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You can imagine the meetings Microsoft must have had to discuss where to take the Halo series. Having launched the original Xbox back in 2001 the faceless Master Chief has gone on to become one of the most iconic figures in gaming, with the Halo games selling millions of units worldwide, so it makes sense to exploit it somewhat. The Halo universe Bungie created could have been used in numerous ways. A third-person shooter has been rumoured, as has an RPG – an MMO was in development before being canned – but could anyone really have predicted that the first Halo spin-off would be an RTS?
Part of the decision was no doubt down to assessing what studios Microsoft had in its stable and looking at their areas of expertise. The now disbanded Ensemble Studios was an RTS development veteran, and the RTS was a genre making a reasonable amount of noise on consoles. Tie some genre excitement (the RTS is still rather new to console gamers) to one of the biggest names in gaming and success seemed guaranteed. Despite Ensemble’s recent closure we don’t doubt that Halo Wars will go on to sell millions of units worldwide; the big question is whether or not it deserves to carry the Halo name. We spent some time with the demo, due for release on February 5, to see if the signs look good.
The Halo Wars demo starts with a simple tutorial designed to give you a quick and simple guide to the controls – an area which developer Ensemble has been working hard to tailor to the console controller. From our time with the demo the dev team seems to have done a good job, with everything just a few button presses away. The left analogue stick moves the camera, the right analogue stick rotates the camera, A selects units and X moves them to a location. If you want to select more than one unit you can tap LB to select all, RB to select all on the screen, or paint over all you want selected while holding A. To attack something you simply move the cursor over your target and press X.
Even after 30 minutes with the demo the controls have begun to sink in, and various shortcuts have become clear. For example, you can scroll faster by holding down the left trigger, switch instantly to your base by pressing left on the d-pad, target your armies with down on the d-pad, and cycle through individual unit classes by pressing the right trigger. It’s all pretty simple stuff. On top of this your units each have special abilities, performed by pressing the Y button while targeting something – just as you would perform a normal X button attack.
This ease of use extends to the base building too. Bases are built on what can be described as pre-fabricated outlines, where you pick a piece and select which base structure you’d like to build – be it a barracks, supply depot or refinery. Once built you can either use them to train/build new units/vehicles or upgrade them, all by a few presses of the A button. With all units clearly displaying icons to let you know what is required for them to be built/trained, even RTS novices shouldn’t have much trouble getting to grips with what’s going on. Base building in Halo Wars might seem rather simplistic for RTS veterans, but our early impressions here are positive. By streamlining the process it takes less time, requires far less controller dexterity and is easy to learn.
Leader powers are also introduced in the demo, accessed by pressing up on the d-pad. In the game’s advanced tutorial you get to use the Spirit of Fire’s (a modified UNSC Phoenix-class Colony Ship) Mac Blast, fired from mass accelerated cannons. One blast from this incredibly powerful cannon will incinerate anything that gets in its way – especially handy when trying to take out some pesky Covenant wraiths. We don’t want to spoil everything in the demo, but play through the advanced tutorial and you’ll also get a chance to try playing as the Covenant, taking control of the Prophet of Regret.
Although the demo doesn’t give away too much of the game’s story, other than what we already knew (set in 2531, 20 years before the Halo event and on the planet Harvest – the seventeenth UNSC colony world), it does reveal how the game’s reward system works. After each level you’re given a total score. This is based on objectives completed (primary and optional), combat bonus (based on the ratio of enemy units killed to friendly units lost), time bonus and skulls bonus. Depending on how well you do in each area you’ll earn a gold, silver, bronze or tin award.
Something else that shines through is how Halo Wars feels like a Halo game. From the menu designs and music, to the difficulty symbols and iconic character designs, it’ll seem like home for any Halo fan. Visually it’s pretty smart too, with some wonderful lighting, clearly recognisable units and impressive buildings. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but the game has a certain sheen that’s been missing from other RTS games we’ve seen on the 360 to date. Add in the expected little touches, like grunts jabbering to each other while on the battlefield, and some stunning CGI (a first for a Halo game), and you’ve got a game that doesn’t look at all out of place on the console.
And that’s about all we can gather from the demo. We’re still unsure if Halo Wars was the right way to take the series, but we are now convinced that Ensemble has created a fun and accessible RTS that stays true to Halo. You’ll have to wait until later in the month for our final verdict, but check back soon for the thoughts of Halo Studio lead producer Jason Pace.
Halo Wars will be released exclusively for the Xbox 360 on February 27 in Europe and on March 3 in North America. The Halo Wars demo will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace from February 5.
