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Halo Wars review
Who says you can never go home again? The Halo franchise — which began life as a real-time strategy game at Bungie a decade ago before morphing into the FPS juggernaut we all know so well — has officially come full circle. The result? Thanks to the talent and experience of the developers at Ensemble Studios (famous for the Age of Empires series on PC), Halo simply works as an RTS.
This debut entry in the spin-off series is set 20 years before Combat Evolved. Humanity has been jockeying with the Covenant for control of Harvest for quite some time — and Halo Wars picks up there, leading Captain Cutter (of the Spirit of Fire), Commander Shepard look-alike Sergeant Forge, and science expert Professor Anders through slipspace. On the other side of their jump, they encounter the Flood, ultimately leading to a massive Covenant super-weapon that must be stopped at all costs.
Told mostly through gorgeous CG cutscenes between missions, the story behind Halo Wars is satisfying, but it never feels like it fully develops. To be fair, though, the action-packed sequence before the game’s final mission is worth the price of admission alone, and in fact makes us wish for a CG Halo feature film like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (minus the suck, of course). Overall, it’s nowhere near as rich as the plots of other Halo games, nor do its characters resonate as deeply, but it’s enough to keep you interested until the campaign’s conclusion.
Of course, story isn’t what compels you to play Halo (though it is part of the equation) — it’s Bungie’s legendary “30 seconds of fun” on an endless loop that keeps you coming back for more. In Halo Wars, the inherently slower-paced RTS genre changes that to “30 minutes of fun” on repeat.
On that note, what about the gameplay itself? While it’s not nearly as deep as some of the established RTS franchises that have made it to the 360 (like Command & Conquer, Battle for Middle-Earth, and Supreme Commander), it is meatier than some of the lighter fare such as Civilization Revolution and EndWar. It walks a comfortable middle ground that probably gets as hardcore as it can without scaring off its intended audience — the Halo fan who’s never played an RTS before.
Like Combat Evolved before it, all of the gameplay in Halo Wars is driven by an impeccable control scheme that simplifies the experience while still empowering you to enjoy it without compromises. The A button selects a unit, X commands it to move or attack, and Y orders the unit’s secondary ability, which recharges on a cool-down timer. (For instance, the Warthog can ram targets and the Spartans can board enemy vehicles and claim them for your team.) You’ll also use the bumper buttons a lot: LB selects all of your units, while RB locks onto all of the ones currently onscreen. Unit/ structure creation is handled with a left stick – driven wheel that appears when you press A on a building. It’s that simple.
This solid foundation allows the “30 minutes of fun” merry-go-round to begin. With most of the campaign’s 15 missions lasting between 20 and 60 minutes each, Halo Wars’ levels are chock full of highlights, although some are guilty of feeling like they should simply be phase one of a longer stage. The basic tutorial does an admirable job of getting you comfortable with the control scheme while not dragging on for too long, and the first few chapters are rather simple (probably by design). Come mission 04, however, the fun and the challenge ramp up considerably.
It’s in this stage where, as you pursue the Covenant to the vacation planet of Arcadia, the Purple People Eaters reinforce their complete disregard for innocent civilians. It’s up to you to escort as many of them as possible from the subway exit at one end of the map to one of three evac ships on the opposite side…while trying to keep the Covenant from killing people and destroying the ships…and all in a 20-minute timeframe. Cue the cold sweat.
Later, you’ll be up against an under-construction Super Scarab that can’t move but whose pivoting-head turret works. Amassing a sufficiently capable army and destroying the beast before its unstoppable deadly beam chews through the protective cover separating it from your base is exhilarating and tense. And without giving anything away, the campaign’s final battle is an epic struggle against both the clock and overwhelming opposing forces that succeeds in being tough without deteriorating into controller-throwing frustration.
Multiplayer, meanwhile, is frustrating only in the sense that there are just two modes: skirmish (a genre staple) and deathmatch. Nevertheless, what’s here is a load of fun. A healthy 14-map complement — split into 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 blocks — awaits you, and team play is the star of the show. For instance, when playing as the Covenant in a 2v2 match, we chose to work on heavily upgraded units — including the havoc-wreaking Scarab — while our partner cranked out the lower-tech mass quantities of grunts. Adding more humans to the mix (though you can also play against the A.I.) only adds to the welcome sense of unpredictability.
In addition to the unfulfilled story potential and lack of overall multiplayer options, a few other minor issues mar Halo Wars’ otherwisesuccessful bow. Unit pathfinding is a bit weak, so both big and small allies can have trouble navigating around other friendly units. The framerate, meanwhile, runs a bit chunky almost all the time, although it never actually hampers the fun. Finally, the lack of Covenant and Flood campaigns seems like a missed opportunity when each would seem like a natural fit for the real-time-strategy framework that Halo Wars establishes.
Though it’s not a first-person shooter, Halo Wars packs all the Halo fixings you’ve come to expect: an engaging campaign, co-op play, engrossing multiplayer, efficient party-friendly matchmaking, hidden skulls, Legendary difficulty, and impeccable controls. We can confidently say that it’s the foremost example of a real-time strategy game done right on a console. It may or may not be your gateway game into other RTSs, but it will almost certainly be an RTS you’ll feel compelled to play to completion. And though it won’t affect your enjoyment of what’s in this game, it’s a shame that Microsoft is shuttering Ensemble upon its completion of Halo Wars — they’re clearly the right people to handle what deserves to be a stellar franchise. Their thank you/goodbye message to their fans at the onset of the end credits is a heartfelt touch and shows a lot of class. Their swan song deserves your time and attention.
On Xbox 360
+ Despite jumping genres, still feels like a Halo game.
+ Easy and engaging to pick up and play.
- Minor A.I. and pathfinding annoyances.
? Where are the Covenant and Flood campaigns?
9.0
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Bobafettboy
April 21, 2009 at 1:15am
This game is the same as each and every other strategy game, and brings nothing new to anything! Holy shit those voices are already annoying after the first half hour of gameplay! But for a game that I picked up for 15 bucks at a local pawnshop, and sold for 45 bucks on E-BAY, it was pretty much fun to play for two weeks.
GRUNTSMASHER
April 10, 2009 at 4:55pm
I don't have the game but I see that the graphics are incredible and hear the gameplay is awesome. GO EARTH!!!!!!!!
skulllord129
March 14, 2009 at 7:41am
I'd like to appolagize for my previous post. I just realized it wasn't you guys who did that vid.
skulllord129
March 13, 2009 at 9:18am
I totally agree with Nate66613. The release of that vid pretty much screwed up the whole game. I mean, rushing is a strategy that ppl use but when you guys released that vid it made it so that now almost EVERYONE uses it. Its extremely annoying and I have difficulty trying to counter it, especially when both teams do it. I sure hope that defense vid you are working on gets released very soon and I hope its pretty damn good because if it not then congratualtions... You just ruined a game for thousands.
Nate66613
March 12, 2009 at 5:51pm
I would like to say FUCK YOU to the faggots that released the UNSC and Covenant rush techniques. You have succesfully ruined the game because now thats all people do. Why the fuck didnt you release the defense techniques first? Again, FUCK YOU OXM! EAT A FUCKING DICK COCK SUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Spybreak
March 12, 2009 at 5:35pm
Yea I think they just wanted to see if it would work first before they put in all their time and effort to get Cov and Flood campaigns. It would be nice to see these or new multiplayer modes, (like CTF or something new like Assault/Defend, Gold Rush or something like that) as DLC but with the closing of Ensemble I don't think this is going to happen. I'm guessing the only DLC that will come out for Halo Wars will be map packs. >< Love the game and you didn't even mention the automatic dif feature which is a dynamic difficulty setting that always changes whenever you play the AI and win or loose.
Halo...IEP
March 11, 2009 at 9:33am
I loved the demo. Bought the game, and love it more! The campaign is addictive. The multiplayer is very fun. Skirmish mode is great(possibly my favorite part). I've played 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 with both AI and human players via xbox live. All worth your time. The cutscenes are very impressive too. My knocks on the game are: traffic jams with your units in certain spaces, the lack of a split-screen multiplayer, no campaign mode for the flood or cov., and no flood mode for multiplayer. I think they felt like they needed to make a particular deadline, and put in what they could. It could've easily been a 9.5 or 10 with a little more work. I do not have a problem with the review score. ScreamngSilence
Frostbite9294
March 08, 2009 at 3:46pm
Civilization Revolution is indeed a TBS (Turn Based Strategy) game, and in no way an RTS. It is rather shocking that someone who is considered a professional video game reviewer would not know this. OXM will, on occasion, have spot-on reviews, however as of late they seem to be inflating the scores of Xbox exclusive games, such as Gears of War 2 and Fable 2, and lowering multi-platform release games, such as Dead Space. Dead Space, in my mind, was one of the best new IPs in recent memory, with a captivating environment, fun gameplay and an overall enjoyable experience. Back from the tangent, while Halo Wars does seem to be a successful console RTS, its' console accessibility seems to have come at the cost of features, leaving a stripped down strategy game that seems to leave an easy, repetitive experience, with the exception of an entertaining multiplayer. As such I believe that a game that should be a 7.5 or 8 has been pushed up to a 9- due to what I believe is a bias for Microsoft published games by a company that is endorsed by none other than Microsoft. I continue to read and enjoy many OXM reviews, that's just my two cents.
LIG GUNNER
March 04, 2009 at 3:37pm
I agree with insomniak 100%. Civ Rev is most definitely a turn based strategy. At no point is it real-time. And I would know, I played it extensively. You could only move a certain number of 'spaces' per turn, whereas in RTS's, it is REAL-TIME. Live action. I would've figured a gaming magazine would know that. But no worries, still love you guys. P.S.- One thing I love about OXM is they seem to give games scores based on how fun it is versus the technical aspects like many others judge by. I don't care how great the voice acting is in a RTS. I care about FUN!
insomniak
March 03, 2009 at 7:43pm
Civilization Revolutions is not an RTS it is a TBS. Most definately buying this game I love the demo. I love RTS but they dont usually transfer well to console but this game definately works.
xpects the xpctd
March 03, 2009 at 6:32pm
I haved played the demo dry and I'm getting this from Gamefly hopefully tomorrow. I can't wait to try the full campaign and multiplayer, and if it's anything like the demo, I could just be making this just the second RTS game in my collection (EndWar).
Hustlinonradio
March 03, 2009 at 4:30pm
i really think its a good game but not the best RTS on the 360. I think that belongs to civilization revolution
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