Halo Wars Review

Okay, I will be the first to admit that when I first heard about the concept of Halo Wars being an Xbox 360 exclusive RTS game I was a little worried. This isn’t because I didn’t have complete faith in the developers Ensemble studios, who are known for great RTS games like Age of Empires, it’s the fact that I would miss my mouse and keyboard. After playing some RTS games on a console it just didn’t feel right, like a new pair of shoes - It works, it was just that my comfy pair was so much easier to wear, and that was the problem with most of the RTS games that I have played on a console which were also available on the PC as well, which I preferred. So will this big step for the first Halo RTS be a big success or a resounding fail?

The story starts 20 years before the original Halo game and like most of the Halo series it will close some doors on some story arcs but will also open up some new and interesting ideas on where Microsoft can take the series in the future. The storyline basically picks up six years after the first attack on The Harvest, in which the Covenant are just starting to find information about the Halos and the forerunners technology and are trying to use this for their advantage. As always of course, the UNSC are trying to stop them at every opportunity.

For any fan of the genre you will soon realise that Ensemble studios haven’t got the whole hog with this game - more like they have dappled their foot in the water to show people what can be done with the RTS genre on a console if you spend some time on it. For example, many RTS fans will notice that you won’t be able assign groups to specific units and that most of the micro management which we have grown to love on RTS games has been completely stripped. With that in mind however, you will notice that all the controls for this game are easily streamlined to the Xbox controller, and even better it feels like it should have always been this way.

The controls are simple: the left analog stick moves you around the map while the right controls the pitch and zoom of the camera; the X button does actions or moves units; the Y button uses the unit’s special attack which can range from flash bangs to stun enemies to rockets which are more powerful against buildings; the A button selects units. If you keep the A button held you will see that a circle is drawn which you can use to select certain units. The trigger buttons are used for selecting the units on the screen or the units across the whole Map.

After a slow tutorial which teaches you the basics you will start building your bases, a task which is even simpler to do than on the existing RTS games. You basically get a certain number of slots on a base location where you can build buildings such as barracks or even supply drops to get more cash to build units and buildings. Once you have used all the slots on your base you can upgrade to a bigger base which has more slots to build upon. You also have the advantage of building more bases which can be used to get more credits or build your army closer to the enemy.

The Covenant build a single temple, where up to three tech levels can be attained by researching Ages. While the Covenant have one less tech level, each upgrade is more expensive, and if a player loses their temple they also lose all the tech until it is rebuilt.

The Units are quite simple to use and Ensemble has used an easy rock, paper, scissors triangle system - Ground vehicles are powerful against infantry, infantry is stronger against aircraft, and aircraft are exceptional at destroying vehicles. This allows you to remember quickly what type of units you need for your battles as well as giving the combat a balance without over analysing units to send into the battle.

The UNSC also have access to the Spirit of Fire, and its special abilities one of these includes a powerful coilgun called the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. This can be used to attack buildings as well as units to give you the upper hand when needed. In contrast to this the Covenant have access to cheap and powerful defensive shield generators which allows their bases a level of protection the UNSC lack.

As well as this the Covenant leaders appear on the battlefield in multiplayer games as fighting units with their own attacks and upgrades. The UNSC leaders determine the army's special upgrades and specialties but do not appear as physical units.

The graphics are stunning and all the visuals are set in a true Halo environment. All your favourite units are in this game as well as the small details, such as warthogs that jump over ledges and you get com chat in-between your units as they are fighting the battle. The details are stunning down to the bullets from certain weapons like the needler. The soundtrack is a masterpiece and it that truly sets you up for some good all night skirmishes. The music isn’t in your face though, just naturally in the background and is balanced to the area or mission you are playing. The gameplay is split up into two areas: you can play a skirmish mode with friends over Xbox live; you can work together on the campaign together or take it on your own.

The campaign is set over 15 missions all ranging in objectives, and different styles of gameplay will be used to combat these effectively. Like with most games nowadays, you are being marked as you play the game on your combat skills, your time skills, and any other side objectives you have done. These give you a rank which you can then improve on and leaves the door open for replay ability just for the status of having every level with a gold medal. While we are on the subject of the status, the Skulls are back. In case you are not a Halo fan, skulls are collectable items hidden around the map which once found, will unlock certain bonus items or just fun effects that can be anything from people exploding into confetti or having your units only be as half as powerful for some extra challenge to the game. As well as this to keep you going back into the game there are also black boxes which help tie in pieces of the storyline which explain more details.

For the first RTS game that has been especially designed for the Xbox, I reckon the guys at Ensemble have done a good job; however, this isn’t the best RTS game you will ever play due to the lack of strategic depth nor will it be the best Halo game as the original will always be in my heart as the best. However this doesn’t means that it isn’t a good game and having a RTS game that actually plays well as well as works brilliantly with the controls is a blessing. Seeing as Bungie was going to create the original Halo as an RTS it seems like things have come full circle, and I couldn’t have seen a better game to be the final game in the closer of such a great game company that is Ensemble.