More "Halo" than "RTS"
It's always nice to see an IP as popular as Halo branch out and try something different- in this case via Halo Wars. It only helps matters that a team as qualified as Ensemble Studios was willing to take up the task, and they bring their usual level of quality to the table. At the same time, Halo Wars is a bit more "Halo" than "RTS", the result of which is a generically entertaining strategy game that is shadowed by a handful of shallow design elements, and may only appeal to a limited fan base as a result.
Perhaps the best things about Halo Wars lie in the production values. This is a slick looking game, and contains some great looking cinematic sequences. For an RTS, the units in Halo Wars contain a fair amount of detail, and the musical score sounds appropriately Halo-like. The interface is smooth and unencumbered, and provides a solid framework for future console RTS's to build on. Unfortunately the story is pretty bland, and isn't that exciting. The voice work is also kind of wonky, with the actual units sounding great, but other voices being stale and repetitive (most notably the story dialogue and the goofy "ALL UNITS!" voice). Finally, the game does a great job at providing tons of content for Halo fans. There is a ton of lore about the Halo universe, and all of your favorite Halo units are represented in full. In this way, Halo Wars is a treat for Halo buffs, and rewards the franchise's loyal fans duly.
At the same time, Halo Wars does little to entice those that aren't already entrenched in the world of Halo. It assumes you know the basics one would pick up from playing the Halo trilogy, and kind of barrels into the story without pause. But more than that, the general gameplay isn't really exciting enough to lure newcomers in by itself. It leaves out a lot of the minutiae that give the strategy genre so much competitive depth, and is instead content to operate in a "least common denominator" type of way. Units all fall into generic categories, while resource management and base expansion are mostly non-existent, thanks to pre-set base points and the potential for infinite resources. This all leaves little room for strategic freedom- the limited tools available don't allow for much variation. All of this doesn't necessarily make Halo Wars' gameplay bad, so to speak. It simply causes it to do little that stands out in any enticing way when compared to other titles in the genre.
In short, Halo Wars is a generically entertaining, if unspectacular strategy game. It provides good overall production values, a slick interface, and tons of fan service, yet manages to not do anything terribly exciting in the process. It's a fairly middle-of-the-road experience, and part of me can't shake the feeling that were the word "Halo" not in the title, then Halo Wars would have gotten lost in the shuffle. I know I wouldn't have given it a second look otherwise, and as a result I have kind of a hard time giving Halo Wars more than a modest recommendation to anyone but Halo fans.
For additional information on my review style and scoring system, click here.
