition. The latter should prove tempting even to those who prefer to see their aliens on the other side of a crosshair, as it will include early access to Halo 3's Mythic multiplayer map pack.

The three maps, named "Assembly," "Orbital" and "Sandbox," join Halo Wars: Genesis, a graphic novel by Phil Noto, Graeme Devine and Eric Nylund; a "unique" in-game Wraith vehicle; six leader cards (they "possess elite skills which can turn the tides of battle," it says here) and a "Spirit of Fire" patch, which your mom can sew onto your favorite jacket. Just be sure to pay her back the $79.99 as well.

Gallery: Halo Wars (Limited Collector's Edition)

Tags: BreakingNews, CE, Ensemble, Ensemble-Studios, Halo-3, Halo-Wars, Halo3, JS-Twitter, Limited-Edition, RTS

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

The Hashishin @ Nov 6th 2008 1:38PM

eh, with gears 2 right around the corner, its doubtful ill be giving bungie anymore of my money just to get early access to this map pack even though i really wanna check them out.

ExMcCloud @ Nov 6th 2008 1:41PM

You can and u will fork your money over...U know u wanna play those new maps....I kno u do....so lets just do this together and get it over with

The Hashishin @ Nov 6th 2008 1:46PM

sigh. youre right. DAMN YOU, BUN-GIIIIIEEE!!!

Riley @ Nov 6th 2008 8:48PM

bungie didn't make halo wars

TheHashishin @ Nov 6th 2008 9:39PM

that is correct. but they made the maps. and thats what we are talking about.

Sean @ Nov 17th 2008 6:11PM

So do we just preorder the Halo Wars CE from anywhere? Or do we just order it from Gamestop and supposedly get all this? Does anyone know? Cuz I read the article but I just want to make sure of this.

ExMcCloud @ Nov 6th 2008 1:39PM

Okay time to go fork my 10 bux over to gamestop...Sigh....Why do u torment me so.....HALO why do u torment me SO!

Erluti @ Nov 6th 2008 1:48PM

Goodness, man! Don't give your dollars to the Gamestopo!

ExMcCloud @ Nov 6th 2008 1:52PM

I have no choice...but the Gamstop I go to has a bunch of good guys in there...they never sell my reserves or beg me for them so its cool

dark_inchworm @ Nov 6th 2008 2:14PM

You speak of a rare breed, ExMcCloud. I will send my team of inchworm sleuths to investigate these unlikely customer associates immediately.

noah @ Nov 6th 2008 1:41PM

....Bullshit! What kind of sneaky way for Microsoft to make more $$$. I won't be giving in into this malarkey. ( Yes, I am 65 years old.)

You're right Hashishin. Gears 2 comes out in...lesse here.....11 hours. As far as I'm concerned, that'll be the only game I'm going to be playing for the next couple of months.

TheHashishin @ Nov 6th 2008 1:48PM

freal, man. i just hope it lives up to the hype (which it will).

add me for customs: The Hashishin

Abuzar Baloach @ Nov 6th 2008 4:29PM

65 year old guy playing gears?

Dude, you rock.

Pudge @ Nov 6th 2008 1:44PM

Wait, only 3?? Godamn it Bungie, we know there are 5! Just give them to us already!!!

Pudge @ Nov 6th 2008 1:45PM

Oh yea, and eh I was gonna buy it anyway, and I was gonna buy the mappack anyway, and the graphic novel looks nice, so it's not that bad of a purchase. Just wish it was coming sooner, I really don't want to wait till February to play maps that were ready at PAX this year.

343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 6th 2008 2:02PM

Actually I think there's six maps.

umm....hello??? @ Nov 6th 2008 1:48PM

Bungie likes my wallet...

I DeX I @ Nov 6th 2008 1:48PM

5, I thought there were 6 new skulls to be found?

keith @ Nov 6th 2008 1:50PM

oh geesh
these money hungry scrubs.
I give up
im not buying anymore map packs
this really makes me hate Halo and i have been playing it for like 8 years

benjor0x0r @ Nov 6th 2008 1:57PM

Don't worry, it will probably be like the Fable 2 LE. They'll cut all that stuff out and blame it on "manufacturing" issues. Leaving you with the game and a disc with some bulls*** 15 minute documentary on how the game was made.

Heyyou27 @ Nov 6th 2008 2:00PM

To be honest, I just want the Halo 3 maps. I'm not a big enough fan of the Halo series to play a Halo RTS, let alone one on a console, but I do enjoy Halo 3 multiplayer with friends so the more maps the better.

343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 6th 2008 2:03PM

First day purchase for me. I can't resist new maps. I could live without the patch and 'leader cards' though.

Thebig L @ Nov 6th 2008 2:31PM

Wheres the source?

NukeAssault @ Nov 6th 2008 2:34PM

Probably a press release.

Snowblind @ Nov 6th 2008 2:33PM

Not so interested in the maps, but that's a very cool LE.

straynova @ Nov 6th 2008 2:35PM

While I'm sure people will argue this point, I figured I'd throw it out there anyway...

Do the same people who develop the game develop the bonus content for collector's editions? Personally, I rarely care about all the hours of "behind the scenes" footage they put into these packs. I would rather have the developers either release the game earlier, add game-related bonuses (like maps), or fine-tune the quality instead of show me what their office looks like.

Now let's see how many hearts I keep....

zlickrick @ Nov 6th 2008 2:39PM

I already bought Halo 3, thanks.

Brian @ Nov 6th 2008 2:58PM

Don't forget this: Bungie are trying to get the Map pack on the marketplace around the time Halo wars gets released.

Lord Wake @ Nov 6th 2008 5:58PM

In Bungies latest podcast they have stated that all the Mythic maps are done and Bungie wants them out now! But money hungry Microsoft is making them wait to try and make more money off Halo Wars and not over shadow Gears this winter.
Also I'm sure Bungie won't make much off this deal. If it were up to them they would still be giving away free maps six months after they are released!!

Misfit Toy @ Nov 6th 2008 3:02PM

I planned to buy this anyways. This is just a bonus.

KingHippp0 @ Nov 6th 2008 3:12PM

Great. Now my wallet is lighter and pants are wet.

Chase @ Nov 6th 2008 3:30PM

I suppose this is good for fans of the series who want access to the maps before a later XBL release.

Sackolantern PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Nov 6th 2008 4:20PM

Way to go out on a limb there Chase.

Chase @ Nov 6th 2008 4:27PM

I figured it subtlety expressed my dislike of the series.

(theturtle363) @ Nov 6th 2008 3:32PM

dang, that's a cool collector's edition, I'm tempted to buy it just for display purposes

Sackolantern PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Nov 6th 2008 4:19PM

Well seeing as how I haven't played Halo in nearly a year I won't be picking up this sexy looking LE. Not a huge fan of RTS game so I won't be getting Halo Wars anyway - though that is one sexy game box. Somehow Amazon sent my copy of Gears 2 yesterday and it was delivered this morning. So, for someone like me who prefers the PS3 and loathes the 360 I feel as if there is a disturbance in the force. Up is down, Bloack is white, left is right and ... well I guess I'll be playing gears while everyone else waits in line at midnight.

The sad bit of news (poetic justice?) is that I still haven't recieved my full sized replica Lancer. My brother asked me if I was going to leave it sealed in the box for collecter purposes. I replied "As a grown ass man who just bought a $140.00 plastic gun I can say with 100% certainty that I will be taking it out of the box".

Thanks for listening. Can't wait to play the majesty and reason to own a 360 that is GEARS OF WAR 2!

sk8monroe81 @ Nov 6th 2008 5:47PM

dont put that out there to much or amazon wont be able to ship the games early...
stores get in trouble for that...
i walking in the store friday. no midnight launch for me.
the game will be out for the rest of our lives, i dont do midnight launches myself.
i know that they will keep making enough copies of the game to sell to everyone who wants one.
gears will be great.
it will fun for me to put down fable 2 for this game and watch how much money i make from rentals and sales during that time.

Sackolantern PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Nov 6th 2008 6:15PM

Well honestly Amazon has never got me a game when it released. Usually get them a week after the initial release date. I wasn't expecting to get it so this is a good surprise. I can confirm that the game is really good and much better than the first iteration.

Misfit Toy @ Nov 6th 2008 11:06PM

I have a confirmation from Amazon that I will be getting my LE (non Lancer) copy of Gears 2 tomorrow, same day as release. Thank you Amazon Prime.

Rentaro @ Nov 6th 2008 4:28PM

Why do people keep saying Bungie? It's being developed by Ensemble Studios

sk8monroe81 @ Nov 6th 2008 5:41PM

people relate halo to bungie because they created the franchise...

Tim @ Nov 6th 2008 5:24PM

Halo wars CE makes it sound like its a windows mobile port, which would make more sense as a platform for an rts (as long as its touchscreen). You can argue all you want about how an rts can work on consoles, but there's a big difference between what works and what is ideal.

On a side note, who are we supposed to call the developer now? Yeah, it was made by Ensemble, but they closed their doors. Does Ensemble still get the credit or will microsoft say "well, we own Ensemble, and they're gone, so we made it"

Snowblind @ Nov 6th 2008 5:34PM

Ensemble's name is still on the box.

And sorry, but have you played the game? Or at least C&C on the 360? They work perfectly well, not as precise as mouse/keyboard, but just as much fun to play.

This is no different from the argument a few years back that FPS games don't work on consoles. They do, get over it.