IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU JUMP FOR JOY

They can hear it here on Earth, though, and if you are a fan of RTS (Real Time Strategy) games or the Halo franchise then that is exactly what you'll be doing after playing Halo Wars. After acquiring a review copy of the game, I played the whole way through its 15 campaign levels and played some multiplayer against the computer and can see already this game has everything you could want from it.

Many skeptics out there worried that if you combined the long history of RTS failures on consoles with a prequel to one of the most successful franchises in gaming history you were going to get burned for playing with fire. Then when they heard it would be an XBOX360 exclusive with no PC port, they almost wrote this gem off before a demo had even been released. However, the folks at Ensemble Studios knew exactly what they were doing. Hailed for RTS staples like the Age of Empires series, Ensemble Studios proved they were the right ones to make what I am declaring to be the first successful RTS game for a console.

As an RTS, Halo Wars plays as if you were using your computer. Using the paintbrush tools and hot buttons to select troops and move from base to base make basic commands a breeze to the point that you forget you're using an XBOX360 controller and not a mouse and keyboard. Supplies gathering and building upgrades are simple and have been streamlined to fit the console's RTS scheme and make it so that you can build your supply depot and forget about it and know your supplies will continue to stream in (as long as you keep the supply depot from getting razed by enemy fire that is). The gameplay is crisp and there isn't an ounce of lag throughout the game.

The only problems were the usual ones you find in most RTS games, such as trying to send a group of three or four large units, like tanks, through a narrow opening in the land and instead of them naturally deciding to go one at a time, they keep running into each other as all four try to fit through at once. This pathfinding bugginess is forgivable since that has been a problem with RTS games for years, not just on consoles. The battle engagements are challenging and most missions require more thinking than "I'll just build more units than the enemy and unleash my entire army in a barbaric charge when the time comes". With four levels of difficulty to play through and an online co-op mode, the Halo Wars story mode will keep RTS fans happy for a long time.

In terms of the head-to-head multiplayer, I will admit I wasn't able to get a true feel for it due to there being only so many early copies out there for us media outlets, but I did play a few Deathmatches against the computer and it had everything you would expect from an RTS Deathmatch. Standard rules: wipe your opponent off the map. It gives you a huge amount of starting supplies and it's a race to see how fast you can build the largest army to try and eradicate your opponent. The maps are all based off planets and locales you come across in the main game, but on a smaller scale to encourage constant engagements. Everything taken into consideration, the Halo Wars head-to-head multiplayer has a strong foundation for some great XBOX Live battles ahead for itself.

If you're a follower of the Halo canon you can rest easy. The story is not only compelling, but it does justice to the series and highlights some obscure key events in the Halo timeline that many might not be familiar with that lead up to Master Chief's escapades. Troops, vehicles, and buildings are all as accurate as can be for both the Marines and the Covenant and follow in line with what you've learned from previous Halo games. For example, you can't make an army of Spartan soldiers; if you're lucky you'll get a couple at the beginning of the level to help you out and that's it. Add in collectibles that concur with the Halo universe like a skull on each level and black boxes to reveal more of the Halo timeline feature and you've got plenty to keep this game warm in your machine for a long time. The only real drawback I felt was that the story seemed a bit short. The plot developed too quickly for my tastes and to have as much action as it did spread across only 15 levels felt like you had unfinished business. Then again, it does take place 20 years before Master Chief so that might have been on purpose.

If you want to learn a little bit more about the story and the characters, take a look at the interview I did with Lead Story Writer, Graeme Devine from Ensemble Studios.



Graphics: 8.5: Not a tremendous amount of detail is usually necessary for an RTS game. As long as the terrain is has some variations and is glitch-free, then you're usually set. This being said, Halo Wars' cut scenes are spectacular to view and bring up the overall visual quality of the game and are something to look forward to after each mission. A solid display to say the least.

Audio: 9.5: The voice acting was crisp and clean and the SFX were fairly solid. In-game explosions could have used a little work. I just didn't feel it when I destroyed a Covenant base. The music was taken straight from the trilogy which was a smart move. Minor complaints, but really great overall.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: The plot seemed a little rushed at times and developed too quickly considering the grand scale of the Covenant's master plan in this game. I understand that it was probably a lot of story to fit in over only 15 levels, but it left you feeling with unfinished business at the end. Then again, this is only one short series of events over a war that spans decades and is still 20 years away from Master Chief's adventures.

Gameplay: 9.0: The game was mostly smooth and the A.I. was pretty impressive. The only problems were the usual ones you find in any great RTS game, such as trying to send a group of three or four large units through a narrow opening in the land. They decide that running into each other, as all four try to fit through at once, will be exactly the kind of reinforcements you need in any altercation. This has been a problem that has plagued RTS games for years and until someone figures out how to fix that, no RTS will ever earn a perfect score on gameplay.

Replay Value: 10.0: The telltale sign of an RTS game's greatness is if you want to keep playing the missions over and over and this one succeeds. With hidden collectibles on each mission, co-op and versus options, and like any good RTS game, no mission can be completed the same way twice, this game will stay in your XBOX360 for a long time.

Overall (not an average): 10.0: Let me start off by saying that 10 out of 10 does not make a game perfect, there is no such thing as a "perfect" game. However, to not give this game the highest possible score would be a tragedy. What pushed this up from a 9 to a 10 is that this game is the first to break the stereotype of RTS games being abysmal on a console. Never before has an RTS been able to successfully transition from the PC to the home console or go straight to the console with such fluidity. This game could revolutionize the RTS genre and open up doors we had only begun to dream of. This alone would have garnered a great score, but combined with an awesome plot, stellar controls, and visually stunning cut scenes, I could not think of giving this game any less than a "perfect" score. Thank you to the people at Microsoft and Ensemble Studios for FINALLY getting it right.

Halo Wars is available everywhere on March 3rd, 2009.

-Ray Carsillo