Halo and RTS fans Rejoice
Halo Wars takes us back to the days when the Mac actually had a worthwhile exclusive but fast forward more than ten years and we end up with a controller in our hands which happens to be made by Microsoft. Because of the long…wait?... Halo Wars has a lot to live up to, having the Halo name and being an RTS on a console.
Halo Wars is set 20 years before the first Halo game and while it makes references to events mentioned in the games and books, this game has a story all its own. The game lets you take control of the UNSC forces as you try to uncover what the Covenant have found on the different world’s you travel to. You meet new characters both Covenant and Human and get to see how their actions have affected the Halo universe later. The story is nothing memorable but it gives you context as to why you are where you are and why you want to be there. The Spartans seem to have a role in the game and seem so badass in this game.
In the game you get to control a good number of units. Though some RTS games let you control hundreds of units, you would not want to do that here considering you have to use a controller and can’t assign specific groups. The limited number works for the game though and if you are smart, you can really get some great multiple battles going at once. In the campaign you will get to build bases, stock up on resources and build a good variety of ground and air units. Familiar units you have seen in previous halo games and other units that you wish you had seen before like the Cyclops. Objectives range from just moving around the map until the mission ends to trying to wipe out the opposing force or just trying to get something more specific done like opening some doors. The different missions are not lengthy, most lasting up to 30 minutes, some less than 10. So this campaign is not that long or difficult. It is disappointing because you feel like the scale of your battles and goals is not that grand, but it makes the game easy to pick up and play.
In multiplayer and skirmish mode you can play as the covenant as well. It is a shame there are only two races playable. Even though you can choose different leaders to give you different powers, you get to know the tech and progression of each race fairly quickly. I am not asking for the twelve civilizations you see in Age of Empires, but something like what you see in Starcraft. When playing the game I kept thinking the Flood could have been the Zerg of this game. There are points where you encounter some of the Forerunner machines and technology and it seems like that could have been another race. The developers must have been thinking it because each race is given their own identifying color, UNSC (green), Covenant (Purple), Flood (red), Forerunner (yellow). Still the battles are between the two races are great but you don’t get that variety you see in the campaign.
The game controls fairly well and while this can come at the sacrifice of depth and detailed control, it manages to make the game fun, fast and action packed. You can selection your units, (all units!) or the units you see on screen or all units of a select type. There is even a paintbrush type selection to just a smaller group. Attacking other units and using special abilities is a cinch with the use of x and y. Building bases is easy and getting the buildings and tech upgrades works well too. Once you get familiar with where everything is on the wheel menu, clicking on a building and moving to a particular option becomes very easy and fast where your upgrades and units will come out and the announcer will rattle it off.
The graphics in the game are pretty good with some great effects and explosions and pieces of vehicles and buildings coming off. Special little things like how the water looks and the detail in the icy parts of the game are great. The covenant ‘buildings’ all move and bulge with a squishy effect. There are maps that look pretty boring but that’s what they are supposed to be. Some desert type maps look plain but these look like would expect and spicing them up would really not give you the impression one would want from a map in the desert. The game can slow down noticeably but not enough to affect gameplay. Missiles and weapons firing look great and seem to be taken straight out of Halo 3, love that Spartan laser. On the sound side, you get some good voice acting in the cutscenes and it makes you wish that they had used the characters better. Each unit when using their weapons gives you a clue as to its effectiveness and the sound of a whole base coming crashing down never gets old.
Halo Wars is a great game that manages to bring the RTS to a console and make it feel like it belongs like Halo did with the FPS. The lack of other races and the small unit count may turn others off, but for what it does, it does right and makes the experience fun. If you love RTS games and love Halo, this is a no brainer.
