In my opinion, this is the best 'Halo' game since the original Xbox classic & a great real-time strategy game.
Since the days of the original Halo, I have felt that the sequels have been a bit overrated. Halo 2 & 3 are good games, but they don't measure up to the original. Yes the sequels brought online multi-player to a whole new level, but I always felt there was just something missing from the single-player. And apparently Bungie forgot how to make cutting-edge visuals since the original Halo (which looked fantastic for it's time). Halo 2 looked slightly better than the original, but not a big leap. And Halo 3 looked like an HD version of Halo 2. So after all that, I was somewhat excited going into this game but was starting to question if Microsoft is milking the Halo franchise.
Enter the (now defunct) development company, 'Ensemble Studios'. They have given us an excellent CONSOLE real-time strategy game. The key word there is "console" because 'Halo Wars' is certainly not as complex as a PC RTS. It's not as complex as the other RTS' on the Xbox 360 either. But that isn't bad thing. They have done a wonderful job with simplifying the control scheme and the visuals are fantastic. This is the best looking 'Halo' game yet. The cut-scenes that tell the story are outstanding.
If you are a veteran of RTS' on the PC, 'Halo Wars' may feel a bit simplistic. You can only build a base at certain locations on the map. There is no resource management. Micro-management is kept to a minimum. And there aren't as many different kinds of units. But it really doesn't matter because the game is so polished and so much fun that you won't care. The storyline is very good, as well. There is no 'Master Chief', but the narrative doesn't suffer for it. It's an interesting tale and will keep you interested until the end.
But the star of the show is the gameplay. I have yet to play a RTS on the consoles that handled as good as 'Halo Wars'. It's very easy to gather certain types of units, grab all units on the screen, or call your whole army all with just the press of a button. Of course, you think that some development company would have thought of this before, but it's clear that if you develop a RTS for the consoles instead of just porting over PC versions that it works a lot better.
And if you are a fan of the 'Halo' games, it really is a blast to build send a bunch of ODST's into a Covenant base and rip it to shreds. Another nice thing is the 'Flood' makes an appearance in the storyline, so they are fun to play against. If I had one complaint it would be that the campaign is a bit short and you don't get to use the Covenant or Flood in the campaign. You can use the Covenant in a 'Skirmish' match, though.
If you are a fan of the 'Halo' series, picking up this game is a no-brainer. If you are a fan of real-time strategy games, I would highly recommend giving this game a chance. Like I said, if you are used to more complex RTS (like Command & Conquer, for instance) I would still try this out because the game is really fun and the production values may win you over.