Halo Book Out, Rock Band Jams

Jon and Chip Carter - Tulsa World

But where do you plug it in? -- Why write about a book in a video game review column? Because this ain't just any old stack of papers -- it's the latest Halo novel (two others have already hit the New York Times Best-Sellers list) -- and it's written by Joseph Staten, Bungie Studio's lead writer and one of the original creators of the "Halo" trilogy.

"Halo: Contact Harvest" hit stores last week, and gives fans an inside look at the state of the Halo universe leading up to the first contact with Covenant. The story's told from the perspective of Staff Sgt. Avery Johnson, Master Chief's legendary confidant and mentor.

Though this is Staten's first novel, he was a writer and cinematic director for Halo (2001), Halo 2 (2004) and this year's record-breaking Halo 3.

"Halo: Contact Harvest" is published by Tor Books, and is available online or at stores everywhere.

Strike up the band -- Had enough Guitar Hero? Of course you haven't. That's why Harmonix and MTV Games are dropping Rock Band for Xbox 360 next Tuesday and PS3 Dec. 18.

The Rock Band Special Edition Bundle (about $160) features a wired drum kit, microphone and Fender Stratocaster guitar controller with a USB hub for all. The stand-alone version of the game is $59.99; several third-party manufacturers are launching peripherals to go along with the game.

The 58 tracks included all come from original master recordings, and span the timeline of rock. For more info, go to www.tulsaworld.com/rockband.

Turok rocks -- One of the greatest old-school shooters, Turok, is a getting a major-league next-gen makeover. Set sometime in the future on a dark, mysterious planet where dinosaurs still roam, Turok tells the tale of former black ops commando Joseph Turok, who's on a mission to track down a war criminal: his former mentor Roland Kane.

The game's not due until Feb. 5 (for multiple platforms), but there's reason to hope it will be awesome because No. 1, the first couple in the series were, and No. 2, the cast list of actors who've signed on the voice roles is, well, pretty danged impressive.

Gregory Norman Cruz voices Turok; the other members of his commando Whiskey Company are more impressive, including Timothy Olyphant (Cowboy), Ron Perlman (Slade) and Donnie Wahlberg (Shepard).

Powers Boothe gives voice to the villain Kane.

90 great reasons to hoop it up -- Take Two's College Hoops 2K8, due this month for multiple platforms, will include 90 classic teams from the game's history.

In addition to the present-day roster, 2K8 includes 69 teams from the past, like the '82 Carolina Tarheels (some kid named Jordan played with them?) or the point-piling '90 Loyola Lions. Cooler still are 15 all-time school teams, like the all-time best Duke and Michigan State squads. In case you're counting, a half-dozen all-time conference teams round the list up to 90.

Watch out for the Undertow -- Chair Entertainment's much-anticipated Undertow will launch on Xbox Live Arcade the day before Thanksgiving, for those who weren't planning on going anywhere.

Choose from one of four upgradeable unit types, ranging in ability from fast and agile to large and powerful, then get ready for non-stop conquest-style battling that'll keep your thumbs twitching 'til the last of the Turkey Day leftover have been turned into soup.

Undertow features a 15-level single or co-op campaign, with two multiplayer modes for up to 16 players. For more, go to www.chairentertainment.com.

You shoulda waited -- If you're a fan of the legendary and lengthy Command & Conquer series, you've probably spent hundreds of dollars on different editions of the game by now.

So you'll probably be pretty chapped that you can now get the first 13 C&C games in a single collection, the Command & Conquer Saga, for a mere $49.99.

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Copyright 2012 by Tulsa World