'Halo Wars' Collector's Edition Detailed, Dated

Halo Wars is going to be hitting shelves in February 2009 and like anything Halo... it will be getting some premium Collector's Edition content.

For $79.99, gamers can pick up the Halo Wars Collector's Edition, which includes:

• 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

The biggest draw for us is definitely the Halo 3 maps, but then we realize that this is basically extra content for a completely different game, but it's definitely a good way to move some copies of Halo Wars to the hardcore Halo community.

Also, select retailers will be getting a "special in-game Warthog vehicle with flame decals" as a pre-order bonus. Hit the jump for a picture of said 'hog.

What do you think of this package? Are you looking forward to Halo Wars? Do you even play RTS games on consoles?! Be sure to watch our Tokyo Game Show Halo Wars Mission Walkthrough (available in HD) below.