You're probably thinking, hey, what's this?  A toy?  Isn't this a column about kid and family friendly video games?  Well, yes, it is.  But is there any thing more kid friendly than a toy?  Certainly there is not, especially when the toy is based on a fantastic video game.  As soon as we learned about the existence of Halo Wars Mega Bloks, it was a foregone conclusion that we'd own them.  Building our own Halo vehicles, with adorable little soldiers inside, is a lot of fun, and was certainly a cooperative effort!

When Ensemble Studios, creators of Halo Wars, was closed a few projects went with it.  Surprisingly one of those projects was another Halo title, though not much is known about it.  These painting were from artist Dylan Cole and are listed as concept artwork for a cancelled title in the Halo Universe.

We do know Ensemble was working on a Halo MMO at one point, so most likely this beautiful cityscape was related to that.  Still said to know the above shot will never get the full game treatment it deserves.

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Microsoft launched their latest social media player yesterday with the ZuneHD.  In 16GB and 32GB varieties, the system packs an OLED multi-touch screen, accelerometer, HD Radio as well as sleek design.  Soon the system will be sync'd up to your Xbox 360 for a host of other features.  

Right now the ZuneHD store is offering custom versions of the player engraved with some great co-op game graphics like Halo 3: ODST, Fable II, Crackdown 2, Gears of War 2, Lips and Halo Wars.  The engraving is free, and it'll come with a unique wallpaper for the device as well.  

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With the recent Xbox 360 price drop, retailers are going to be competing for your business.  That means kick ass deals for you.  Amazon has a very co-op friendly deal going on right now - purchase the Xbox 360 Pro with a 60GB hard drive for the new $249.99 price; and you'll get one of the following co-op games for free: Halo 3, Fable 2 or Halo Wars.  You choose and you also get free shipping!

If that's not your thing you can get the Xbox 360 Elite console for the new $299 price with one year of Xbox Live Gold for free!

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Awww lookit the ittle bitty Elite!

I'm not quite sure how this one got past my radar.  Halo Wars is the latest franchise getting its own construction toy treatment.  Mega Bloks brings us the Halo Wars Authentic Collector's series.  Right now, just a few sets are available, ranging from the Warthog, pictured above, to a sweet box including Hawk vs. Banshee, Aerial Assault.

As a Halo Wars fan, and a dad to a kid who has an unreasonable love for all things Halo, I was out on the hunt this past weekend.  Only the big sets were to be found anywhere; my son wanted the Warthog badly.  Alas, no luck anywhere.  I have to admit, that Aerial Assault set is very, very tempting.  Anyone else think Halo would make a fun LEGO style video game?

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Looking to get a little co-op action on in the Halo universe?  Do you have an itch for a solid RTS title?  Do you like blowing things up with giant cannons from space?  If you answered yes to any of the above questions then Halo Wars is probably a game you would enjoy - we certainly did.

Amazon has the deal for you - discounting the game to $39.99, a full $20 off the regular price.  If you haven't jumped on the Halo Wars ship yet, we recommend you do it now, before the deal ends up like an Elite in Sgt Forge's hands.  Dead.

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If you and your buddy had a kickass score on Mission Four of Halo Wars's co-op campaign, you can kiss it goodbye.  Perhaps it was the only proof that, yes, you can save Ship #3.  Now it's forever lost thanks to a technical glitch between the game's servers and Xbox Live.

The official Halo Wars website has announced that the leaderboards have been reset to launch day, and they are unsure if the data is recoverable.  The Xbox Live team is investigating, but it doesn't sound too hopeful.  That third ship may never see flight again.

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With the release of Halo Wars DLC "Strategic Options," we decided to give it a test drive in the name of Co-op. These three new modes are available through the skirmish menu, and add a certain flare to simple seek-and-destroy gameplay. Nick "BApenguin" and I tried out each one of these, and wanted to share that experience.

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Amazon is having a Gold Box day for Xbox 360 games.  That means lots of great games at super cheap prices for a short window of time.  We'll update this throughout the day, but I've bolded the clues which I think will lead to co-op titles. 

• 4AM PDT -- Fallout 3 Collector's Edition
• 6AM PDT -- Call of Duty World at War ($39.99)
• 10AM PDT -- Ace Combat 6 ($19.99)
• 12PM PDT -- Battlefield Bad Company
• 2PM PDT -- Namco Museum
• 3PM PDT --  Halo Wars Limited Edition ($59.99)
• 4PM PDT -- "Give me some hi-hat!" - Rock Band 2
• 6PM PDT -- "Shaken, not stirred."

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Halo Wars is one of the best games released this year.  It's so good that last week, we chose it as the featured game for Xbox Live Co-Op Night.  A large variety of units, unique missions, and a fantastic control scheme all combine to make Halo Wars one of the the best RTS games available on any system.

Today, you can add even more goodness to the experience.  The "Strategic Options" add-on pack is available today, and is composed of three new modes.

Keepaway Mode: In this “Halo Wars” adaptation of Capture the Flag, teams will battle it out to capture a free-roaming Forerunner Sentinel to score points before the other team. The number of Sentinels needed to win scales with the number of combatants.

Tug of War Mode: Players must build a stronger army than their opponents to succeed.  Defeating enemies is essential, but success is determined by a combination of the army, buildings and resources left standing in the end.

Reinforcement Mode: Players must adapt their tactics and use the ever-changing set of units to outwit and outlast the enemy, all the while facing successive waves of incoming units.

Exact details aren't available yet, but it looks like you'll be able to co-op in the new modes.  If nothing else, comp stomping is always a good time.  Especially intriguing for co-op fans is Reinforcement mode.  We'll check the DLC out and keep you informed!

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