Halo Wars

Halo Wars

Real-time strategy meets the sexiest first-person shooter on Xbox 360. It’s a curious pairing that could satisfy Halo fans more so than the RTS purists.

We’ve finally put our finger on what makes Halo Wars feel like such a big step in the franchise, and it isn’t just that Halo cleanly adapts to another gaming genre. Whereas Master Chief is the iconic but faceless superhero at the centre of all Halo first-person-shooters, in Halo Wars you see Sergeant John Forge with his helmet removed, introducing a sense of human vulnerability. As your primary unit on the battlefield, the need to keep Forge safe while directing UNSC battalions really highlights the element of risk in all decisions. In terms of storytelling, Halo Wars is so much more successful than the FPS series has been so far. It feels truly epic.

But let’s not overlook that real-time-strategy is very far removed from what a Halo fan expects from an experience. We also doubt that even Microsoft would expect Halo Wars to be a system seller to RTS fans at home with the versatility of mouse and keyboard. The latter won’t be so easily convinced, no matter how cleverly Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires, Age of Mythology) has adapted to a console environment. So this really is a case of evaluating how well this experiment pans out overall.

In fact Halo Wars is so effortless to control you might wonder if this is a dumbed-down affair that belies Ensemble Studios vast experience. Actually it proves how insightful the design team has been in giving complex scenarios a common-sense means of instruction and navigation. Menu screens are speedily accessed allowing base construction and deployment of troops to be handled with ease. Out in the field you can swiftly group together all units visible on screen or the entire task force. With everything going to plan you can get directly involved by exploiting each unit’s alternate attack options – for example grenades or rocket launchers.

Two game modes have unique benefits on- and off-line. The single-player story mode offers 16 levels, starting with a tutorial mission that eases in newcomers and building up to strategically diverse challenges that’ll have you up on your feet cheering for the Spartan cavalry when the going gets tough.

Skirmish mode can be enjoyed offline as a single-player experience, or online versus friends, and allows players the choice of Covenant or UNSC forces. Three players can take responsibility on both sides of the conflict, and the rapid-fire nature of the gameplay once again relies on the no-nonsense but versatile control set up.

Fear not if you’re RTS-phobic, this isn’t your usual resource management nightmare; Halo Wars is battle-oriented all the way and story mode features a ton of awesome cut scenes to get you in the mood. The real-time action is enough to raise your heart-rate though, as Scarab tanks are vaporised in the heat of a MAC Blast and ODST reinforcements crash down in their landing pods. Attention to detail everywhere is staggering, and it never gets old watching your guys hitch a ride on a Warthog.

4 out of 5