Halo is more than a franchise. Halo is a cultural phenomenon. If you need proof, look no further than this page. When Halo 3 launched two years ago, we launched an epic adventure of our own: nearly 50 straight weeks of HaloRadar coverage. ... » Read More

May 1, 2009

Video game villains who got away with it

360 Feature | Halo Wars

People like to see good triumph over evil. It's the reason Superman always wins despite getting stabbed in the face with shards of Kryptonite. Why John McClane beats a skyscraper full of heavily-armed terrorists with nothing but a string vest. And why those pesky S.T.A.R.S. agents always get the better of the T-virus. Sometimes, though, there are games brave enough to spit in the face of convention and let their no gooders go ... » Read More

Apr 9, 2009

The 10 greatest mustaches in gaming history

360 Feature | Halo Wars

Video Games and facial hair have long had a close bond, be it the soul patch on the Prince of Persia, Gordon Freeman’s goatee, or the five o'clock shadow on every single character made with the Unreal 3 Engine. But while most games have people (mostly men) with some bit of hair growing beneath the nose but above the mouth, there are too few with just a mustache adding character to their faces. ... » Read More

Mar 6, 2009

Halo Wars: Guide to Skulls and Black Boxes

360 Feature | Halo Wars

Just as in the shooters, Halo Wars’ skulls unlock powerful cheats that can make the RTS much easier, much harder or much, much sillier. The black boxes, meanwhile, complete the game’s timeline and are necessary if you want to understand the Halo franchise’s entire history. ... » Read More

Mar 6, 2009

TalkRadar 41 – Rap: The Podcast

360 Feature | Halo Wars

Quote of the Week: [On IGN’s review breakdowns] How do you even score a game’s sound anymore? What if my soundtrack is all Beethoven and Led Zeppelin? Insta-10! ... » Read More

Mar 5, 2009

Halo Wars in 90 seconds

360 Feature | Halo Wars

You don’t have time to draw out strategic plans and command dozens of your Spartan soldiers to take out the Covenant. Either you’re used to running and gunning down Grunts and Elites with your trusty battle rifle, or you just plain don’t like all this RTS BS. Whatever the case, we’ve come to the rescue to make things easier for you. Here is the entire Halo Wars story in 90 seconds. ... » Read More

Feb 27, 2009

Do you need Halo 3's newest maps?

360 Feature | Halo Wars

We could’ve sworn we finished the fight after the release of Halo 3 in September 2007, but Bungie’s going to make sure we finish the fight again and again by releasing the Mythic map pack on March 3rd. But don’t get too anxious to log in to Xbox Live Marketplace to download it – this new map pack will only be available if you purchase the Limited Edition of Ensemble Studios’ Halo Wars, a new strategy game based on the Halo franchise. Unless you want to wait until later on in the spring to download the Mythic map pack for 800 Microsoft Points, be prepared to shell out 80 greenbacks for a game you might not even want (we can already see confused folks trying to return their copy of Halo Wars and asking where the hell Master Chief was). So the real question is, is it worth it? We’ve played through all three new maps included in the Mythic map pack and reveal the good, bad and the ugly. ... » Read More

Feb 23, 2009

Kids review the darndest games!

360 Feature | Halo Wars

We hear it all the time. “GamesRadar, psshh… That site’s written by 12-year-olds.” So, as part of an inability to take criticism, as well as an “Editor for a Day” position auctioned off to raise money for California public schools, we went out and commissioned the real deal. ... » Read More

Feb 6, 2009

Exclusive interview with the Lead Designer of Halo...

360 Feature | Halo Wars

Just because it’s named after an environment (the Halo rings), doesn’t mean Halo Wars gets to relax, create a bunch of ring-shaped levels and proclaim that all maps should be symmetrical. The game will have to balance the lore of the Halo series with the new units and innovation to keep strategy gamers and non-Halo fans happily plopped down in front of their TVs and enjoying the new RTS addition to the Halo series. ... » Read More

Jan 9, 2009

Best first quarter for video games EVER?

360 Feature | Halo Wars

We just made it through the holiday rush, wallets scraped bare from last year’s heaviest hitters, and there are no fewer than eleven quality games about to rush us. The first quarter (January through March) is usually a time of “catch-up,” where you play all the stuff that keeps piling up on your teetering backlog of games. Not happening this time.No matter your platform there’s something killer on the way ... » Read More

Jul 7, 2008

Next-Gen's 30 most anticipated games of E3

360 Feature | Halo Wars

In choosing games for this list, we kept an eye on games most likely to succeed at the market. We also tried to keep in mind potential critical reception based on developer track record, previous franchise performance, and how the titles have been presented in the media thus far. Naturally we also picked the titles we are most excited to play at the show, but in short, these are the games to keep an eye on, because these are the games that ... » Read More

Jun 18, 2008

Further Reading

360 Feature | Halo Wars

The links between novels and gaming are stronger than you think. Successful franchises spawn tie-in books dealing with the further adventures of Lara Croft or generic videogame action heroes, but often a respected author’s words can find themselves directly or indirectly rendered in gaming. Take Cormac McCarthy’s The Road for example, a post-apocalyptic journey through a near-future American wasteland that’s become required ... » Read More

Jan 25, 2008

HaloRadar: The Halo Suicides

360 Feature | Halo Wars

For more of our weekly HaloRadar coverage, click here. Judging by your submissions, most of you share our current obsession with Halo suicides. There's just something about Master Chief's expressionless ragdolling that turns us into giggling school girls. We can't explain why, but our therapists assure us that reveling in the grisly demise of the iconic uber-patriot "doesn't make you a bad person." Good to know, given the "epic lulz" all your videos generated around our office. And we want ... » Read More

Jan 11, 2008

HaloRadar: Halocide

360 Feature | Halo Wars

Jan. 8, 2008 For more of our weekly HaloRadar coverage, click here. Halocide. If that isn't a recognized term, then we're officially coining it here and now. Sure, Forge's map editor serves up some fantastic multiplayer customization, and Theater offers more than an occasional glimpse at ragdoll amusement. But after making the video below, we can honestly say nothing shimmers quite so fine as elaborately laying out the hilariously macabre details of your own demise. The coward's way out? ... » Read More

Jul 23, 2007

Halo Wars - interview

360 Feature | Halo Wars

It's funny to look back and remember that Bungie's original concept for Halo was as a PC RTS, which is probably why the universe fits so snugly with Ensemble's vision for Halo Wars. Of all the genres jumping ship to console land, RTS was always one that would never be the same without the comfort of a mouse and keyboard. That's exactly why the Age of Empire boys are ignoring the genre conventions of the past, and building Halo Wars from the ground up for Xbox 360. What crazy ideas do they ... » Read More

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