Halo Wars Xbox 360 Review

Halo Wars

Xbox 360 Review
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Publisher: Microsoft
Release: March 3, 2009
Players: 1-6 Online

Halo Wars has been one of the most highly-anticipated Xbox 360 games for quite some time now.  The thing about it though is that even though it has been hyped up a great deal, many were still skeptical about it due to the fact that it took the Halo franchise, known as a shooter, and turned it into a real-time strategy (RTS).  Did it work, in one word, yes!

Halo Wars is the best RTS ever to hit a video game console, hands down.  How about that for an opening sentence to a paragraph right at the beginning of a review?

RTS games traditionally have not done well on consoles, as we have seen many come and go without much success.  A lot of the problems relating to RTS on consoles was the fact that the controls simply never felt right.  RTS games have a long history on the PC with Starcraft, Warcraft, Age of Empires, and others coming to mind.  They do not have as much of a positive history on consoles though, but this game changes that.

Halo Wars basically brings every vehicle and character from the Halo universe and throws it into one hell of a RTS that will have you on the edge of your seat in every battle.  The game takes place before the events of the original Halo, as you are presented a great story with some highly-impressive cut-scenes.

The controls are exactly what makes Halo Wars so great, as everything can be done very easily.  You will find yourself navigating the map, building units, buildings, etc. with a great deal of ease.

The way in which the controls are set up allow for people who have never played an RTS before to easily jump in and feel right at home.

Beyond the controls, the graphics as well as the audio presentation are also extremely impressive.

The best way for me to describe the graphics is to take the whole Halo world and shrink it down.  The level of detail on the buildings, characters, levels, etc. are truly impressive.  I also was highly impressed with the special effects, lighting, constant framerate, etc.  This is definitely up there as one of the best –looking games on the Xbox 360.

The same can be said about the audio as you will be treated to all of the great musical pieces we have come to know and love from the Halo universe.  The sound effects create a great atmosphere for the large-scale battles.

Now back to the controls….

The way in which the controls are set up are both easy, yet have a lot of depth.  When you have units on the screen, you can simply hit a button to select them.  Holding down a button gives you further power over your selection of units, and so on.

Not only that, but the developers have also simplified the process of building bases, units, and all of that good stuff.  Some hardcore RTS fans may not see this as a positive thing, but I absolutely love it!

Once you figure out how to do everything, which won’t take very long, you will want to jump right into the campaign.

The campaign mode is very challenging due to the fact that the A.I. in this game is damn smart.  The campaign has a good deal of length to it as well, with the story not one to be missed!

If you are the type of person who just wants to jump into a battle and skip the whole campaign, there are also skirmishes you can jump in, as well as Xbox Live support for up to 6 players.

Halo Wars is a must-have game on the Xbox 360 to say the least as it is the best RTS to hit a console to date, hands down.  The game is enjoyable for hardcore gamers and beginners to the world of real-time strategy as well.  Needless to say, if you are a Halo fan, this is not one to miss!

Graphics: 9.2 An absolute gem on the Xbox 360, tons of detail!

Audio: 9.0 The soundtrack is fantastic, and the sound effects bring life to the battles.

Gameplay: 9.0 Finally, a RTS that plays well on a console!  The game is a joy to control, for beginners and hardcore RTS fans.

Replay Value: 9.5 The single-player campaign is of good length, and the multiplayer gives it limitless life.  Plenty to unlock, and Legendary difficulty is insane!

Final Score: 9.2

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