258 lines
8.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
258 lines
8.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
technology
|
|
video-games
|
|
4807513
|
|
-----
|
|
# Halo Wars review
|
|
|
|
## Halo Wars is the first RTS game that works as a console exclusive, and as
|
|
an entry point into the genre, it's unbeatable.
|
|
|
|
[ERROR:UNKNOWN VIDEO EMBED]
|
|
|
|
[Link to this video][1]
|
|
|
|
By Nick Cowen 7:02PM GMT 25 Feb 2009
|
|
|
|
[Comments][2]
|
|
|
|
**Developer:** Ensemble Studios
|
|
|
|
**Publisher:** Microsoft
|
|
|
|
**Format: **Xbox 360
|
|
|
|
**Release date:** 27 February 2009
|
|
|
|
**Score:** 8/10
|
|
|
|
It's a testament to Halo's tremendous power as a brand that the Halo Wars demo
|
|
was downloaded from Xbox Live by over two million users within a week of
|
|
becoming available. After all, the first-person-shooter (FPS) and real-time-
|
|
strategy (RTS) genres sit at opposite ends of the video game spectrum.
|
|
Shooters are visceral and immediate with action flying fast and furious at the
|
|
player, while RTS games are epic slow-burners which prize resource management
|
|
and tactical vision. The two genres have very little in common and there's not
|
|
much overlap in their fanbases. So the decision to base an RTS game on a FPS
|
|
(or indeed, vice versa) seems, initially at least, to be a fool's errand.
|
|
|
|
Impressively enough, Halo Wars defies this expectation. In fact, the game is
|
|
so good, it goes a long way towards silencing accusations that Microsoft is
|
|
simply milking its most popular intellectual property for all that it's worth.
|
|
While the success of Microsoft's attempt to expand its flagship franchise into
|
|
another genre will be evaluated in the weeks to come, what is evident for the
|
|
moment is that Halo Wars may very well be the first instalment in the RTS
|
|
field that actually works as a console exclusive.
|
|
|
|
Ensemble Studio's main challenges in adapting Bungie's seminal shooter to the
|
|
RTS format is to firstly make a streamlined strategic experience that will
|
|
appeal to Halo's gargantuan army of FPS fans and secondly, to make the end
|
|
result completely console friendly. To this end, they have stripped away a lot
|
|
of the more complex elements of RTS play; units don't need to be micromanaged,
|
|
buildings are constructed on a fixed floor plans and resources flow in a
|
|
steady stream once the building required to generate them is constructed. The
|
|
control system is incredibly simple; the 'a' button selects a unit and the
|
|
left bumper selects all the units on the screen (or your entire army,
|
|
depending on how many units you have). The 'x' button moves troops around the
|
|
map, and all units only have two attacks. Buildings and units are constructed
|
|
and upgraded with an easy-to-use wheel-shaped menu. The joysticks zoom in on
|
|
the action and move the HUD around the map and the D-pad allows you to cycle
|
|
through the units and buildings.
|
|
|
|
By cutting away the genre's usual clutter and simplifying the control system,
|
|
Ensemble have succeeded in making an action-focused RTS that feels completely
|
|
at home on a console. There's also a surprising amount of tactical depth for a
|
|
game with such straightforward gameplay; the key to winning levels or online
|
|
battles is to maintain a crucial balance between upgrading units (which eats
|
|
through resources) while using them to hold territory on the map. Halo Wars
|
|
also moves at a much quicker pace than a lot of other RTS games so console
|
|
players with itchy trigger fingers won't get bored.
|
|
|
|
## Related Articles
|
|
|
|
* [Most wanted video games of 2009][3]
|
|
|
|
29 Dec 2008
|
|
|
|
* [Give them your best shot][4]
|
|
|
|
01 Dec 2007
|
|
|
|
* [Halo 3 review: Third time's the charm][5]
|
|
|
|
26 Sep 2007
|
|
|
|
* [Halo 3: Master Chief meets the stars at the London Imax][6]
|
|
|
|
26 Sep 2007
|
|
|
|
* [Halo 3 ODST video game review][7]
|
|
|
|
08 Oct 2009
|
|
|
|
* [Halo Reach video game review][8]
|
|
|
|
12 Sep 2010
|
|
|
|
Ensemble have wisely kept everything from the original Halo games that worked
|
|
in the first place. The musical score is beautiful, the sound effects and
|
|
voice-acting are first class and the game's visuals - both the cut-scenes and
|
|
the in-game graphics - are absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. In fact, Halo Wars
|
|
is easily one of the best looking games (RTS or otherwise) to ever grace a
|
|
console, and given the quality of next-gen visuals in general, that's saying
|
|
something. Even more impressively, the game's frame-rate doesn't seem to slow
|
|
in the slightest no matter how many buildings, units and explosions are
|
|
cluttering the screen. In both look and feel, the game is classic Halo - right
|
|
down to the menus.
|
|
|
|
Another obvious boon the original Halo trilogy grants Halo Wars is its
|
|
universe. Halo's army of fans was won over as much by the game's story as they
|
|
were by the run-and-gun action, and Halo Wars doesn't disappoint in this
|
|
regard. The story which drives the single player campaign is one of the
|
|
strongest aspects of the game. Set around two decades before the events of the
|
|
original trilogy, the story kicks off on the planet of Harvest where the war
|
|
between the human-led UNSC and the alien Covenant forces is currently raging.
|
|
Without giving too much of the story away, the UNSC prevent the Covenant from
|
|
blowing up a device which turns out to be a map revealing the location of
|
|
technology the aliens believe will help them win the war. Led by Sergeant John
|
|
Forge, the UNSC then pursue the Covenant across the universe.
|
|
|
|
While the story is sure to delight Halo fans, the single player campaign that
|
|
frames it does have two major drawbacks. Firstly, it is very brief for a game
|
|
of this type, numbering only 15 missions which have little replay value.
|
|
Second, you can only play as the UNSC; the Covenant gameplay experience is
|
|
reserved for the online multiplayer mode, in which up to six (three human and
|
|
three Covenant) players can take part in massive, frenetic battles. The
|
|
multiplayer can also feel a little thin in that there isn't much difference
|
|
between playing the Covenant and the humans and The Flood, while making an
|
|
appearance, isn't a playable race.
|
|
|
|
Overall, though, Halo Wars probably succeeds in every aspect that Ensemble and
|
|
Microsoft wanted it to. Far from being a cynical cash grab, it delivers a
|
|
simple and fluid RTS experience that's lots of fun to play while remaining
|
|
true to the franchise's stylistic roots. Purists and veterans will probably
|
|
dismiss Halo Wars due to its lack of depth, but Halo fans and the uninitiated
|
|
should jump right in. It's probably the strongest RTS game that's ever been
|
|
released for a console, and as an entry point into the genre, it's pretty much
|
|
unbeatable.
|
|
|
|
[X][9] Share & bookmark
|
|
|
|
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
|
|
|
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
|
|
|
[What are these?][10]
|
|
|
|
* Share: [Share][9] [ ][11] [ ][12]
|
|
|
|
[Tweet][13]
|
|
|
|
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/4807513/Halo-Wars-
|
|
review.html
|
|
|
|
Telegraph
|
|
|
|
## [Video Games][14]
|
|
|
|
* ### [Technology »][15]
|
|
|
|
* ### [Nick Cowen »][16]
|
|
|
|
In technology
|
|
|
|
[![Brink hands-on preview][17] ][18]
|
|
|
|
### [UK video game chart 16 May 2011][18]
|
|
|
|
[X][9] Share & bookmark
|
|
|
|
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
|
|
|
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
|
|
|
[What are these?][10]
|
|
|
|
Share:
|
|
|
|
* [ ][9]
|
|
|
|
* [ ][11]
|
|
|
|
* [ ][12]
|
|
|
|
* [Tweet][13]
|
|
|
|
* Advertisement
|
|
|
|
![][19]
|
|
|
|
telegraphuk
|
|
|
|
Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][20] [blog
|
|
comments powered by Disqus][21]
|
|
|
|
[![Follow The Telegraph on social media][22]][23]
|
|
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
sponsored features
|
|
|
|
Loading
|
|
|
|
## [VIDEO GAME TRAILERS »][24]
|
|
|
|
### [Renegade Ops - Teaser Trailer][25]
|
|
|
|
[![Renegade ops game][26] ][25]
|
|
|
|
Renegade Ops puts players in a mobile commando unit sent behind enemy lines to
|
|
defeat Inferno, a madman intent on global domination.
|
|
|
|
### [Exclusive: LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean - official trailer][27]
|
|
|
|
### [Call Of Duty: Black Ops - Escalation DLC Trailer][28]
|
|
|
|
### [LA Noire - new trailer][29]
|
|
|
|
### [FEAR 3 - 'Ides Of March' Trailer][30]
|
|
|
|
### [Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Reverie DLC Trailer][31]
|
|
|
|
### [Forsaken World - launch trailer][32]
|
|
|
|
### [Star Wars: The Old Republic - Fate Of The Galaxy trailer][33]
|
|
|
|
### [Spanking video game pulled from UK][34]
|
|
|
|
### [LA Noire Gameplay: Investigation and Interrogation][35]
|
|
|
|
### [Call Of Duty: Black Ops - 'Berlin Wall' DLC trailer][36]
|
|
|
|
TECHNOLOGY ADVICE AND REVIEWS
|
|
|
|
### [Samsung Galaxy Tab: Review][37]
|
|
|
|
[![Samsung Galaxy Tab][38] ][37]
|
|
|
|
Slick, well-designed and highly usable - it's clear that Samsung's new Galaxy
|
|
Tab tablet computer represents a real challenge to Apple's iPad
|
|
|
|
### [Photoshop Elements 9 review][39]
|
|
|
|
### [Just Dance 2 video game review][40]
|
|
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
Classified Advertising
|
|
|
|
* [Cars][41]
|
|
|
|
* [IT Jobs][42]
|
|
|
|
* [Events][43]
|
|
|
|
Loading
|
|
|
|
var puffs_8254837 = new Array();
|
|
|