That's one small step for the halo series. And one giant leap for console RTS' (One lengthy review within)
The visuals in the game are quite outstanding for an RTS. When you are looking from the standerd 40ft birds-eye view, you get a great view of all the tropical jungles, the forerunner structures, bases, and the detailed landscapes. Even when you zoom in to about 8-15ft, the quality of detail is still there. Theres an overall gloss to the buildings. roads, and land that makes it worth while to stare off into a forest while your units are getting scraped. lol. Beyond that are the cutscenes. which are gratifying. These are proably the best cutscenes I have ever seen in a video game. Even though i prefer games that use the in-game engine for cutscenes most of the time. I loved these cinematic ones. The amount of detail on the Spirit of Fire (It's a spaceship) is insane. Visuals 9.5/10
Another great aspect of Halo Wars is the audio and music. If you liked the music from anyother Halo game, your going to like this. If you haven't played a Halo game, the music is mainly quick pased opera. It works really well with the game as it did with the series. The sound effects are top-noch. You'll here every bullet shearing metal casing and all the plasma cannons overheating you could ever want in a game. Audio 9.8/10
Finally the gameplay. Like I said earlier, the controls are crutial and Ensemple has got it down. One button to select every one, everyone on screen, and specific unit types such as Scorpians or hornets. There is also the "Wheel of eight" and that is a little menu that appears whenever you select a building or unit. Its usefull but its not that amazing. Since you cant select specific units like out of your 5 tanks you can choose two out of five to go attack and the other stay, its not as strategic but you can manually do it so it still works but takes more time, and time is very valuable in this game. The Main Story takes place 20 years before the Halo event and it sets up the story where the UNSC (Thats you) begin to fight the Covenant. I havent finished the campaign but so far its quite good. Its also quite difficult, im on normal and it has a bit of a challenge, while Legendary is just crazy. Gameplay 9/10
If you looking for a great RTS because you dont have a good computer or you love Halo, buy this game. If you think that its a ripoff of the halo series, try the demo first, then you can saysome thing. Its been given alot of bad credit due to its one bad review by gamespot. But look around, try the demo, ask your friends. I highly reccomend anyone to try the game because this is the cradle of RTS' for the console. As was Mesopotamia was the cradle of civilizations. Buy the game
Overall 9.5/10