trueganon
Smash Journeyman
Release - March 3rd, 2009
Developer - Ensemble Studios
Publisher - Microsoft Game Stuidios
MSRP - $59.99
Halo, a game that nobody has heard of and made a decent amount of money with its released instalments, thus leading to afew sequals and a novel here and there.
But what I'm here to talk about is the latest release in the Halo series, Halo Wars.
http://www.halowars.com/
Halo Wars is a real-time action strategy game for the Xbox 360 that allows the player to control large armies and to shrewdly direct them in realistic warfare. Set early in the iconic war between the Covenant and UNSC - made famous by the Halo FPS games - Halo Wars provides a new angle on the war while bringing new heroes to the battle.
In Halo Wars fans will be able to control armies of units that are familiar to them from the FPS games, such as UNSC Marines, Scorpion Tanks, and the iconic Warthog.
It was created by Ensemble Studios and they spent a great deal of time to make this "The console RTS to break the stereotype ." They built it from the ground up specificly for the Xbox 360. They also kept the game true to the Halo series by using things such as the 'Warthog physics' and all the sounds from Halo *weapons sound effects, character voices, vehicle sounds...* to keep it as a 'Halo' game. "The smallest inconsistencies and the true fans will pick it apart instantly"
It has a Campaign mode which can be played in CO-OP mode with another friend and the two of you split control over your units. The campaign takes you through several battles between the UNSC and the Covanent on Harvest and other locations in the Halo Universe. Also like in the other Halo games, you can find the 'Skulls' to change aspects of the game hidden throughout the missions that can be attained after completeing certain requirements.
You can also play Skimirish matches against A.I. or human players via Xbox Live. 1 v 1, 2 v 2, 3 v 3 matches are playable. There are also a number of diffrent maps to select from, each unique and some having special features (such as the flood randomly attacking in certain areas, Rebel bases that can be conquered and used as your own, extra resources, teleporters...)
In Skimrish games, you can select between 6 Leaders. 3 UNSC officers and 3 Covanent leaders. Each Leader has thier own abilities, special units, super units, and perks. Also both sides *UNSC/Covanent* play quite diffrently. Finding your own playstyle and seeing which side and leader best suits you can be fun on its own. Unlike the UNSC, the Covanent leaders can personally be called to the field as individual units. They can also be upgraded from the Covanent Temple's which increases thier abilities to great limits. They also possess super attacks such as the Prophet of Regrets Cleansing which calls down a beam from an orbit vessel.
UNSC
Captain Cutter - MAC Blast, Elephant - Unique Unit, ODSTs - Super Upgrade, Economy Bonus - Cutter's bases start off with more building sites
Sergeant Forge - Carpet Bomb, Cyclops - Unique Unit, Grizzly - Super Upgrade, Economy Bonus - All supply pads start off as Heavy Supply Pads
Professor Anders - Cryo Bomb, Gremlin - Unique Unit, Hawk - Super Upgrade, Economy Bonus - Cost and research time for unit upgrades reduced by half
The Covanent
The Prophet of Regret - Cleansing, Elite Honor Gaurds, Unique Upgrade paths
The Arbiter - Rage, Suicide Grunts, Unique Upgrade paths
Brute Chieftain - Vortex, Brutes, Brute Chopper, Unique Upgrade paths
I can't possibly be the only one who likes this game, huh? What are your thoughts on it, that is unless you're just going to say, "THATS NOT HALO! It Sucks!! Wheres the FPS" you can keep those comments to yourself.
