Inch-high 'Halo'

There's still another week to go for Halo 3, but you can enjoy some Spartan combat early with WizKids' Halo ActionClix miniatures game. A lot like WizKids' Heroclix and Horrorclix games, Halo ActionClix (or HaloClix) is a tabletop strategy game that lets you control inch-high characters and units from the Halo universe. Instead of dealing with complicated stat sheets and strange characteristics, every HaloClix character's twistable base and card comes with all the information you need to control them.

Gamers who preorder Halo 3 at Target will get an exclusive two-pack of HaloClix, including an assault rifle-wielding master Chief and an energy sword-wielding Arbiter. These two figures are hardly enough for an epic tabletop battle, though, so if you really want to build your miniature army of Spartans or Arbiters you'll need to pick up HaloClix booster packs. The packs contain four or five figures each, along with a pair of tiny dice, game instructions, and a fold-out game map. The packs will retail for $10 or $11 each, and start hitting stores this Wednesday.