Fight Historic Battles in Halo Wars

Microsoft has announced that Halo Wars, the real time strategy game set in the universe symbolized by Master Chief, is set to get another downloadable content pack. It will be called Historic Battles and will be delivered via Xbox Live for the price of 800 Microsoft Points, which is the equivalent of 10 dollars in real life.

The official release date has been set for July 21 and Microsoft is saying that the pack will offer players a chance to experience four new battles important in the wider context of the intergalactic war waged between the forces of the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant.

Barrens is a map that funnels players through terrain created corridors, which lead to intense firefights while players will also be scrambling to get the Forerunner artifact that can mean the difference between defeat and victory. Blood River also creates chokepoints, but this time, over two small river crossings that can be kept under constant crossfire from bases on the either side of the river.

Glacial Ravine is a three-on-three map, which will see the battle centered around a mountain pass that can be controlled via two energy walls, while Memorial Basin is a map for two-versus-two matches challenging players to control the high ground near the center of the map.

For players interested in getting their Gamer Score up, the Historic Battles pack is also delivering four more Achievements that will bring in 100 points. And, clearly, the new content is thought of as a way of offering Halo fans some new gaming options before the release of Halo 3: ODST, which will extend the saga of the series, sadly without any contribution from the iconic Master Chief. His return will have to wait until 2010 when Bungie releases Halo: Reach, a new game that will serve as a prequel in the timeline of the franchise.