Gamepro goes hands-on with Halo Wars

"If Halo Wars is successful, it won't only be viewed as a great Halo game," Ensemble Studios executive producer Harter Ryan explains. "We're looking for a bigger success -- to establish the strategy genre on the Xbox 360. We want to make a beacon for other developers."

Developers could use the help. Real-time strategy (RTS) games have suffered a dismal track record on home consoles over the years, scoring vanishingly few successes amidst countless failures. The problem is elementary. The very elements that make PC games such as Starcraft so addictive -- micromanaging resources, juggling multiple battles at once -- bog down the console experience to a near standstill.

But that isn't stopping Ensemble Studios, the masterminds behind the trend-setting PC strategy series Age of Empires. With Halo Wars, Ensemble is aiming to pull off the impossible: craft a simple, intuitive, highly playable strategy game based around the strengths and limitations of the Xbox 360 controller. And you know what? These console first-timers just might pull it off."

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Demo! I need to experience this control scheme for myself.

This is a day one purchase for me. I love RTS games. I'm glad to see that slowly strategy games are gaining a foothold on the consoles. Civilization Revolution is going to be great, Halo Wars looks really really good, and I'm one of the people that really enjoyed Battle for Middle Earth2 and C&C3 on the 360.rragnaar

Yeah I thought C&C3 was rather accessible to console users, the controls were fairly simple, and the game actually felt as if it had been made with consoles in mind.

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Demo! I need to experience this control scheme for myself.

Dutch_Mix

Yeah. I'll buy it regardless as the story is part of the Halo canon but I hope the game will be able to stand on its own legs. And if it actually is really great I truly hope they make system link multiplayer a possibility as the campaign supposedly is playable in co-op. System link needs more love.

[QUOTE="Dutch_Mix"]

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Demo! I need to experience this control scheme for myself.

inoperativeRS

Yeah. I'll buy it regardless as the story is part of the Halo canon but I hope the game will be able to stand on its own legs. And if it actually is really great I truly hope they make system link multiplayer a possibility as the campaign supposedly is playable in co-op. System link needs more love.

[QUOTE="inoperativeRS"][QUOTE="Dutch_Mix"]

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Demo! I need to experience this control scheme for myself.

rragnaar

Yeah. I'll buy it regardless as the story is part of the Halo canon but I hope the game will be able to stand on its own legs. And if it actually is really great I truly hope they make system link multiplayer a possibility as the campaign supposedly is playable in co-op. System link needs more love.

Yes! I caved in and bought a second 360 last week when my last one started breaking down so that I would have a 360 while my old one is being repaired. Many of my favorite gaming moments ever come from Halo 1 LAN parties back in 2002-2004. Nowadays I often host them myself so having two 360s will make it easier for my friends when they only have to bring two more instead of 3. As far as I'm concerned system links are the ultimate gaming experience, PC LANs are fun and all but they're just not as personal and social as system links.

[QUOTE="rragnaar"][QUOTE="inoperativeRS"][QUOTE="Dutch_Mix"]

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Demo! I need to experience this control scheme for myself.

inoperativeRS

Yeah. I'll buy it regardless as the story is part of the Halo canon but I hope the game will be able to stand on its own legs. And if it actually is really great I truly hope they make system link multiplayer a possibility as the campaign supposedly is playable in co-op. System link needs more love.

Yes! I caved in and bought a second 360 last week when my last one started breaking down so that I would have a 360 while my old one is being repaired. Many of my favorite gaming moments ever come from Halo 1 LAN parties back in 2002-2004. Nowadays I often host them myself so having two 360s will make it easier for my friends when they only have to bring two more instead of 3. As far as I'm concerned system links are the ultimate gaming experience, PC LANs are fun and all but they're just not as personal and social as system links.

I agree completely. I have a lot of those same great memories from those years. I was almost a little bummed when Halo 2 came out because no one wanted to put the effort into a system link party when we could all just play online. My favorites were Sniper battles on Blood Gulch and the big snowy level... although rocket battles on Wizard were great too.rragnaar

I remember 6 hour long CIassic CTF matches on Sidewinder (the snow map). It's funny, even with all the 64 and 128 player online FPS's I've tried I have still to find one which would feature as epic matches as the first Halo. Warthogs, Scorpions, Rocket Launchers, Snipers, Teleports, Needlers, Grenades, aaaahhh. I still host system links and did so for Halo 2 as well but after the series went online the matches have started becoming more and more competetive instead of just pure fun. I've still got quite a few custom game modes in Halo 3 made especially for system links which are complete blasts to play though.

This reminds me of so many good times. Blood Gulch is probably my favorite multiplayer level of all time if only because of all the completely awesome things I've experienced in it.

Edit: So about this Halo Wars game, I heard it features pink aliens and guns and... stuff :P

The last time Ensemble established a beacon of any kind was over a decade ago and they haven't moved an inch since. Age of Empires III was a genre relic, it was outdated about five years before it actually came out. It's no wonder Ensemble hightailed it to consoles since they are consistently being schooled by the likes of Relic on PC.

Sorry to be a downer, but this is a washed up developer using a hot license trying to establish a 'hip' new genre on consoles. Everything I've seen of Halo Wars reeks of a generic 1997 RTS...on consoles.

The last time Ensemble established a beacon of any kind was over a decade ago and they haven't moved an inch since. Age of Empires III was a genre relic, it was outdated about five years before it actually came out. It's no wonder Ensemble hightailed it to consoles since they are consistently being schooled by the likes of Relic on PC.

Sorry to be a downer, but this is a washed up developer using a hot license trying to establish a 'hip' new genre on consoles. Everything I've seen of Halo Wars reeks of a generic 1997 RTS...on consoles.

UpInFlames

I do agree Relic is in a completely different league but I think there's still room for traditional RTS's. I thought AoE3 was enjoyable and it seems like Ensemble are taking some notes from DoW and CoH with the secondary abilities. I just hope they add in some kind of cover mechanism and I'll be more than pleased as long as the core gameplay is good enough.

This reminds me of so many good times. Blood Gulch is probably my favorite multiplayer level of all time if only because of all the completely awesome things I've experienced in it.

inoperativeRS

I'm with you, man. I have so many good memories of battles on Blood Gulch/Coagulation. Bungie would do well to remake this map for Halo 3.

The last time Ensemble established a beacon of any kind was over a decade ago and they haven't moved an inch since. Age of Empires III was a genre relic, it was outdated about five years before it actually came out. It's no wonder Ensemble hightailed it to consoles since they are consistently being schooled by the likes of Relic on PC.

Sorry to be a downer, but this is a washed up developer using a hot license trying to establish a 'hip' new genre on consoles. Everything I've seen of Halo Wars reeks of a generic 1997 RTS...on consoles.

UpInFlames

Killjoy! :P

I haven't played Age of Empires III (what exactly made it outdated?), but Age of Empires 1 & 2 are my favorite RTS games of all time.

The last time Ensemble established a beacon of any kind was over a decade ago and they haven't moved an inch since. Age of Empires III was a genre relic, it was outdated about five years before it actually came out. It's no wonder Ensemble hightailed it to consoles since they are consistently being schooled by the likes of Relic on PC.

Sorry to be a downer, but this is a washed up developer using a hot license trying to establish a 'hip' new genre on consoles. Everything I've seen of Halo Wars reeks of a generic 1997 RTS...on consoles.

UpInFlames

Party pooper. :P

You're right, though. And this is coming from a long-time Ensemble fan. This game is going to need nothing short of a miracle to pull out a convincingly enough control scheme.

I haven't played Age of Empires III (what exactly made it outdated?), but Age of Empires 1 & 2 are my favorite RTS games of all time.

Dutch_Mix

Essentially the fact the gameplay still was very similar to that found in AoE 1&2. RTS gameplay has evolved a lot since those days. I did not have a problem with it personally but many found it boring and uninspired.

[QUOTE="UpInFlames"]

The last time Ensemble established a beacon of any kind was over a decade ago and they haven't moved an inch since. Age of Empires III was a genre relic, it was outdated about five years before it actually came out. It's no wonder Ensemble hightailed it to consoles since they are consistently being schooled by the likes of Relic on PC.

Sorry to be a downer, but this is a washed up developer using a hot license trying to establish a 'hip' new genre on consoles. Everything I've seen of Halo Wars reeks of a generic 1997 RTS...on consoles.

SteelAttack

Party pooper. :P

You're right, though. And this is coming from a long-time Ensemble fan. This game is going to need nothing short of a miracle to pull out a convincingly enough control scheme.

They seem to change the way the game is played instead of just changing the way it's controlled. Almost no base building and instant action. Bungie would be proud (the Myth series featured no base or unit building at all) :P

I think it's more down to how well they manage to create interesting gameplay as the standard AoE gameplay just won't be enough for this kind of game. The standard rock-paper-scissors worked for games like Empire Earth still in 2004 and I'd argue the first EE is one of the greatest RTS's ever but the only reason the gameplay worked in that context was the massive scale of the game. I would love if Halo Wars was Myth in space or something similar but I'm afraid that would be a bit too much for most console strategists and their gamepads.

The last time Ensemble established a beacon of any kind was over a decade ago and they haven't moved an inch since. Age of Empires III was a genre relic, it was outdated about five years before it actually came out. It's no wonder Ensemble hightailed it to consoles since they are consistently being schooled by the likes of Relic on PC.

Sorry to be a downer, but this is a washed up developer using a hot license trying to establish a 'hip' new genre on consoles. Everything I've seen of Halo Wars reeks of a generic 1997 RTS...on consoles.

UpInFlames

Dang. I hope someday somebody makes a quality rts not named Herzog Zwie for consoles though I'm not holding my breath. Speaking of which, a 3D or even a 2D spiritual sequel to Herzog Zwie would be incredible.

CoH mechanics were heavily borrowed from real time and TBS wargames that dated all the way back to the 90's, then Relic slapped on some arbitrary base building to them. The game is fun but I would hardly say that it is 'pushing rts games in a new direction' especially when that direction existed and was arguably just as well, if not better implemented long ago. Even then they followed it up with a good (not great) expansion pack that is another AA game that they made (HW2, DoW being others, Impossible Creatures being just A) I don't think a game has to have squads or a cover system to be in any way good or to push the envelope. Supreme Commander had neither of those things and yet was a well done, just dry and hard to get into.

What matters most in an RTS game is the strategy and the control system. The problem with Halo Wars seems to be boring hard counters with no imagination allowed for their use. The better RTS games like StarCraft and CoH do have hard counters but allow for creativity through game systems. Like through positioning in CoH where infantry can flank machine guns or through micro in StarCraft where a single marine can beat a lurker. The only thing that would make Halo Wars interesting would be a strong and well though out base building component like AOE2.

This is a day one purchase for me. I love RTS games. I'm glad to see that slowly strategy games are gaining a foothold on the consoles. Civilization Revolution is going to be great, Halo Wars looks really really good, and I'm one of the people that really enjoyed Battle for Middle Earth2 and C&C3 on the 360.rragnaar

I'm kind of on the fence whether I am going to buy this or not. I personally think they are just milking the cash cow. These developers've obviously forgotten halos fps roots. But, we'll see how it turns out.

Well since the game is being built specifically for consoles, it has a much better chance of succeeding than all the rts pc ports. If I recall correctly, Bungie's original design of Halo was an rts anyway, so it seems that they are going back to the original intent of the series.

I'm waiting for the reaction of "regular" Halo fans who are not paying attention and think it's Halo 4.

If you want to see a preview go look at the reviews for the PSP version of Scarface (it is a strategy game, not a GTA-clone).

I'm kind of on the fence whether I am going to buy this or not. I personally think they are just milking the cash cow. These developers've obviously forgotten halos fps roots. But, we'll see how it turns out.

vader1231231

I don't know, I hate RTS games that are too fast-paced. Let's see how this turns out.

they better not make it turn based.GhostOfSparta21

That's highly unlikely. It is, after all, a Real Time Strategy game. :P

they better not make it turn based.GhostOfSparta21

how is that possible for a REAL-TIME STRATEGY game ?

errr... sort of... AOE III, it was done in days, but one turn took a day, i consider that real time.GhostOfSparta21

I don't think you know what a turn-based strategy game is... :P