Game Review: Halo Wars

[evilhorus]

Your name: Shockwave™

Game name: Halo Wars

Game system: XBox 360

Online Capable: Yes

Rating: 16+ (Dot know why. . . .)

Thoughts about: Online is the best part. Story goes against the Halo Canon (I think. . . ) Because the flood appear, but I guess it wouldnt be Halo without them.

 

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Story: The UNSC Ship - The Spirit of Fire - is sent to the planet Harvest, where Covenant Activity has been detected, where Captain Cutter learns that the Covenant has excavated something at the planet's "North Pole". When the UNSC's main base on Harvest is destyroyed and captured, Cutter orders Sergeant Forge to claim it by killing the Covenant Forces there. Forge has his little own Gauss Cannon Warthog, and he Rescues some UNSC Marines and Warthogs on the way to the base. Soon after, Forge scouts the Covenant excavation and finds The Arbiter - Not the same Arbiter as the one in the Halo FPS games - has discovered a Forerunner facility. Forge pet project - Grizzlies - defeat the Covenant forces before they can destroy the installation, and Professer Anders arrives. She determines that the facility is an interstellar map, and recognizes a set of locations that point to the human colony of Arcadia. After defeating Covenant counter-attack on the Forerunner facility, the Spirit of Fire travels to Arcadia, where the Covenant are killing innocent civillians. Forge contacts the local Spartan special forces and helps with the evacuation process. The Covenant build a gigantic energy shield that hides and protects a Super Scarab under contruction, but Anders has a plan. She orders Plasma Rhinos (Tanks that shoot Super-Heated plasma) from another UNSC Ship, and destroy the shield. The UNSC explore the inside - not knowing a Super Scarab is inside - but luckily enough for them, Only the Scarabs head is operational. The Scarab is destroyed with brute force. Afterwards, Anders is on the ground videoing the planet with a camera, and Forge is there to "Protect" her. But the Arbiter is there, and Kidnaps Anders. Forge and the Spartans return to the Spirit of Fire and the crew follows Anders' signal to an uncharted planet in another star system. That planet, is where they find the Flood. . . . . . . .

 

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Controls:

Halo Wars Controls. Pretty easy. You can hold down A to make a blue circle appear on the ground, and you can move it around. Any unit in the blue Circle will be selected.

 

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Gameplay:

The gameplay is also simple. Made for the 360 from scratch. Halo Wars has a "Rock-Paper-Scissors" type mechanism. Mainline Infantry (Marines, Grunts) Beat Mainline Air (Hornets, Banshees), Mainline Air beats Mainline Vehicle (Scorpions, Wraiths) and Mainline Vehicle beats Mainline Infantry. To put it simply;

Infantry > Air > Vehicles > Infantry

Halo wars has a Hard/Soft Counter unit mechanism as well. So Mainline Infantry Soft-Counters Mainline air, Air Soft-Counters Mainline Vehicles, and Mainline Vehicles Soft-Counters Mainline Infantry. But of course, thats only "Mainline" units. Some units have special Roles. The Wolverine (UNSC, Vehicle) for example, has Missile Launchers that specifically attack air units, pulverising them. But if the Wolverine Attacks something other than Air, it will just throw a weak grenade at them. Then the Vampire (Covenant, Air) has Needler Weapons, which are basically missiles. But the Vampire also has a Stasis Ability, which freezes (Not Literally freeze) Air Units in Place. You can buy an Upgrade for the Vampire that makes it Drain Health from the frozen air units and Increase its own health. Those are only good against Air Units, so they are Anti-Air. Then we have Anti-Vehicle. The Cobra (UNSC, Vehicle) has a strong Laser-Type gun on its back, and can lock down on the ground for increased range and firepower. The Hunters (Covenant, Infantry) is also Anti-Vehicle. It has Fuel-Rod Guns Attached to its arm, which Devastates Vehicles. These Anti Vehicle can only attack ground units, so air kills them. Then there are Anti-Infantry Flamethrowers (UNSC, Infantry) that melt any Infantry Units in their path. The Covenant have an Anti-Infantry unit that - IMO - is far better than the Flamethrowers. Jackals (Covenant, Infantry), are equipped with Sniper Rifles that kill infantry before they get the chance to attack. Since Flamers need to be Close Range to attack, the jackals can kill then before the flamers can attack. But the flamers have a Special Y ability that can be researched. A Flash-Bang Grenade which Stuns Infantry for a while, giving the flamers a chance to attack.

 

All those Anti-X units were Hard Counters to their to the units they counter. So Wolverines and Vampires Hard-Counter Air Units, Cobras and Hunters Hard-Counter Vehicles and Flamethrowers and Jackals Hard-Counter Infantry.

 

There are also Anti-Building Units. Cyclopses (UNSC, Infantry, Leader Specific) that can pull Buildings Apart. The Covenant Counterpart is more expensive and far better. The Locust (Covenant, Vehicle) Has a Long Range Laser Beam that Destroys Building very quickly (Especially in numbers) but as a price they have Extremely low Health (And Shields).

 

Here are the counter Charts for UNSC and The Covenant.

 

Of course, the better the units, the more Tech Level it Requires. Tech level can be achieved from Reactors (UNSC) and the Temple (Covenant). UNSC bases can have multiple reactors, but the covenantcan only have 1 temple, which can increase its tech level by buying new "Ages". And Every UNSC Unit is Slightly Stronger than Its Covenant Counterpart, but the Covenant have a Higher Population Limit. Spartans dont count in the Pop Limit, but you can only have 3. You can place Spartans Inside Vehicles to give them Verterancy, making them stronger.

 

Covenant Leaders appear personally on the battlefield. Also, Every leader has its own Unique Unit. Each UNSC Leader has their own Economy Bonus, while the covenant equivilant is their Leader. The UNSC have their own leader power, and so do the covenant leaders. The Covenant Leaders appear when you have constructed your first temple and when they die you can train another one. You can only have 1 Leader at a time. Upgrades are also vailable for your leader. The UNSC Leader Powers Can be activated by pressing the Up Button on the D-Pad. You activate Covenant LEader Powers by selscting the Leader and Pressing Y. UNSC Leadere-Powers cost 600 and take a few minutes to recharge, while the Covenant Leader Powers Can be used all the time, but take a lot of resources to maintain. You can Upgrade UNSC Leader Powers at a BUilding called a "Field-Armory", and Covenant Leaders and Leader Powers at the temple. The UNSC also have a Disruption Bomb. No leader powers cant be used in the Bombs Area.

 

Every UNSC Leader has their own "Super Unit". To obtain this Super Unit, you need to fully upgrade the unit its based on and then buy the Super Unit Upgrade.

 

 

You need Supplies to build Units. The Better the Unit, the more supplies it costs. UNSC have Supply Pads, and the Covenant have Warehouses. You can Upgrade them to Give you more supplies (UNSC "Heavy Supply Pad". Covenant "Blessed-Warehouse".)

 

 

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Graphics:

The Graphics are good for an RTS, detailed compared to other RTS games. The Units are detailed, the landscape is detailed, nearly everything is detailed. The most detailed unit in the game is probably. . . . . . . .well. . . . . . . . . its actually pretty hard to choose.

 

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Online: The Online is the best part. You Have a choice of six leaders, each with their own Pros and Cons.

 

UNSC:

 

Captain Cutter:

Super Unit: ODST's. Can drop from the skies. Must Fully Upgrade Marines and buy the Super Unit upgrade.

Unique Unit: Elephant. Slow moveing, but can lock down and train Infantry.

Leader Power: The MAC Blast. Very devastating, but its targeting beam can be seen before it fires, so if you move quickly, it might not get you.

Economy Bonus: Cutters First base is fully upgraded, and if he builds more bases they will be half upgraded.

 

Sargeant Forge:

Super Unit: Grizzly. Must fully Upgrade Scorpions and Buy the Super-Unit upgrade.

Unique Unit: Cyclopse. Anti-Building.

Leader Power: Carpet Bomb. This Leader Power throws down a line of sall bombs on the ground. Devastates Infantry and Medium Armour Vehicles. Cannot be seen before it fires.

Economy Bonus: His Supply Pads start as Heavy Supply Pads.

 

Professor Anders:

Super Unit: Hawk.Must Fully Upgrade Hornets and Buy The Super-Unit upgrade.

Unique Unit: Gremlin. Kind of a Anti-Medium Armored Vehicles. Can fire an EMP that freezes Vehicles for a short time (5 Seconds maybe?). By far the Best Uique Unit. Cant Fire at air Units.

Leader Power: Cryo Bomb. Cannot be seen before it fires like the Carpet Bomb. Freezes Units in place (Literally) And in it hits air Units they Could be Destroyed.

Economy Bonus: She Can buy Upgrades at Half-Price and research them 35% Faster.

 

 

Covenant:

 

The Prophet of Regret:

Leader Traits: A Cripple in a floating chain with a Shield and guns. Chair is Slow first but the last Upgrade makes it fly and be faster.

Leader Power: A Small Cleansing Beam. Can Be upgraded at the Temple.

Unique Unit: Elite Honour Guards. Armed With Energy Swords. You can buy a "Stealth" Upgrade which gives them a Campouflage ability. Makes them Invisible.

 

The Arbiter:

Leader Traits: Armed With Duel-Energy Swords. No shield (Only the Prophet has a Shield, the coward), but a lot of health.

Leader Power: Rage. You Control the Arbiter. He jumps aroud, killing things with his swords. Very Powerful. Can be upgraded at temple.

Unique Init: Suicide Grunts. Their Methane Tanks explode whenever you wish. Does Massive Building Damage.

 

Brute Chieftain:

Leader Traits: Armed With A Gravity Hammer. Like the Arbiter, No shield but lots of health.

Leader Power: Vortex. Makes an Ord of Gravity suck units (And Buildings) in, and will Explode when you stop.

Unique Unit: Brute Squad. Two Brutes per squad. Great Unique Unit. Can be upgraded to give them Jet packs.

 

 

Note: Gameplay Section Obviously Applies here as well!

 

 

The most Popular Leader is most Likely Professor Anders, due to her Crazy Econ Bonus. Forge and the Prophet come Second. If you wanr some tactics/Strategies go to the Halo Wars Official Website and Forums.

 

 

+ Controlling Spartans is fun.

+ Covenant Leaders are Nice.

+ Robot Studios did something about teamkillers (People that kill you for points). You no longer get points for teamkilling.

+ Nice and Simple. Perfect for a console.

+ Each Faction has its Ups and Downs. The Covenant are great early game, because they have low tech units and a strong unit early game (The Leader). The UNSC are great late game because of their strong units.

- If your looking for a complex RTS similar to a PC RTS, I think you will be Dissapointed.

- If your not a fan of Halo, you wont like this.

- Sometimes you get partnered with a noob and they are sh*t.

- We need a playably flood. D}= NAOW

- Only around 10,000 - 12,000 people online at a time, due to its genre.

 

Basically, if you like Halo, this is for you. If not, you will despise this game.

As I like halo, i give it 9/10.

 

If you have any Questions, please ask.

 

Ad yes, if your the Covenant, you can build a Scarab.

[Lazer Yoshi]

TBH, I prefer Halo as a First Person Shooter.

But this game seems fun. I might pick it up once I get my 360. :D

[evilhorus]

TBH' date=' I prefer Halo as a First Person Shooter.

 

[b']Most people do. I liked this because it's the thinking persons Halo Game.[/b]

 

But this game seems fun. I might pick it up once I get my 360. :D

 

I think you should try. Beware the Gauss Warthog Spam, probably the most dangerous thing in the game if not prepared for.

 

 

 

Oh, and BTW, I always laugh at your sig. =D

[Enrise]

Halo Wars is good, compared to the other Halo Games in my opinion, because the other Halo Games are really annoying, specially in Online, it's always "T-Bag, T-bag, T-bag." Over and over again =.=

However different, I wish they were more up to date over, place can't even get good games, and when we get them, they are at least 2 weeks or more old :?

I might go to a friend's house and play, too lazy to buy my own, plus I plan on saving my money.

[evilhorus]

Halo Games are really annoying' date=' specially in Online, it's always "T-Bag, T-bag, T-bag." Over and over again =.=

[/quote']

 

I just have to sig that. :P

[evilhorus]

I guess no-one likes to read a review about halo. . . . XD