Halo Wars may be a good Halo game, but not such a great strategy game
Sound: The battle chatter is completely familiar to all Halo fans. From Grunts chattering, Warthogs rolling, and Scorpions firing, everything helps immerse you into the battle. The soundtrack is very good and changes to the action
Gameplay: By comparison, the gameplay seems kind of weak. The units may not look and act bland, but they sure act that way. For the UNSC side, generally there is a race to upgrade and create a super unit army (ODSTs, Grizzlies, Hawks) and use the leader powers to flatten the enemy. The Covenant depend on their heroes and either a decent attack unit like Wraiths or Hunters, or just depend upon super powerful Scarabs to finish off an enemy. There is no real incentive to balancing your forces, and with the right unit, you can just steamroll anything the enemy throws at you.
Awards: Canon for Followers (continues the Halo storyline for the hardcore)
Did it Right (the controls show the way for strategy games to come)
Criticisms: Unbalanced (heroes and super units are the order of the day)
Casual Fare (good for a while, but eventually loses its sheen)
Random:
Why only two modes for multiplayer?
Why include some weak units at all?
Overall: a casual strategy game for Halo fans