Halo Wars (Xbox 360, 2009)

Let me begin by saying that Halo Wars is an excellent game. It appeals to many gamers for three reasons: it's an RTS, has controls that will work on the 360, and the Halo characters and universe. Another plus is the developer. Ensemble Studios, who developed excellent games such as Age of Empires/Mythology and other excellent RTS games know what they are doing with a game like this. While it is isn't perfect, its innovation and depth of gameplay forces me to give this a 5/5! So let's dive into the review!

Story
While Master Chief doesn't appear this time around, you needn't worry, the story is still deep without him. The story is set 20 years before the first Halo, as most of you already know, and follows the exploits of a ship called the Spirit of Fire. They discover that the Covenant have discovered a super device (which I can't name, i hate spoilers!) which could destroy all humankind. So as good old marines do they lock and load! While it is quite a good story line, some of the characters get annoying. The women analyst of the Covenant seems a little too persuasive and unbelievable, but other than that you got a rock-solid story here.

Gameplay
As far as gameplay goes, Bungie and Ensemble went to the basics of core gameplay design. Their is only one supply collection resource you must manage, reactors that allows you to upgrade buildings, and a counter allowing only a certain number of units on the battlefield. It does seem simplistic, but Bungie adds an interesting twist. You can't build a building anywhere like other RTS games, you must build your barracks, supply gathering buildings, research, etc. as a part of your main base. Its an interesting twist which forces a player to choose wisely to make certain buildings. While you can have more than one base, this management system is an excellent twist and adds a lot of depth to the gameplay. I do have a couple of minor gripes. The camera zoom is broken. I found the max zoom out was still not enough, and it made unit management difficult. Thankfully, the controls pull that out of the water, as I can auto-select all units with the press of a button. Another gripe is the difficulty. THIS GAME IS HARD! Period. It will take careful planning and resource management if you want to be successful in Skirmish or Online. Campaign is different: it doesn't focus as much on base building but more on objectives, but time limits and overwhelming forces will still provide plenty of challenge in the campaign.

Online
While I haven't played too much of Halo Wars online due to my limited schedule, it works quite well. The online co-op feature in the campaign is a definite plus, and it makes objectives a bit easier. A tip of advice: start on Easy or Normal if you're daring. Without a friend, heroic and Legendary are IMPOSSIBLE! And the online modes and party system is easy to use, but they are a bit time consuming.

While Halo Wars isn't perfect, the innovation it bring to the console is a great thing to see! Starcraft for 360 FTW! 5/5

I love Halo, but I am not one of the "geeks" out there that worship it, so my opinion is not at all influenced by my feelings towards that intellectual property. I feel this necessary to state as many these days will overlook significant flaws in a title if they really love the subject matter, Until now, consoles and RTS games just didn't mix. The controls were always choppy at best and the graphics are usually dumbed down to such an extent that you get the feel the game is much older than it really is. Halo Wars breaks that mold and sets a new bar for RTS games on the console.

Halo Wars was developed exclusively for the Xbox 360. The graphics push the boundaries of the console more so than most, pulling off stunning visuals without any flaws. Gameplay is smooth, and even with hundreds of units on the board it never lags. It supports full HD output, making the picture and color sharp and vibrant. However, as impressive as the graphics are, they are not the best quality Halo Wars has to offer. This honor belongs solely to the intuitive control system. The controls are comfortable and give a level of control equivalent to the mouse and keyboard. The layout is perfect, meaning that you will not have to dig through mounds of menus just to find a function you need. The control system is so fluid and smooth that at times it is easy to forget that you are even playing on a console.

Multiplayer is another great feature of Halo Wars, offering some of the most grueling matches I have ever seen. New DLC adds to the already extensive list of maps and play modes, offering even more replay value to this title. Multiplayer isn't the only gameplay worth while though...You can set up skirmishes to sharpen your skills against various levels of AI, or you can take on campaign mode alone or with a friend. The story is compeling and adds even more flavor to the Halo universe. Be advised that this game is nothing like the Halo games, and therefore may not be inline with all Halo Fan's interest. However, if you are an RTS fan, this is a must play as it is the best RTS since Starcraft. Indeed, many of Starcraft's best elements can be found here, displaying the impact it made on the Halo Wars development team.

SOUND: EPIC! 9/10
Graphics: Amazing! 9/10
Functionality: Perfect! 10/10
Gameplay: Awesome alone or with friends! 9/10
Replay Value: Extremely High

Thank you for reading my review. I hope it helps you make an informed buying decision.

Lord Sypherdias

If your a Halo fan (who isn't) that has never really gotten into the RTS games, this is the game for you. Dont be worried about the NERDS who keep bashing this game. I find the people who don't like this game fall into 2 categories. Those who thought it would be a FPS (simple mistake) and the NERDS who live in their mom's basement and play Heroscape, Dungeons and Dragons and Risk.

Sorry now for the good stuff. The Graphics are AMAZING! I myself never got into the RTS games cause I dont have 10-12 hours a night to devote to video gaming (unlike the Dungeon and Dragons NERDS who keep bashing this game). Controls are easy but thats great if your new to RTS. The game ties in the HALO series perfectly. So if you like HALO and have a life, this is a nice change of pace from the run and gun games out there, and you dont have to devote your life too it. The campaign is short (15 levels that last about a half hour each) but the real fun is the skirmishes! You and up to 2 other buddies and team up and battle 3 other players. The best part is finding who you like to be and bulding your army the way you like it! If you like Halo you MUST buy this game!!!

"Halo Wars is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released in Japan and Australia on February 26, 2009, in PAL territories on February 27, and in North America on March 3. The game is set in the science fictional universe of the Halo series in the year 2531, 20 years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. The player leads human soldiers aboard the warship Spirit of Fire in an effort to stop an ancient fleet of ships from falling into the hands of the genocidal alien Covenant."


must buy if a halo fan!

Halo Wars is not the next epic,incredible,mind blowing Halo game.Rather a decent side game adding something new to the Halo universe.Overall if your a hardcore PC RTS fan you won't like it a whole lot.If it's your first RTS than you'll like it and on some parts love it.The Campain is short but has some replay value to get specific challenging achievements.I personally played through the game in about 8 hours by myself and finished it again on legendary with a co-op buddy which took about 9 or 10 hours.I highly recommend co-op and on a hard difficulty when playing through the game because it adds tons more strategy and intensity.The multiplayer is the real focus which is rather genaric but fun for Halo fans using familiar units.I personally like it because the gameplay focuses on combat way more than anything.The controls are great but not perfect.It's not worth it's 60$ and if you haven't gotten around to the tons of other epic games than I recommend you rent it.If though you have gotten around to a lot of other fantastic games and you are really interested in Halo Wars buy it off ebay or something for around 40$.No hardcore or semi-hardcore Halo fan should miss it.