What happens when you have the Halo franchise, a good one that sells a ton, which is primarily the stomping ground of 14-year-old American boys?
Why, you release a more cerebral game based in the universe, obviously, leaving the world with Halo Wars.
That makes sense, doesn't it? Brash, loudmouthed little Yanks love thinking, don’t they? Hmm?
Well that seems to be the prevalent thinking here, as Ensemble – not the original Halo creators Bungie – have whipped up the first of the series spin-offs. Though strangely Halo was originally planned as a real time strategy game, which is what Halo Wars is, so maybe they’re actually returning to the roots rather than ‘spinning off’ per se. Though that’s a discussion one probably shouldn?t get into in the first few paragraphs of… oh.
So yes – it’s a RTS game (think Command and Conquer, uneducated fans of genre) set 20 years before the events of the original Halo game. This means there are no actual halos in it, as they were discovered in the first game. This means the title is a little misleading. Complain we will not, though.
Taking control of some twerp as he does some things and some stuff gets said – there’s a story included in the package but it’s all pretty balls poor and it doesn’t hurt the experience to miss out on it, not a jot.
No, the meat of the matter is the game itself and, well -it’s alright, actually. While RTS games are notorious for controlling poorly on consoles, this is a game designed from the ground up with the 360 in mind, meaning things work really bloody well. Single button taps select all units on a screen, take you back to base, cycle through armies placed around maps and it’s all done with an effortless calm that rarely leaves you feeling out of control.
In a nutshell: it’s a simplified game for a simplified audience. And don’t try arguing that statement, as we all know it’s complete fact in your face.
Simplified in the sense that the controls are basic and can be a bit hamfisted, leaving you forced to individually select a unit to move him away from a group if you don't want him involved in the upcoming activities. In a sense that mission briefings can be a bit vague, leaving you pretty clueless as to what you’re supposed to be doing (for a very brief time, mind, as this isn’t rocket-brain science).
Simplified in that it also leaves you with a game that seems to avoid genuine tactics in favour of tank rushes and battles of ‘who got dem biggest guns’ – Supreme Commander (PC version, not the godawful 360 one) this very much ain’t.
Simplified in the sense that it sometimes feels like a game that came out seven years ago, and simplified in the sense that sometimes it infuriates to the point it feels like an archaic first-ever attempt at branching out the genre to a wider market. On the Amiga. When you don’t even have the one-meg memory upgrade.
That last point, of course, refers to the fury that comes hand in hand with pathfinding, which is – at best – poor and – when you consider it’s for a current-gen console and these games have existed since Herzog Zwei – downright pathetic. Units getting stuck on scenery, not bothering to move when you tell them to and units not showing the common courtesy to get the crap out of each other’s way when they should be bloody well doing so. It’s not like they’ve had that sorted for the last 15 years or anything, is it?
Caaaaaalm down… even if mission seven did cause tears of blood to run down cheeks, owing to the precise movement necessary and the total inability of the AI to think it should stay out of the fucking way of that massive cannon.
But hey, we can forgive that – it is a lot of fun outside of the times it’s utterly, mind-numbingly infuriating. Skirmish mode, cooperative mode and online play, for example, are completely different kettles of loveliness.
Well, maybe not completely different, as it’s the same game, but playing it without the awful story and with/against real people brings a new side to proceedings that refreshes the whole thing long after you’re tired of losing because that stupid bastard vital unit wouldn’t go where you told it to…
Ahem.
It will be interesting to see if the Halo brand name manages to drag the usual assortment of pubescent little boys along for the ride, and it will be even more interesting to see if the slower pace can accommodate, or even suit these youngsters incessantly calling you a ‘fag’.
Time, as they say, will tell.
Looks-wise this is an odd one. While things look pretty much exactly as they should – conservative presentation, purple baddies and muted green goodies – it’s hard to escape the feeling that it looks like a toytown made out of Tupperware and that things are slightly more cartoony than they should be. Though that’s probably more down to personal taste than anything else, it is a niggling factor.
So should you buy Halo Wars? Yes, probably. On the cheap though – you don’t want to blow however much money you don’t have thanks to the credit crunch on an oversimplified version of something you can get on PC for much cheaper.
Unless you really have a boner for Elites. In which case, go mad.
Stabby McGee says
Ensemble went bust while making this. Don’t hold your breath on there being a sequel or expansion.
Trey says
I’m 38 years-old. I went to Harvard Business school. I love Halo. I am not simple. You idiot.
Veive257 says
Trey: did you graduate or just go there to mow the lawn?
Poppy says
Does someone know when Velvet Assasin for Xbox360 will be released?
miniclip says
Halo Wars is ambitious, innovative and a lot of fun to play. It may very well be one of the best console RTS games to date. It also stands as an excellent conclusion to Ensemble Studios, a company that I will always remember as the prime example as to why I am still an RTS fan.