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Living legend Bruce Shelley, with Civilization and Age of Empires as notches on his belt, has been out of the limelight since his studio, Ensemble, went bust last year. So, Bruce, been keeping busy? More »
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A former employee of Ensemble Studios has formed Windstorm Studios, already hard at work on "an online game unlike anything you've ever seen!" More »
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Microsoft's latest foray into the Halo universe has surpassed the million copy sold mark, making Halo Wars the best-selling console real-time strategy game of the current generation. More »
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In the first of a new series of videos dealing with the expansion of the Halo universe, members of Ensemble, and the gaming press talk Halo history. More »
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Twenty years before Halo: Combat Evolved the war between humanity and the Covenant was a much more strategic affair, as proven in Ensemble Studios' swan song, Halo Wars. More »
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Bruce Shelley is an industry legend. Helped Sid Meier make Civilization, created Age of Empires, then joined Ensemble. Now, though, Ensemble are gone. And Shelley is trying to explain why that happened. More »
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When Robot Entertainment said "hello, world" last week, it seemed likely that, being made up of an Ensemble co-founder and a bunch of Ensemble staff, they'd be taking over Ensemble's work. More »
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Ensemble Studios, developers of the Age of Empires series and Halo Wars, are dead. But the developers who comprised Ensemble? They're still alive, and some of them have formed a new studio. More »
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The third in a series of video documentaries covering the upcoming Xbox 360 game Halo Wars features members of the development team explaining how to make a console real-time strategy game that works. More »
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At a preview event for UK journalists, the lead producer behind Ensemble Studio's real-time strategy take on the Halo universe suggested that downloadable content for the game could be in the works. More »
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Ensemble Studios' real-time strategy take on the Halo universe is heading to the printer, with a single player demo of Halo Wars ready to strike Xbox Live Marketplace on February 5th. More »
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Lead Designer Graeme Devine told us games journalists that we needed to know three things about Halo Wars before we got to playing: the game was about 1) fast, visceral combat, 2) an epic storyline and 3) multiplayer. Unfortunately, because we’re still in the beta phase of the builds, we only got to experience the first element, taste the second, and receive tantalizing hints about the third. More »
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Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios are on course to ship their strategy take on the Halo universe this February, and they're readying one hell of a Limited Collector's Edition for those willing to drop a little extra coin. $79.99 gets you the game, six leader cards, a Spirit of Fire patch, a Halo Wars: Genesis graphic novel, and the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack, which comes with "Assembly," "Orbital" and "Sandbox". One hell of a way to ensure your core audience stays intact in the face of wildly shifting genres, isn't it? More »
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Big news coming out of the Ensemble closure today, as Gamasutra are reporting that the Age of Empires developers were, at one stage, working on the long-rumoured Halo MMO. Seems the game was in development from 2006 to 2007, before being quietly cancelled without, obviously, ever being announced by Microsoft. Some concept art for the game's also surfaced, with a mock-up screen above, and some small character art shots after the jump. Wonder why it was canned? And if that had anything to do with the decision to close Ensemble? And if the project was cancelled, is it now being worked on by someone else? Oh, the questions, the questions. Exclusive: Ensemble Studios' Canceled Project Was Halo MMO [Gamasutra] More »
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Bungie seems excited about the Ensemble-developed Halo Wars. The game is planted firmly in the RTS genre, so, for example, it's not necessary to have players moved in and out of cover. Gushes Bungie AI maven Damian Isla: More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5031376&view=rss&microfeed=true And the Microsoft media just keeps on coming. Latest are these two clips for Ensemble's Halo-based RTS, Halo Wars, which we hear is due in early 2009. Above, some pre-rendered stuff. Looks nice, but if you're after more of an idea of how it'll look while you're playing it, a gameplay vid's after the jump. More »
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The Halo Wars team over at Ensemble have updated their site yesterday, adding some shots and info on two of the units set to feature in the game. One, the Warthog, I'll imagine you're somewhat familiar with. It's fast, it's iconic, it's cheap, you can upgrade it. The other, though, is the UNSC firebase, your base of operations if you're playing as the human forces. It builds, it powers, it slices, it dices. Concept art and in-game model shots of both below. More »
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Halo Wars Addict got an interview with Graham Somers, Ensemble Studios' community manager. Naturally, this outreach is in his job description, and a blog titled "Halo Wars Addict" will probably deliver a positive piece. But it's still worth a look if you're interested in the real-time strategy version of the Halo universe, due out sometime this year, hopefully, or early next year. More »
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Courtesy of this month's GamePro, which is as you read this working its way to subscriber's mailboxes. While the cover feature promises news on all future Halo titles, it only dishes out hard information (and gorgeous new screens) on Halo Wars. But that's OK. We'll take it. Because a console RTS is a new experience for Ensemble, they've stripped back their traditional playstyle in favour of something a little more Halo-esque. Which means only one economic unit - "supplies" - and fast, fast, fast battles, with the team promising you can be fighting "within ten seconds" of hitting the battlefield. Also revealed is at least a partial list of the units that'll be available. More »
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Cheap gamers rejoice, as Age of Empires III Gold Edition is coming this September. For $39.99, you get the original title along with the Warchiefs expansion. OK, that sounded like a lot more in my head...what else will you get...let's see...a box...instructions...pwned by gamers who've been playing it since the release... More »
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The Halo series has always focused on one man's role in turning the tide of a conflict. There've been plenty of bit players who've come and gone, but it's always been about Master Chief. Halo Wars pans out from that battered green suit of armor to focus on the conflict as a whole. I got to sit in with Producer Chris Rippy and Lead Designer Graeme Devine from Ensemble Studios earlier today to take a look at the first real demo for the Halo-flavored RTS. More »
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