Halo Wars, the first non-fps Halo game in the Xbox franchise, is out on the 27th, but we’ve already had a sneak preview: check out our first impressions of the Covenant clobbering Halo Wars after the jump!
We have to admit it: we were a little bit cautious about a Halo real time strategy game (RTS). Not because of the brand, but the controls. RTS games typically work best on a PC, as the mouse allows for easy and rapid selection of units – how would that translate onto an Xbox 360 gamepad?
Actually, rather well. We can’t vouch for the longevity of the game form our play, but Ensemble Studios has nailed the controls at the very least. Lead producer Jason Pace told us it was the “biggest hurdle” in development, but the team has cleared it with ease: selecting all the units with the left trigger or by zone with the A button is incredibly intuitive, and scrolling is smooth, with the thumbpad moving at just the right speed to stay in control.
The scope of the game is just right too: not too big to overwhelm and not so small you can drown in micro management – think closer to Dawn Of War than Command & Conquer and you’re not far off.
Halo Wars might appear a bit basic to hardcore RTS fans – the first few levels see you simply picking up crates to get resources, then building barracks and other army buildings in clearly allocated slots, or pointing and clicking a group of jeeps to run over aliens, but it strikes a good balance between action, complexity and pick up and play appeal. The honeycomb menu with large icons may scream Fisher Price, but the options offer a deceptive variety of tactics and gameplay.
Perhaps one of the most eagerly awaited features of Halo Wars is the ability to play as the Covenant. They’re a well balanced force versus the humans with a few key differences: the Covenant leader is one bad ass psychic mofo, who rains down cleansing light (NB: for cleansing read deadly) on anyone and anything in the vicinity – the trade off is no air strikes for the Covenant. That and the Covenant have the ability to teleport from base to wherever the leader is.
Graphics wise, it’s pretty clean, although some of the maps do seem a little bit generic (Wasteland, broken bridge, Wasteland, broken bridge). Zooming and scrolling are quick and easy, without any sign of slowdown.
But a Halo game isn’t a Halo game without multiplayer as addictive as heroin Maltesers, and in this respect Ensemble has managed to keep Bungie’s torch alight – six player skirmish is a blast, with battles ending fast enough for you to say “Let’s go again”.
All in all, from what we’ve seen and played, Halo Wars is a pleasant surprise and may well tear you away from Halo 3 on Xbox Live for a while if you’re a hardcore Halo fan. And even if you don’t know your Master Chief from your Master Chef, it should still be worth a look when it goes on sale this month.
Out February 27 | £35 | Halo Wars
