Halo Wars

Written by DarkArmada Tuesday, 03 March 2009 17:43

With a little hesitation, a touch of anticipation and a whole lot of love for Halo, I put Ensemble's latest title into my drive and closed it home. I'll admit that I didn't think that it was possible to execute a Real Time Strategy title on a controller. I seriously believed that it just wasn't possible and with a whole lot of relief, I'm writing this review for me. I'm writing this review for all those people who said a console RTS couldn't be done.

For those of you not entirely up to speed on this release, Halo Wars shifts you from a traditionally single person experience and places you in command of an entire division of units, including all support and manufacturing functions behind those units, to ensure the defeat of the enemy as well as the completion of your objectives.

Now traditionally, to effectively get anywhere with the above concept, it's been agreed that the mouse & keyboard combo is far better and more efficient than any controller. This has been the key decider for any RTS title on a console. The controller was just too damn slow and cumbersome. Believe me when I say this... Halo Wars is the new standard for console based RTS games.

I'd recommend running through the basic and advanced tutorial, it doesn't take long and it will acquaint you with the controls in some quick and easy steps. If you happen to fall in love with the handling of the game, don't freak out, it's completely natural and comes with the control set being extremely intuitive to what you're thinking.

With the controller feeling like I'd just slid my hands into some nice toasty velvet gloves, I ventured into the Campaign mode to get a feel of the game. Like second nature I was sending squads into battle in no time and mastering the deployment of the hub of the Halo Wars experience - your base.

Unlike other RTS titles I've had the pleasure of playing, Halo Wars restricts exactly where you can build bases and further to that, then restricts you to a set amount of expansion buildings per base.

Finally, your population is capped depending on the mission and in multiplayer, depending on how many bases you hold.

This provides the game with a rigid strategy that makes you think about what your next move is and in which direction. Anything that makes me think is warmly welcomed in my books.

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I haven't played through the entire campaign, but let me say that it's immersive, innovative, varied and totally enjoyable. Plus the cutscenes are icing on the cake and a nice change from the typical in game generated movie scenes we're used to from the trilogy. In other words... so hawt.

Stepping back for a second, I absolutely adore the lengths that Ensemble have gone in order to make Halo Wars feel like its Halo. The menus, the audio and visuals, even the GUI is all soaked in Halo goodness. This creates a welcoming experience for anyone a fan of the series and for those of you that aren't, it provides a clear and concise means to navigate the whole game.

Part of the single player campaign is the ability to play through the same missions cooperatively over XboxLIVE, allowing you to complete each mission just like it was you on your own, but with a friend. Meaning you don't have to go back and finish missions you completed online again just for the sake of the single player mode.

This brings me to the IP's singularity - multiplayer. There are many different variations on offer, including the ability to add AI players in any game to pick up the slack in a 3v3, or even to practice against when you just want a simple session without all the uncomfortable social interaction. The options are between 1v1 up to 3v3 and across varying maps for each game size and in both private and public matches so that you can always get a game with friends or head online to meet that special Spartan.

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Forget the specifications; Halo Wars is what a game should be. It's fun, it's addictive and it's challenging, 3 things that many games are not nowadays. Also, with games lasting anywhere up to an hour, the gameplay is such that one minute you're lounging back and developing your base and the next you're leaning forward, furiously directing your troops into battle. On the other hand though, losses feel real and heartbreaking, to the point where I refuse to play 1v1 anymore.

The game itself is visually stunning. The cutscenes are magnificent, each one in full pre-rendered glory, all done separately from the detailed in game view. Units are easy to identify, buildings are all very Halo-esque and everything deserves its place in the Halo annuls. My only issue with the graphics came in choppiness when a tonne of units were on screen during multiplayer. I'm not sure if that is a result of the limitations of the game engine graphics wise, or just good ol' fashioned lag.

And just like the eye candy, the ear candy is even sweeter. With hints and themes of the traditional Halo score sprinkled amongst the raw chunks of original soundtrack, the sound is anything but bland or stale. The in game sounds feel like they were pulled right out of Halo 3, even down to the shield discharging on an injured Spartan solider. Turn it up loud.

It's already been said by so many people, but it needs to be said now. Ensemble has nailed it. No, this isn't a typical 500 unit, 75 tech level PC RTS, this is Halo Wars. When people think back to when the genre "CRTS" was created, they'll look back to today and nod their heads with respect. And when the developer of the next CRTS game gets stuck, they'll look down at their wrist and read the letters - "WWHWD?".

Halo Wars