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A myriad of real time strategy video games from Company of Heroes to Lord of the Rings have dominated the market. When gamers think halo, they think first person shooter. halo and real time strategy were never synonymous until now.

halo Wars is Bungie Studios first foray with the halo franchise and real time strategy, and the game is a prequel to the original halo on the xbox. It takes place two decades before the heroic Master Chief fired endless streams of ammunition at the Covenant forces.

halo Wars seems to have everything that will appease real time strategy fans. This includes developing strategies to give players advantageous tactical situations. For instance, having higher ground on your adversaries will definitely bolster your chances of winning the battle. Utilizing the terrain is just the tip of the iceberg. Generating a well balanced attack is an immensely proficient method to eradicating the Covenant.

Taking only one group of troops will be a disastrous blunder. Thankfully, Bungie Studios has implemented features that will please avid halo fans. In halo Wars, gamers will be able to use a Wolverine, a rocket-launching tank, the Scorpion, and the notorious Warthog. Of course what would a halo video game be without the Covenant spraying you with needler ammo.

Gamers will be seeing countless needler fire being shot all over the battlefield. Many skeptics (including me) believe in the if it aint broke, dont fix it philosophy, so why would Bungie Studios make a halo video game that fits the real time strategy genre? Is it because Bungie Studios is making halo Wars to make money off the halo label, or is it because Bungie Studios wants to make a stellar video game?

I doubt Bungie Studios would make a video game just for the hell of it; furthermore, I want to believe that halo Wars will be as engrossing as the previous halo iterations. If a Lord of the Rings real time strategy video game can be made on the xbox 360, then there is hope for halo Wars. halo Wars is exclusively for the xbox 360, and the game is slated for a 2008 release date.

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# posted by 89048 @ 9:11 AM 0 comments

In the latest issue of the official XBox magazine (Oct. 2007), theyve written up a significant report on the hardware failures that have stymied xbox fans everywhere ever since the release of the XBox 360 in 2005. The worst hardware failure is indicated by three red rings of light surrounding the power button and so it is has come to be known as the Red Ring of Death among xbox 360 owners.

Due to the overwhelming number of owners who have had to return their XBox 360s to microsoft for repair or replacement, wait times for getting the xbox back can frequently extend into months. The magazine reports on some fans who have waited two months to get their console back only to find another hardware failure crop up after another couple of weeks of serious video game play. As a result of all the issues, microsoft finally released a statement about the three red lights and its related hardware failure in June, promising to fix all xbox 360s that die as a result of the failure for free and extending their warranty out to three years.

Of course, with so many XBox 360 problems, you just might wonder why on earth anyone would buy a 360 in the first place instead of switching to another console. The questions fair enough, but the answer is obvious. Its the games! There are so many great games that are exclusive to the XBox 360, starting with the latest and long anticipated release of halo 3. If you want to play halo 3, you need an XBox 360. If you want to play another excellent game, Bioshock, on a console, the XBox 360 is the one you need. Sure, you can play Bioshock on the PC -- after you upgrade it massively or buy a brand new computer. But that strikes me as nuttier than just dealing with the microsoft hardware issues because Bioshock plays best on the console anyway.

There are some solutions to the XBox 360 problems besides waiting around for microsoft to send a repaired console back to you. One solution is to take it to a private computer repair shop, one who specializes in repairing videogame consoles. Youll need to pay for having them fix it, but the turn-around time is likely to be a few days instead of weeks or months. If youre handy, however, the best solution is to simply crack open the box yourself and do the repairs that are needed. You will void your warranty if you do this, but if you follow instructions and arent a total klutz, then there is no reason you cant have your XBox 360 working again in an hour or two.

# posted by 89048 @ 7:25 AM 0 comments