While the 2008 Leipzig Games Convention is now over, that hasn't stopped Microsoft from sending over some Leipzig-branded screenshots of Ensemble Studios' Xbox 360-exclusive RTS effort Halo Wars, which is slated to arrive in the first half of 2009.

When I saw Halo Wars at last year's E3, the Ensemble-developed RTS prequel certainly looked impressive, though I couldn't say much about the game's fabled control scheme.

The entire game hinges on the success of its control scheme, on a player's ability to quickly zoom across a battlefield and issue commands to an entire army. That's really easy to do with a mouse and keyboard, not so much with an Xbox 360 controller.

Ensemble is certainly aware of this--additional control scheme work is part of why Halo Wars was just delayed into 2009, along with general balance tweaks and a crowded holiday season.

Yet even in its current state, I'm happy to report that the game's control scheme works quite well. It's not necessarily intuitive--then again, I can't imagine what button I would instinctively press to instantly select all troops--but I got the hang of it after five minutes.

All it takes is one button press to perform the basic tasks--jump back to your base, select all on-screen units, highlight all troops on a map, center on your... Read more

Microsoft just confirmed with Shacknews that Ensemble Studios' Halo-based strategy game Halo Wars is delayed until the first half of 2009. Though no release date was ever officially announced, the game had been expected to arrive later this year.

According to a rep from Ensemble, the game was delayed for additional control and balancing polish, and to avoid the crowded holiday season.

Check back with us later for impressions of the game.

In accordance with today's outpouring of announcements, demonstrations and big reveals at Microsoft's E3 press conference, the company has released several new screenshots of the titles included in today's presentation.

Gears of War 2

New Xbox 360 3D Dashboard

Fable 2

More new images from titles including Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2, Lips, and several others are viewable below... Read more

With Halo Wars set to make its playable debut at next week's E3 conference, Ensemble Studios has issued a few new screenshots from the Xbox 360-only RTS title. Beyond a vague 2008 projection, no release date has been announced for Halo Wars.

Age of Empires creator Ensemble Studios has released several new screenshots from Halo Wars, its Xbox 360-only stab at a Halo-themed real-time strategy effort.

Expected to arrive later this year, Halo Wars will be on display at this year's E3 Media & Business Summit, which runs from July 14-17. Check back then to see how the title has fared since last year's optimistic showing.

New details from Ensemble Studios' real-time strategy title Halo Wars (360) have surfaced in the latest issue of gaming magazine GamePro.

The preview reconfirmed the existence of two-player online cooperative play for Halo Wars' story-driven campaign mode, as initially revealed at the time of the title's original announcement. The game is also expected to support six players in multiplayer matchups over Xbox Live.

Also of note was the revelation of the title's resource system. Unlike other RTS games which might have you gathering wood, iron, or Vespene gas, Halo Wars only requires "supplies". The single resource system is meant to streamline action and keep things simple but stategic, allowing players to focus on battle over preparations.

"The economy is simple but meaningful," Ensemble designer Dav Pottinger told GamePro. "All the big strategy decisions remain, but the game style is more adrenaline-filled."

Halo Wars is expected to drop later this year.

Age of Empires developer Ensemble Studio wants you to remember that its Halo-themed RTS is due out on Xbox 360 at some point this year, so it has provided a few new screenshots.

For more details on Halo Wars, check out our optimistic first impressions.

It has taken a while, but Microsoft finally released the Halo Wars E3 2007 presentation showing more from the Xbox 360 exclusive strategy game. The 10 minute long video offers gameplay footage and narration by lead designer Graeme Devine.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Computer & Video Games has a Halo Wars Q&A posted, asking producer Chris Rippy and lead designer Graham Devine about this upcoming strategy game.

Hardly anything has been shown from Ensemble Studios' Xbox 360-exclusive real-time strategy game Halo Wars, but as it turns out the game has been in development for over two years--with the first six months just spent on refining control. Chris Faylor grabbed a first look of the game during E3 to get a handle on how Bungie's Halo universe is translating over to the RTS realm.

The ideals and quirks of Halo permeate every aspect of the game, from the rotating circular objects in the blue-heavy menus to the familiar sounds of the distinctive Halo weaponry and alien battle cries. In the opening cinematic of the demonstration, which showcased an impressively detailed ship hovering near over a lush horizon, even the camera angles and movements were reminiscent of those in Bungie's work.