Halo Wars is the upcoming RTS game from Ensemble Studios. It carries the Halo brand name and is set in the Halo universe although it is a totally different game. Instead of the usual FPS run and gun that Halo has been known for, Halo Wars implements real time strategy gameplay to create a compelling and intuitive game.

The following preview is based on the demo and not on the full version of the game.

When I first loaded up the demo the first thing I noticed was the menu. The menu reminds me a lot of Halo 3’s menu. It has the cool color scheme, as well as the smooth aesthetic that the Halo 3 menu had. However, there are some key differences. There are some foggy-barely visible images in the background, that loop. They’re a nice touch, as they reflect into the game’s cutscenes. There is also a bar along the bottom that scrolls messages across, such as gameplay tips. Overall, it’s pretty standard- nothing too revolutionary here. The thing that bothers me is the lack of music. There is music, but it’s barely audible(while the in-game noise isn’t), and it’s just low bass notes.

When I boot up a game, especially for the first time, I like to hear something that gives a sense of triumph, something action-y, something cool. Not something suspenseful and quiet.

Cutscenes are important to any game, and Halo Wars is no exception. However, there is good and bad to this particular selection, so take it all with a grain of salt.

I expected a mediocre 20 second film, but the cutscenes are a graphical orgy of pure unadulterated awesome. Everything is well made, and it feels like you’re actually watching a movie. The transitions and musical ques are great, and the overall tone effectively switches dramatically with ease. First, the troops are gunning down all the enemies, then the abrupt change shows them being slaughtered, and brings the hellish warfare to life.

Graphically, while the backgrounds are so-so, the troops look great. They’ve got a less-realistic feel, with some more abstract thought being put into the basic marines. The facial rendering is really where the cutscenes shine though. With every syllable, the speaker’s face move’s accordingly, capturing every detail. It seriously looks like a real person talking, and I caught myself thinking it was a real person for about half a second. The transition out of this first cutscene, however, was much weaker. One minute, you’re looking at this ultra-realistic war commander’s face, and then you’re thrown back into the main game which, while previously stunning, seems like an Xbox original in comparison.

The voice overs, however, are mediocre. At times,you get the hard-ass war veteran pulled off to the point, but when that same man tries to add just an ounce of emotion, his voice just doesn’t pull it over very well, and his actions do a great job of portraying his feelings, which creates an awkward mixed message, and really kills the whole moment. The less obvious characters seem to have an even worse time. The female scientist seems like she’s supposed to come off as a mysterious person, whom is possibly forming a plan unknown to the others, but her voice actor just kind of… says her lines and goes on with it.

One worry I had with Halo Wars before I played it was how complicated it would be. It is always hard to bring an RTS to the console because of the complexity of the game and the lack of controls for it. Luckily Halo Wars does include a pretty handy tutorial.

The basics were taught very easily. Move your cursor with the left stick, move the camera with the right, select characters with A, and make them move with X. I’m a little concerned with cursor sensitivity . I can’t seem to make my movements very accurate, which is kind of frustrating, but it doesn’t take away from gameplay too much. The game is very good graphically, and the level of zoom available is pretty high, you can see some real detail on the troops. Each of your unit works as a squad, with several people in it. when you take enough damage, as indicated with a health bar displayed above your unit, a squad member falls. Every member dies, and your squad is gone. This is all explained in the tutorial and after going through the tutorial you should have a good idea of what to do.

By the time I started the first mission in the demo I had decided I’m buying this game. The first mission is the first “real” combat instance. You travel through covenant controlled territory, reclaiming land, killing enemies, and regrouping your troops. The music accompanies pretty well, giving you a triumphant remix of the classic theme when storming the final base, and providing action music when recovering troops. While not providing any sort of challenge on normal, you still get excitement. There are a few downsides though. First off it doesn’t feel like a traditional RTS, which is good and bad I guess. I have a feeling that more hardened RTS fans will be put off by this game, but it’s very easy to get into the groove of the game, and anyone from RTS newbies to casual strategy players (such as myself) will enjoy this game. Another thing I noticed is that the music does stop after a set amount of time, and the few seconds of silence in between sites is a real immersion-breaker.

My final complaint is what Iv’e decided to call a conflict of interests. What I mean is the grouping of units. It’s hard to select an individual section of units mid fight, because for some crazy reason they’ve decided to make the drag box a circle. While it look interesting, it just isn’t effective in a practical use. This led me to just select all my units. However, the special function of marines is a grenade lob, and the special function of warthogs is ram the opponents… long story short, I grenaded my warthogs. It’s not too upsetting, and the grenades generally get there far before the vehicles.

The second mission included in the demo is a skirmish that limits your selection of buildings. Skirmish is where the gameplay really shines. The full verision is said to include:
-1v1 2v2 and 3v3 matches
-online multiplayer
-14 maps
-two gameplay types (Standard or deathmatch)

The demo only had 1v1, standard gametype, 1 map, and no online. It was still a ton of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In Skirmish, you start with a base that has 7 pads around it. These pads are the only places buildings can be placed. You have the option of building a supply pad, which brings a constant flow of resources, an upgrade center, a barracks, which trains foot soldiers and Spartans, an aircraft center, a vehicle center, and a reactor, which increases your tech level, allowing you to research better units and upgrades. It seems like a lot, but your buildings are very easy to maintain. There are also four pads for you to build turrets to defend your base with. Each turret can be upgraded to anti-infantry, anti-air, or anti-vehicle.

Supply pads are a must have, and your first base should consist of mostly supply pads. This ensures a constant flow of supplies, and it’s REALLY hard to win otherwise. After that, you can travel to another build site around the map, defeat the natives, and start up another base.

The supply system is basic, and it works great. Rather than a more traditional “gather 20 of this, and 30 of that, and 10 of another thing to build this” you have one resource. Just build a supply point, and you periodically get 10 resources. you can also mine resources around the map, or capture a relic that also brings a constant flow. You don’t have to train a special worker or villager unit to mine, you can even send a Warthog to mine something up. Your basic units cost 100 units, and more powerful units cost more.

As a quick side note, the “mining” in the game actually consists of supply crates that are spread in various places around the map. Each is worth 30 resources, and is obtained in sets of 10.

Something that actually makes me really happy/excited is your unit’s versatility. Sure, you can make them shoot with X, but press Y and they throw a grenade. It’s a great touch, and I think this is what will make the game. Instead of just “send all units here” its now, “send all units here and monitor them while they attack an enemy force and decide how and when to deploy their special skills”. By pressing up on the D-pad, you can shoot a MAC cannon blast, slaughtering whomever it hits. This adds another layer of gameplay. By making you monitor your units attack styles, and shoot your own MAC blasts, The immersion is doubled.

One thing that I did take note of was the setting of the game and how it fits into the Halo story. From what I could gather you’re set 20 years before the events in the first Halo. This is an interesting approach, but it creates some dissonance within the Halo Universe. Could they make Spartan IV’s at that point? Because my Spartan troopers definately have shields. I like that they took the game somewhere else, away from Master Chief, but diehard Halo fans may come a-ranting.

The variety of units to choose from in the game is also great. There is an absolute plethora of units previously unseen in the Halo games. Here’s a quick rundown, but keep in mind that these are only the human forces, covenant forces also will have a few new units.
-Infantry includes ODST Marines, Famethrowers, Marines, Spartans
-Vehicles include Scorpions, Cobras, Elephants, Warthogs and Wolverines
-Flying Units include Hornets and Vultures

To sum it up Halo Wars did many things well:
-Intuitive interface
-Gorgeous cutscenes
-Huge amount of previously unseen units
-Smooth gameplay
-Skirmish gametype will provide countless hours of gameplay
-The music, as always, is top-notch

Than again there were a few things that I did not like:
-Conflict of interests
-Universe Contradictions
-The bright background sometimes makes it hard to read the menu
-Selecting specific units can be a pain
-Voice acting

When all is said and done though this is a day one buy for me. Others may feel very different about it, and the spectrum of favoritism to this game will be huge. The demo tells me that this will be the best RTS game available for the Xbox 360, without a doubt.

When I first heard of this game I figured it would be a half-assed game to bring in a bunch of Halo fans. This is not half assed. It truly is a great game. Ensemble Studios is closing down after this game, and I guess they wanted to make it count. Be sure to check out the public demo Feb. 5th, and share your thoughts here on Go Gaming Giant, the best place for gaming reviews, previews, and fun contest swag.

Author- Basil
XBL/G3 tag- Superbond2