| Brand: | Microsoft | ||
| Average Rating |
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The United Nations Space Command (UNSC) is the military, exploratory, and scientific agency of the United Earth Government. The UNSC was formed in the 2160′s, during a period where remnants of old cultural ideologies clashed for supremacy in the Sol System. The UNSC served mainly as an overseer of United Nations military operations in space. The 26th century has come and it’s time to demonstrate human power to the bad guys as Halos begins. It’s real time strategy as you struggle for life and power. Halo Wars takes place before the first Halo FPS game, during the UNSC’s initial deadly encounters with the Covenant.
A strategy game based on the Halo universe, Halo Wars immerses you in an early period of the storied Halo universe, allowing you to experience events leading up to the first Halo title. With the guidance of Serina, a spirited artificial intelligence (A.I.) persona, direct legions of UNSC soldiers, Warthogs, Scorpions, and more, each group having its own strengths and uses in battle. Adventurous commanders can also call upon ancient Forerunner technology, if they are fortunate enough to find it hidden throughout the battlefield. In campaign mode, command the armies of the UNSC warship Spirit of Fire, with familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. Covenant forces are also waiting for you to lead them into battle in multiplayer skirmishes via the New Xbox Experience. Call upon an arsenal of new and familiar Covenant units such as Grunts, Elites, Ghosts, and even Scarabs to defeat foes on the battlefield.
Let the wars begin. Online Play – 6 Versus / 2 Co-Op more info
Popularity: 4% [?]
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Do not play this game if you are suicidal.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
This has seriously gotta be the worst game ever, next to Superman 64! I loved Halo 1 and 2, was disappointed with H3 big time, and was not looking forward to the this one but since I am a completest to the extreme I got this… I couldn’t believe how crap this was!!!! The cringe-inducingly bad graphics in the trailer was the first sign, then I played it… AI was awful, the dialogue was bad (“MOVE OUT TO CALL!!!!!”), bad storyline… this is just a cash-in to sucker Halo fanboys. I was crying after I beat it, it was so bad. How this trash gets 4 as a rating beats me.
Piece of crap hype wasnt worth it
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
My son and husband got this to play together yet NOWHERE does it tell you its an RGP for one player. It royally sucks….i am selling it on Ebay right now
Justice.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Halo Wars did do justice to the Halo franchise. It had a really good story line and great cut scenes. While I was a bit concerned about an RTS on a platform, it delivered easy to use controls and my fears were unfounded. Halo Wars loses points for being too short and a few of the fights were “throw money at them to win” based. There was not enough strategy involved (again, if you keep building units, you will win) Halo Wars gets three out of five stars.
Just plain lame.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Tried to like this game. Just can’t do it. This is pure marketing genius: suckering people like me, who really enjoyed the Halo series, into paying [...] bucks for a load of baloney. $%!* you, Bungie. I am not a video game expert, but this game is just plain lame and boring.
Great Game!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great game. It’s engaging and great fun. It’s a real time strategy game with amazing, elaborate graphics. That means there’s a lot of action occurring simultaneously on your screen with many characters, vehicles, and explosions. All hell breaks loose, especially on some of the missions. If you love the Halo universe, you’ll love this game. It’s a great & different way to experience it than in an FPS. In an FPS, you basically feel like you’re all alone. In an RTS, you feel like you’re a part of something big. I like that. It seems like a big challenge to put an RTS on a console and control it with a gamepad, but it works really well. They did a great job. It eventually becomes second nature. And it wasn’t as simplified as I feared it might be. Some of the missions are fairly easy, but some are pretty challenging. I played all the missions on normal difficulty so far. Now I still feel like I want to play them again on heroic and legendary, so it does have replay value. The game has great cut scenes. I played Starcraft before, and I actually like Halo Wars better. I don’t normally complain about games being too short, but Halo Wars did feel a little too short. It has 15 missions. I think it should have been twice as long. Starcraft had 60 missions. I hope there will be a sequel to Halo Wars. I really would like to see more of this game and do more new missions. I think there is the potential for a lot more RTS missions in the Halo universe.
The Halo Wars multiplayer on xbox live is great. But since there is a lot more data involved in RTS games, you’ll need a faster broadband connection than for FPS games to play without lag.
Free American
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Very boring game, to bad bungie didn’t make it and turn it into a first person shooter game, than it would have been better. not worth the money.
Halo Wars Review
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
When buying this game, you have to come into knowing that it is not a pc RTS, and that it was made specifical for the xbox. With that being said, for a console RTS this game was just great.
I didn’t like the story mode that much, being that I’m not a fan to the whole “Halo” series (Which is why me saying this is a good game, really means something) if you are a fan of the Halo series, you will enjoy story mode quite a bit. For the current generation of systems, I would have expected the story to be a bit longer than it was. I don’t recall the ammount of missions, but I think it was roughly 15′ish. Like I said, though, I didn’t come into this for the story. The online Skirmish matches is what really kept me coming back.
First off, let me get this out of the way. The BIGGEST drawback is the community. Anyone who has played xbox live will know that it is completely littered with young children who scream and complain the moment they start to lose. Anyone who has played a RTS game in the past knows that rushing is a very popular tactic to an early victory. Over half of the time playing this game, my opponents would quit within the first 5 minutes of the match if I didn’t give them time to prepare. The rare times that I actually found someone willing to keep playing though, I had a blast.
For having so many units on screen at a time, this game handles lag very well. For 1 vs 1 matches, you will hardly notice any, however, playing 3 vs 3 you will notice quite a bit of stutters.
Overall, I highly reccomend this game. Like I said, though, if you plan on playing online be patient – odds are you will find people quitting if you start to win.
Microsoft . . . YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Noramally I wouldn’t be playing a RTS game, but I loved Halo 1, 2, and 3, so I thought I’d give it a try. At first I tried the demo at Gamestop. I liked it, so I rented it, I liked it even more, so I bought it. Now . . . I LOVE IT! I don’t know why, but Halo seemed to have made RTS games more fun! I can’t even believe how much fun it is! You can build bases, build an army and destroy the enemy (I thought that you only fought the Covenant, but it turns out that you also end up fighting the Flood and Sentenials!) while doing objectives. The army can range from UNSC marines to Warthogs to Fiersome Scorpions to Hornets! You can also upgrade your army making them stronger to fight the enemy. There are also new things that have been added to the game. There are flamethrower marines and ODST Troopers! There are also new vehicles such as the Cobra (somewhat like the Scorpion except smaller and slower and it is specifically used for vehicle domination), Wolverine (an anti-air vehicle)! There is also the Vulture (a huge transport like ship with missiles and lasers)! There are also Spartans! On most missions there are at least 3 Spartans helping you! Best of all they never die! They only get knocked to the ground and you have to send allies by them and they get right back on their feet! Take note that the Covenant, Flood, and Sentineals also have new allies and vehicles. The Covenant have two new vehicles called the Locust (an anti-building vehicle that shoots laser) and the Vampire (much like the Vulture except smaller). The Flood have new allies, such as flying bird like creatures that are very pesky to Hornets and Infected Jackals. The sentenials have a new kind of machine that can stop a vehicle from working! So your enemies are alot stronger than you, unless you upgrade to higher levels. The landscapes are mostly very big! You will be traveling alot in Halo Wars. Halo Wars is just a game full of endless possibilities and fun! Buy it! You won’t be disappointed!
The first decent console RTS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I had completely given up on console RTS games for many years when a friend got me to check this game out. I was not disappointed. The controls feel natural, units can be quickly organized and the game is pretty well balanced. The DLC for the title leaves a lot to be desired, and getting all the achievements takes a VERY long time, but overall, this is a solid title for anyone looking for a good strategy game on Xbox 360.
Excellent Game
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you like strategy games and the Halo franchise then you will love this game. Easy to use control commands, a story line that pulls you in, and probably the best graphics (for the movies that happen between actual levels) that I’ve seen on any of the Halo games.
Most of the negative reviews are from people who are too hooked on first person shooters to appreciate anything that requires strategy. If you have attention deficit disorder and need to hear contant gun fire and explosions to keep your interest then don’t by this game. But if you like to play chess and to do some thinking that requires more thought than just pressing the trigger button then you will really enjoy Halo Wars. Ensemble really put a lot effort into the graphics and the story line and it’s worth every penny.
Solid rent but not a buy
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I bought this game expecting a bit too much.
I beat the game within a few days and found it a bit too easy (even on harder difficulty) and short.
It really is (as others have said) a dumbed down version of RTS
It is not a bad rent but not worth buying
Halo
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I can’t say anything more than this game rocks. If you have played RTS Games on PC (Command and Conquer, Red Alert) you would love this game because it is another RTS. However, add Halo to the mix and you got a killer game. Definately deserves 10 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this game only because my friend had it and wanted me to play with him. For $42, I figured why not? As a former Starcraft fanatic, I had expected to find this game fairly dumbed down. As I’ve played through the campaign though, I became more and more impressed – despite not being made by Bungie, this really feels like part of the Halo mythos and storyline. The controls are very well done and intuitive – this is the best controller-based setup that I can imagine.
The multiplayer online is also great fun and, unlike Starcraft, isn’t overrun with money map players – Ensemble/Robot wisely made separate playlists (Deathmatch) which are essentially a “money” version of the game with gigantic starting resources and high tech level. Voice chat is great for RTS, and the community is of a decent size, certainly the best I know of for a console RTS.
A great buy – My only caution is that the DLC modes (Strategic Options) are not worth it. The map pack (Historic Battles) may be, but only if you have friends or if it ends up becoming popular – right now the chances of playing the DLC maps are virtually nil (I’m not exaggerating – a day and a half after the release, 0 games had been played on the new 3v3 map) in matchmaking online, especially in 3v3.
Good RTS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Gaming background – I’m a big fan of Halo and Starcraft, so this seemed like a perfect match. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten online with it yet, so I can’t review that aspect of the game. However, single player mode is fun, and the controls do work well. I did find myself wishing for a mouse at times, but it wasn’t bad enough to be frustrating. The campaign in my opinion is well designed, with the only major annoyance being the unskippable video sequences. I thought it had sufficient length (though more would have been fine) and a good story, but I was disappointed that there is no Covenant campaign.
Skirmish mode is where the replay value comes in. You can play with any of several Covenent or UNSC leaders, each bringing their own special abilities and units. So far I prefer the Covenant, as their abilities are just plain fun. The UNSC and Covenant play very differently in Skirmish, because the Covenant leaders are on the battlefield using their abilties, whereas the UNSC leaders deliver their abilities from the ship above (MAC blasts and the like). For single player you can play against the computer, and also with computer allies if you want.
For Starcraft fans, I think the biggest differences are in base construction, resources, and population. In Halo Wars, there are only certain places you can make a base, and only a certain number of buildings you can build there. Secondly, you get resources via certain buildings, and your resource rate is limited by the number of those buildings you have, but you can never run out. Finally, the population limit is 30 (can be upgraded sometimes), which leads to smaller forces, quicker attacks, and shorter battles. There’s also a smaller tech tree to work through, but I’m not sure how much more you could really do with such a small population limit anyway. This works out fine in campaign, because the missions are designed for such forces. In skirmish mode, it would be nice to be able to configure a higher limit in conjuction with a big map, but as far as I know it is not possible.
My verdict is, if you like Halo and RTS, pick this one up.
LoveOrHate: RENT IT FIRST!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ll keep it brief[er than most] since there are so many long winded reviews on here. This game suffers from the fact that people compare it to console rts games. Frankly, this is an apples and oranges subject. Console rts games by their very nature are going to be extremely different experiences when compared to their PC counterparts.
The campaign is entertaining enough, but not terribly noteworthy. You can beat it beginning to end without learning all the special commands. You will still unlock some cool timeline facts from events in the halo universe, and drool over some spartan cg scenes, but ultimately it left me wondering why they created certain scenarios. Not that it didn’t make sense, but more for the fact that some tasks were just a little weird without making you feel like you just saved the day.
Where this game becomes my crack, however, is in the multiplayer. As with most games in the halo franchise, multiplayer is this game’s bread’n'butter. That’s when you will learn how to control specific units, multitask, jump around the map rapidly, and counter your opponents’ strategy. Campaigning with a friend can breathe fresh air into something that you may have never done again. And there are different skirmish/multiplayer game types to be acquired via XBOX Live Marketplace that put an entirely different spin on your traditional “build ‘em and kill ‘em” strategy games.
You also have to realize that the hype machine will destroy any game, no matter how good it actually turns out. Anything with the Halo brand on it will be expected to rise to and surpass absolutely unrealistic expectations. The greatest games are the games that are just great, but nobody saw coming: People see anything Halo coming from miles away now.