Halo Wars (XBOX 360)

Gamecow’s Price	RRP $49.95     Save $5.00 $44.95
Availability
Genre	Strategy
Platform	XBOX 360
Release Date	26/02/2009
Rated

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of the Halo series and have never been a fan of strategy games.  Having said that, I found this game extremely entertaining.  It is fascinating to see a squad of Warthogs screaming towards the enemy, or even more fun watching warthogs run over enemies.  The controls have been set up to make this game as easy as possible to play while still being challenging for all level of players.

Halo Wars cut-scenes are absolutely outstanding and arguable the best ever.  This is a great game for fans of Halo but also players that have wanted to play a strategy game but thought it all seemed too hard.  Give it a go, you will be pleased.

Halo Wars (XBOX 360) Product Information

Halo Wars is a strategy game based on the legendary Halo universe. In campaign mode, players will command the armies of the UNSC warship Spirit of Fire, consisting of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. Halo Wars will immerse gamers in an early period of the storied Halo universe, allowing them to experience events leading up to the first Halo title for Xbox.

With the guidance of Serina, a spirited artificial intelligence (AI) persona, gamers will direct legions of UNSC soldiers, Warthogs, Scorpions and more, each group having its own strengths and uses in battle. Adventurous commanders can also call upon ancient Forerunner technology, if they are fortunate enough to find it hidden throughout the battlefield.

Covenant forces are also waiting for players to lead them into battle in multiplayer skirmishes via the New Xbox Experience. Call upon an arsenal of new and familiar Covenant units such as Grunts, Elites, Ghosts and even Scarabs to defeat foes on the battlefield. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious.

• New take on a legendary world. Set in the iconic Halo universe, Halo Wars predates the original first-person shooter Halo. Fans of the franchise will have the opportunity to experience the early battles between the UNSC and Covenant.
• Strategic command of armies in large-scale combat. Halo Wars puts gamers in command of the battlefield over an arsenal of UNSC units and vehicles as they engage Covenant forces. C
• Challenge friends to skirmishes using the New Xbox Experience. See who the superior commander is through multiplayer online skirmishes supporting up to 6 players with the New Xbox Experience.
• Groundbreaking strategy game for the Xbox 360. Since inception, Halo Wars was explicitly designed to cater to console gamers and bring to the Xbox 360 a genre that has typically been played on the PC.

Halo Wars (XBOX 360) Review

It's no doubt safe to say that Halo Wars has been awaited with much anticipation in the gaming community. Some have been awaiting it as the next instalment in the Halo universe, expanding upon the UNSC's war with the alien Covenant which preceded the Halo trilogy.

The Halo Wars campaign puts you (we assume, since you take the role of an omnipresent force on the battlefield) in the shoes of USNC Captain James Cutter, commander of the Spirit of Fire. Under his command are Sergeant Forge and Prof. Ellen Anders, who discover an ancient Forerunner facility on Harvest, after re-taking it from the Covenant. This facility points the way to another, and from there, it's a familiar race against the enemy to find Forerunner technology, and it should be no surprise to anyone that the hive-minded Flood turn up once again too. In terms of Halo plotlines, it's by-the-numbers, although the cuts-cenes in which the plot is advanced are visually excellent. Unfortunately, it's a one-sided tale, as the Covenant aren't playable in the single player campaign, only in multiplayer. And the Flood? They aren't playable at all.

Building bases is a simplified process - you start off with a base with a limited number of build spots around it. You can increase this number by upgrading your base, and there are only six kinds of buildings to choose from, which are essentially your bare basic strategy options. Namely, barracks, vehicle factory, research lab, etc. Instead of money or minerals, you'll be building your troops with 'supplies' which can be found in small piles around the maps or more efficiently constantly airlifted in via supply drop buildings in your base.

At first glance, this simplified structure actually works well with the simple control scheme on the Xbox 360. The A button selects single units, and with a tap of LB, you can select all of your units on the field. Hitting the right trigger will let you cycle through various unit types, and you can select groups of units by holding down the A button and passing a selection circle around the units you want. While all of these methods are certainly easy, they simply don't allow you to manage your troops efficiently.

Full review PALGN