Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Microsoft has announced that Halo Wars, a RTS game based on the Halo universe, is expected to hit stores in February 2009 [Confirmed February 17 for Europe/South Africa]. It's being developed by Ensemble Studios, the creators of the Age of Empires franchise, so it can be expected to be something special. As always, there will be a Limited Collectors Edition, and they have something special for Halo 3 fans as the Mythic Map Pack will be included. The full details are as follows:

• Three New “Halo 3” Multiplayer Maps – Be one of the first to experience the Mythic Map Pack from Bungie which includes three new maps, “Assembly,” “Orbital” and “Sandbox”
• Halo Wars: Genesis – a beautiful graphic novel by Phil Noto, Graeme Devine and Eric Nylund chronicling the first military campaign against the Covenant. The novel centers around the Sprit of Fire on a mission to discover why the Covenant are so interested in the world of Harvest
• Unique In-game Vehicle – “Honor Guard” Wraith
• Six Leader Cards – Leaders possess elite skills which can turn the tides of battle
• Spirit of Fire Patch – Start the journey as an official Spirit of Fire crew member

So now we know the release date of the Mythic Map Pack for Halo 3 will be sometime in February or early March 2009. Sounds like an awesome package for the CE, but then again, the way half of the items are cut from CEs lately, we will have to put this in the "would be nice if it happens" category.