The Halo Wars gold master is on its way to manufacturing, well in time for its late February / early March release dates. While excited fans of the Halo series dream of discs sliding out of a giant, magical disc pressing machine, Microsoft is readying a playable demo of the game to help ease the wait. On February 5th the Halo Wars demo will be available for download, featuring the first two levels of the single player campaign along with "Chasms", one of fourteen multiplayer maps shipping with the full game. Note that the multiplayer map looks to be only playable against the A.I. is Skirmish mode, so you'll have to wait for the full game in order to hop online.

Along with the news of the demo, Microsoft Game Studios also launches a new video documentary for the game today, with the first episode now available for download via Xbox Live.

Genre Defining Xbox 360 Exclusive “Halo Wars” Goes Gold

New video documentary series and Xbox LIVE demo details revealed

Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios announced today that “Halo Wars,” the highly anticipated action strategy game based on the legendary “Halo” universe, is finished and sent to manufacturing! Created from the ground up for the Xbox 360 console and controller, “Halo Wars” combines a peerless control scheme and gameplay with an incredibly rich, epic story set 20 years prior to the story told in “Halo: Combat Evolved.” The result is a commanding experience that is a must-have for “Halo” fans and a title that is sure to become a classic amongst fans of strategy games.

As fans eagerly await launch day, a video documentary series announced today will explore defining themes of “Halo Wars” and give viewers a behind the scenes look at the game’s development and some of the people involved in its creation. The premier episode captures key elements that frame “Halo Wars” gameplay: the controls, perspective and strategy. The “Halo Wars” video documentary is available for download on Xbox LIVE and can be viewed at Xbox.com/Halo.

In addition, the recently announced Xbox LIVE public demo for “Halo Wars” will be available beginning on Feb. 5 at 2 a.m. PST in Xbox LIVE enabled regions worldwide. In the demo, players will be able master Ensemble’s groundbreaking control scheme in optional beginner and advanced tutorials or jump right into the action to experience the beginning of the “Halo Wars” story with the first two campaign missions. The demo will also include “Chasms,” one of “Halo Wars’” 14 multiplayer maps, wherein players can battle it out in Skirmish mode vs. A.I., playing either as the UNSC with Captain Cutter’s leader powers, or as the Covenant with the Prophet of Regret’s own unique abilities. Don’t forget to set your Xbox to download this demo!

“Halo Wars” is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and 16+ PEGI, and will be available starting Feb. 26 in Asia, Feb. 27 in Europe and March 3 in the Americas. For more information, visit Xbox.com/Halo or HaloWars.com.

In celebration of this momentous occasion, they've also released an official trailer for Episode Two, which I've tucked comfortably after the jump.

The Comedic RPG-Adventure Romp Continues This Fall for $14.95

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Oct. 1, 2008 - Hothead Games is pleased to announce that the anxiously-awaited Episode Two in its well-received Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness game series has reached Gold Master status for the Windows®, Mac® and Linux® versions. In recognition of this momentous milestone, Hothead has further announced that Episode Two will be priced at $14.95 for download this fall via the Greenhouse digital distribution service (www.playgreenhouse.com) and other popular digital distribution systems or 1200 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE® Arcade. The PLAYSTATION®Network version of Episode Two is also expected for release shortly thereafter with similar pricing.

"Episode One was a huge investment for us and established a great base from which we built Episode Two. It allows us to focus even more on the fans in developing future games in the series," said Hothead's CEO, Vlad Ceraldi. "Our new game has a lot of great enhancements that were made possible by direct fan interaction and we are extremely excited to get our game into their hands and get their feedback."

The madcap Penny Arcade experience continues in Episode Two where gamers return to the deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia and rejoin Gabe and Tycho of the Startling Developments Detective Agency to visit crazy new areas, combat bigger and badder enemies, solve even more wacky puzzles and get ever closer to unraveling the mystery in the sinister heart of New Arcadia.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode Two has been rated "M" for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board for all platforms.

"PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION" and "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Personally I hate console-specific premiums, as they generally tack an hour onto my visit at the game store, picking up one, putting it back, picking up the other, putting it back. I'm can be a pretty indecisive guy when I decide to.

EA Announces That Dead Space Has Gone Gold
The Award-Winning Sci-Fi Survival Horror Game Ships to Retailers on Oct. 14

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), announced today that Dead Space™, the highly anticipated new survival horror game, has gone gold and will ship in North America on October 14 for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The PC version will ship on October 20. Dead Space will be in stores in Europe on October 24 for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system and the PC.

Players who buy the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 versions of the game within the first two weeks of the game’s release will have the opportunity to download a platform exclusive suit. Xbox 360 fans can download the Xbox-themed Elite Suit* on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and PLAYSTATION 3 fans can download the PlayStation-themed Obsidian Suit* on the PLAYSTATION®Network. Both of these suits will feature new looks and increased toughness and inventory slots, to help players fight for survival in the Dead Space universe.

In addition, for Xbox 360 owners in North America, the EA Store™ is offering a very limited run of 1000 copies of the Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition. This package contains a copy of the game, Dead Space Downfall Animated Movie on DVD, bonus content DVD, 97-page art book, the 160-page graphic novel (which combines all six issues of the Dead Space comics), exclusive lithograph illustrated and individually signed by Ben Templesmith, and an Ishimura crew patch, all sealed in a limited edition Dead Space packaging. The Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition can be ordered through the EA Store and will ship on October 14.

The bold and often bloody Dead Space promises to deliver the ultimate in psychological terror and gruesome cinematic action. Set in the cold blackness of deep space, the atmosphere in Dead Space is soaked with a feeling of tension, dread and sheer terror. In Dead Space, players step into the role of mining engineer Isaac Clarke, an ordinary man on a seemingly routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship. It’s not long before Isaac awakes to a living nightmare filled with vicious genetic mutations inside a dead, claustrophobic silence. Now Isaac is cut off, trapped, and engaged in a desperate fight for survival.

Under development at EA Redwood Shores, Dead Space has been rated M for Mature with descriptors of Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language by the ESRB and 18+ for PEGI. Dead Space will be available for MSRP $59.99 on the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system and MSRP $49.99 for the PC. The Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition will be available on the Xbox 360 for MSRP $149.95. For more information about the game, go to the website at http://www.deadspacegame.com or http://info.ea.com.

Also up for grabs during week one is the rare "I was there Week One" t-shirt, which is indeed so rare that I've placed it after the jump.

Awww, isn't he cute?

Its Official! - LittleBigPlanet on shelves 10/21/08! [PlayStation Blog]

Please note that M.A.C.H. for the PSP shipped on February 20 and that Vivendi's F.E.A.R. is due to hit the PLAYSTATION 3 later this month. Michael McWhertor

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. G.O.L.D. [Gamespot]