Press Release.

"SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - February 19, 2009 - Halo WarsTM, the next instalment in the blockbuster Xbox 360 Halo® franchise, will hit shelves on February 26th 2009. To celebrate, Xbox has today announced that every purchase of a new Xbox 360 console will receive a copy of Halo Wars* at no additional charge."

Currently Australian ONLY Offer...
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Fuller of XboxInsider writes: "The highly anticipated Halo Wars is currently being downloaded all around the world by pirates. Halo Wars, which is set to release February 27th in Europe, and March 3rd in the US. The release weighs in at 7gb, and is apparently region free. This news comes after Street Fighter 4 was leaked on the 10th of this month. Developers/publishers/websites really need to tighten security, to stop these games getting leaked so early."
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One of the most celebrated series in the world has now partially been taken over by a new robot overlord.
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Robot Entertainment announced today the formation of its new game development studio in Plano, Texas. Founded by many of the original founders of Ensemble Studios, Robot has a staff of 45 comprised entirely of former Ensemble employees. Robot's team developed the hit franchise Age of Empires, selling over 20 million units worldwide, and the soon-to-be released Halo Wars for Xbox 360. Tony Goodman, the founder of Ensemble, is the CEO of Robot.
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Following an unveiling last week, Robot Entertainment has officially announced itself today, confirming that the independent studio is in fact made up of Ensemble veterans.

Starting where Ensemble ended after it was closed by Microsoft, Robot is developing "additional content" for the now deceased studio's final project, the Xbox 360 strategy title Halo Wars...
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Gamerdeals.net writes:

"Last week, Killzone 2 made gamefly chart history by being the first PS3 exclusive title to top the typically Xbox 360 dominated cross platform list. The historic week at the top of the Gamefly charts was short lived as Killzone 2 has been toppled by Halo Wars.

For the week of February 17, 2009, Halo Wars takes the top spot on the cross-platform Gamefly Top Ten 'Most Queued' list. Following close behind is Killzone 2 (PS3). House of the Dead: Overkill is at the top of the Nintendo Wii Queue as well...

Queue up the complete Gamefly Top 10 most requested lists:"
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The highly anticipated release of "Halo Wars", the newest video game in one of the most successful entertainment franchises, is just a few weeks away. In preparation of its release, Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox L&M), licensing agent for Microsoft Corp., will unveil an all-new toy line-up from partners USAopoly, MEGA Brands and McFarlane Toys at Toy Fair.
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Times Online reviews for: Street Fighter IV, Halo Wars, Killzone 2
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Rob Crossley writes - The demo version of Ensemble's final game, Halo Wars, has been downloaded over two million times.

That figure was reached in the space of one week since the demo was released, marking it as one of the most popular Xbox 360 demos yet.

Microsoft had also stated – in response to Thursday's NPD results – that more people joined the Xbox Live service this January than in any other month, perhaps due to the system's huge boost in sales over the Christmas period. And though the firm was reluctant to provide exact retail figures, it added that Fallout 3 ' s new DLC – called Operation Anchorage – was one of the most popular downloads in January.

Halo Wars is scheduled for release on February 27 for Europe. North Americans will have to wait an additional week, with the release set for March 3.
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Kotaku: Kicking the pre-release marketing for Halo Wars into top gear, a second series of Halo Wars action figures have today been announced by McFarlane and Microsoft.
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GOONL!NE: "The brand new issue of gamesTM just came out and we have the review scores for you to see.

Halo Wars - 7/10
House of the Dead: Overkill - 6/10
Race Pro - 5/10
Killzone 2 - 8/10
Disgaea 3 - 9/10
Let's Tap - 6/10
FEAR 2 - 8/10
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins - 6/10
Necrovision - 4/10
Tornado - 2/10
Bomberman 2 - 7/10
Deadly Creatures - 6/10
Crayon Physics Deluxe - 8/10
Rise Of The Argonauts - 4/10
Dissidia: Final Fantasy - 8/10"
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Microsoft confirmed in its post NPD statement this morning that the Halo Wars demo had been downloaded more than 2 million times in one week.
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The story of the game takes place 20 years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, detailing one of the first encounters between the human United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the collection of alien species known as the Covenent. The campaign mode follows the UNSC ship "The Spirit of Fire" and the crew's struggle with the Covenent. Of course, everyone's favorite space plague The Flood will be making a (non-playable) appearance in the game.
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Microsoft has announced that Halo Wars will launch across South Africa exclusively on the Xbox 360 on the 27th of March. The game will retail at R699 while the Limited Collector's Edition will cost R799.

Halo Wars, Ensemble's real-time strategy game, is set in the Halo universe 20 years prior Halo: Combat Evolved.
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GamingFront.net writes: Earlier today we stumbled upon this new cinematic trailer from Halo Wars at gametrailers.com. The uploader claimed that he found it at a Taiwanese website Xbox Life. What seems strange is that moments later it was removed from their website and theres no signs of this trailer being officially released by Xbox.com or Halowars.com. Watch at your own risk contains story spoilers.
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Building anticipation -- or, more correctly, hype -- for big titles has never been an issue for the video-game industry.

It's a good sign, then, that we're starting to hear an awful lot about KillZone 2 for PlayStation 3 and Halo Wars for Xbox 360.

KZ2 is out Feb. 27, while Halo's next themed game hits stores the following week, March 3.

This article also includes DLC 'Magic Ball' for PS3 and 'Hockey Havoc' for both Xbox 360 and PS3 being released on Feb. 27 and March 3, respectively.
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Best Buy Co. Inc. stores this month began offering a free month of Xbox Live with the pre-purchase of Halo Wars for Microsoft Corp.'s in a members-only promotion.

In the offer, customers in the Reward Zone Gamer's Club can print an in-store coupon at 'myrewardzone.bestbuy.com' for a free 1-Month Xbox Live Gold Card with advanced purchase of Halo Wars.
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Microsoft just posted the Halo Wars demo on Live. Go go go.
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MTV Multiplayer writes:

"Peer behind the curtain as I reveal how game companies give us copies of games to review and what they do and don't allow us to say. The case study for today is: "Halo Wars"!

(Videos not viewable by users logging in from Canada or the U.K.)"
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Mega Bloks (Yes the knock-off Lego manufacturer) has announced that it will be producing a line of Halo Wars Mega Bloks. Here's what Mr.Blok (Vic Bertrand, Chief Innovation Officer of MEGA Brands) had to say.

"We're excited to have this exclusive opportunity to partner with Microsoft and 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising and build on the immense success of the Halo franchise," said Vic Bertrand, Chief Innovation Officer of MEGA Brands. "We look forward to bringing the iconic characters and vehicles of the video game to life through Mega Bloks."

"We consider MEGA brands to be one of the premiere leaders in the constructable toys and games category. Their reputation for creativity and innovation is inspiring and we look forward to seeing it applied to the legendary Halo franchise," noted Michael Peikoff, Senior-Vice President U.S. Licensing, Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising.

So a huge franchise like Halo…gets stuck with Mega Bloks instead of Lego?
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