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It's all too easy to forget that there are real people behind the power-ups we're so fond of collecting. Gamasutra has posted a sobering look at the industry, interviewing recently out-of-work employees from such companies as Eidos and Pandemic while putting faces on the disturbing number of layoffs that have impacted the business behind the games we play.

"In our industry, there's a relatively high chance that once your game is finished, the studio will make some cuts," noted David Lewis, a software test engineer at Ensemble, which will close its doors after Halo Wars (pictured) rolls out the door later this year. "But I had no reason to suspect that the whole studio would be closed." Even so, some, like recruiter T.J. Summers, believe that there is work to be had for those willing to stretch beyond their comfort zones and look for work in "new growth sectors" such as web or mobile. Still, we sympathize with those impacted, especially knowing that the drop off from developing AAA titles to Flash games has to be enough to lose your stomach.

If Halo Wars' absence from Microsoft's E3 keynote left you blue, you're likely in the right frame of mind to enjoy a new gameplay video of Ensemble's tactical take on the Halo universe set upon a descriptively titled "Ice Level."

Marvel as Spartans rain down MAC Cannon devastation from above. Be astounded as good guys gather resources, and then spend them. Be astonished as you forget to care about Halo Wars well before the game's early 2009 release.

A new day brings some new Xbox Live Marketplace content, and while we don't have any new demos to enjoy, there are some decent videos. The first video is the Halo Wars walk-through that was supposed to go up earlier this week. If you haven't already seen it on the intertubes, it's definitely worth checking out. The second video has also already been seen on the web, though it's probably worth watching in hi-def with some popcorn on the couch. We are talking, of course, about the Team Fortress 2 video featuring the soldier. We said it before and we'll say it again: comedy gold. Download both videos at your earliest convenience, but please, watch responsibly.

[Update: The content is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. For more details, click here.]

We reported earlier today that something Halo Wars related was coming along today, and lo and behold, here it is. A 10 minute video of Halo Wars in action has now hit Xbox Live Marketplace as well as HaloWars.com. The video is the same walk-through demonstration that was shown at E3 and gives an overall feel for what the game has to offer. Some of the things you'll get to see are vehicle construction, troop movement, and of course, battle. But enough jibber-jabber, watch it already.

After you've seen Halo Wars in action, why not tell us what do you think? Does it have what it takes to give Command & Conquer 3 a run for its money?

Xbox Live members may be getting another look at or first play session with Halo Wars soon, as it's rumored that a Halo Wars demo or video will be releasing to the XBLM sometime today. In an interview with Ensemble Studios executive producer Harter Ryan (video embedded after the jump), he hints at some sort of media release when talking about the game at Leipzig saying that "we're showing a demo that'll be available on Monday". Indeed, Ryan's comment can be taken two different ways meaning either the release of an actual game demo to the Marketplace or just a video of the demo, but our logical side is leaning towards a video. You can cross your fingers though fanboys, an actual Halo Wars demo would be a lot cooler than a boring old video.

Ensemble Studios has updated their official Halo Wars website featuring screenshots from the game and some information on new vehicles that'll grace the battlefield. Heading on over to the website you'll be slapped in the face with a few new screenshots on the homepage featuring battle scenes seen in the gameplay trailer. Digging a little deeper we found the Features section which showss off renders and concept art from a few new in game items including the UNSC Cougar, UNSC Supply Pad and Covenant Air Artillery. Give the updated website a look over, stop by the forums and see what other goodies you can uncover.

Some developers like to share their products before they release and give consumers a taste for the greatness to come, while others like to build anticipation and hold out on a much deserving demo-o-greatness (here's looking at you Assassin's Creed). But good thing for us is that Ensemble Studios is all about showing off the goods.

Behind the mysterious "closed doors" of E3 during a Halo Wars demo, Joystiq learned from Halo Wars producer Chris Rippy that a demo is in fact planned to release "for sure before the game comes out". Ensemble Studios' generosity is probably due to the fact that they want to convince the masses that not only is Halo Wars teh greatness, but that their control scheme is teh greatness too. But you're in for a wait fanboys, because Halo Wars and the promised demo are penciled in for sometime in 2008.

Gamers tend to be (understandably) cautious when it comes to real time strategy games on consoles. The reason for this is simple: RTS games on consoles have been uniformly bad, with the (arguable) exception of Battle for Middle Earth II and Command & Conquer 3 on the Xbox 360. Even with those games, however, the controls are far from perfect, which becomes abundantly clear in later levels. Halo Wars hopes to change all that, or so we were told by Ensemble. Still, we'd like a bit of a safety net if you please. Lucky for us, the folks from Ensemble told us during our Halo Wars E3 presentation that there is a demo on the way. According to producer Chris Rippy, the demo will arrive "for sure before the game comes out." While we were generally impressed with the Halo Wars presentation, our one nagging concern was the control, so it's nice to know that we'll all be able to try before we buy. Halo Wars touches down in 2008.

Fresh from E3 are two Halo videos that made us salivate uncontrollably and just may make some fanboys become giddy little school girls. Yup, they're that good. Embedded above is the trailer everyone and their grandma is talking about and is the the new Halo 3 campaign trailer shown at E3. The Arbitor, Cortana and the entire Covenant race make an appearance in the trailer and be sure to watch for the Brute Chopper ... it's teh badness. After watching the trailer we think we can all agree that Halo 3 is looking a lot prettier and will feature one epically awesome campaign. Also, be sure to check out Joystiq's Halo 3 E3 trailer analysis.

The second video is embedded after the break and is Halo Wars' coming out video featuring gameplay footage. Not only does it look graphically impressive, but it looks darn fun to play too. Ensemble Studios has done a fantastic job on this one as we can't wait to get our hands on those little Warthogs and Grunts. Adorable little guys. Halo 3 and Halo Wars ... this is gaming my friends.

Hot from the smoldering work stations at GameVideos, 30 seconds of gameplay from Ensemble Studio's highly anticipated RTS, Halo Wars. It's only a tiny morsel of what's in store for us down here in Santa Monica, but it sure is a tasty one. Halo's signature vehicle, the Warthog, flying majestically through the air as though it were a Pelican. Gorgeous, close-up shots of units that make us weep -- knowing that we'll be spending the game zoomed out for tactical reasons.

All in all it looks to be very Halo, all the way down to the selection reticule. We'll be sure to hunt it down this week and let you know how it's shaping up. If you don't feel like squinting, visit GameVideos and download the high resolution version.

The latest Halo Wars update over at the official forums doesn't bring any new fancy videos, screenshots, or even concept art, but it does give fans something else ... hope. Ensemble Studios dev man Thunder says that the team has been playing a bunch of Halo Wars at the studio lately and also confirmed that the the veil of mystery surrounding the game will be lifted in July. Thunder says that they'll be posting new exciting info July 6th and that "next month is going to be a big one for Halo Wars". E3 will be going down in a few weeks and we already know Halo Wars will be shown in some capacity, hopefully it'll be a hands on demo. July will be Halo Wars media heaven! Or so we think.

[Thanks, Master Devwi]

We got a couple tips about GameStop listing Halo Wars' release date as 12/31/07, and before this spreads like wildfire, we'd just like to point out this reeks of pea soup. Excardon our logic here, but why would Halo 3 and Halo Wars release in the same year, let alone Holiday season? Obviously, GameStop is just trying to secure some pre-orders, but you may want to get a canceltation on those before you get your hopes up. Once we get some concrete details on the development and release on Halo Wars, we'll report it here. No probalo!

[Thanks, Joseph]

Buried under the massive weight of the Halo 3 beta, a new Halo Wars update has been quietly released by the folks at Ensemble Studios. The update focuses on the ongoing multiplayer playtests of Halo Wars, and apparently things are moving along swimmingly. It looks like Ensemble is happy with the control scheme now, so they can spend more time actually playing the game. The game's placeholder features (such as plain, rectangular buildings) are slowly being replaced by more detailed assets. Finally, artists are spending a lot of time tuning the game's scale. In other words, you want your infantry units big enough to see, but not so big that they look like giants compared to buildings and vehicles. Hit the "read" link to check out the update.

[Via Arrogantics. Thanks, zizzy]

We're a little late on this one, but at least we're honest about the fact and are still reporting on the goods. Over on the official Halo Wars forums Ensemble Studios' own Thunder posted a brief status report on Halo Wars' progress and asked lead designer Graeme Devine a few questions. Although the update and interview don't give us any new media or reveal any big news about Halo Wars, we do learn that Graeme is Irish and likes his Guinness. So, if you're feeling a little adventurous, make the jump for Ensemble Studios' April Halo Wars update.

Over on the official Halo Wars forums Thunder posted a special update for our little Halo gem. The Ensemble Studios development team had to reach one of their first development milestones by getting a preview build of Halo Wars ready for some visiting Microsoft execs. And to our surprise, they actually created a multiplayer build so the whole team (including those Microsoft execs) could spend the day blowing stuff up real good. Thunder also went on to say that they've

"got a long way to go still, but it's very encouraging when a group like this can sit down and have fun beating the hell out of each other so far from any ship date".

True, they do have many milestones to achieve before Halo Wars goes gold, but we're extremely exciting knowing that such an early build was so well received. Anyone's thirst for Halo Wars news been quenched or do you demand 20 gallons worth of screenshots?

[Thanks, DjDATZ]