I think it’s safe to assume any game nowadays with the hype needle planted firmly in vein will come flying out of the ether with a collector’s edition in tow. Now you can chalk up Ensemble Studios’ (RIP) RTS set in the Halo universe, Halo Wars, with the rest of the shiny, popular games in class. If you decide to plunk down $79.99 for the limited collector’s edition, here are the goodies you can look forward to:

• 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

As an added bonus, select retailers will be offering pre-order card to download a special in-game Warthog vehicle with flame decals. Let me tell you, flame decals make everything cooler — you should see my toilet. This is a rather robust package, if you want my opinion — which you don’t, but you can’t escape. So who’s planning on biting and being the kid on the block that has all the cool crap?