E3 2008 offers a bit more about Halo Wars

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E3 2008 offers a bit more about Halo Wars

by Jonathan Gronli on Jul 16, 2008 at 11:50 AM

Come the first half of 2009, Xbox and the Halo franchise will have an RTS and a prequel delivered in the form of Halo Wars. The price and rating has yet to be determined but Ensemble Studios is making an ambitious but risky move making an real-time strategy game for a console rather than PC.

In Halo Wars, you will command armies on the UNSC warship “Spirit of Fire.” Some of the units for the UNSC will be familiar, however there will be new units and weapons. With the help of Serina, an A.I., you will lead your units to victory or defeat. If you find it hidden throughout the battlefield, you can actually use Forerunner technology, even though the humans might not have even known or seen Forerunner technology until they reached Halo. In the campaign only the UNSC is playable, however in multiplayer you can indulge your misanthropic side.

Halo Wars 2

Control scheme will be a tad bit difficult for those who are used to the PC RTS games. This is because, at least for the moment, it will be a 360 exclusive. However, being that the game is being developed by the company behind Age of Empires, the learning curve might end up being forgiving.

Here are some of the features as detailed by the unfiltered Microsoft Halo Wars press release:

New take on a legendary world. Set in the iconic “Halo” universe, “Halo Wars” predates the original first-person shooter “Halo.” Fans of the franchise will have the opportunity to experience the early battles between the UNSC and Covenant, the far-reaching conflict that has been diligently followed by the masses in the blockbuster “Halo” series.

Players join the crew onboard the “Spirit of Fire,” a Phoenix-class colony ship converted for UNSC military use and guided by the AI persona Serina. The “Halo Wars” story line follows the Spirit of Fire’s discovery of an ancient artifact during a journey to the planet Harvest, the first planet to be attacked by the Covenant.

Strategic command of armies in large-scale combat. “Halo Wars” puts gamers in command of the battlefield over an arsenal of UNSC units and vehicles as they engage Covenant forces. They can counter and crush their opponent by tactically fielding the superior army. Players can also choose among Leaders that possess elite skills which can turn the tides of battle. Using various combinations of Leaders and units, players can create countless strategies tailored to their preferred playing styles and personalized strategies.

Challenge friends to skirmishes using the New Xbox Experience. See who the superior commander is through multiplayer online skirmishes supporting up to 6 players with the New Xbox Experience. Players can choose to command either unique civilization, UNSC or Covenant, each with unique attributes and strategic characteristics. Ancient Forerunner technology can also be found to create unique units to gain an upper hand in battle.

Groundbreaking strategy game for the Xbox 360. Since inception, “Halo Wars” was explicitly designed to cater to console gamers and bring to the Xbox 360 a genre that has typically been played on the PC. Gamers can easily command and manage powerful armies, effortlessly control troops and incredible machines, engage in epic battles and expand their empire using an intuitive user interface for the Xbox 360. “Halo Wars” represents the true next-generation experience, combining a masterful control scheme using the Xbox 360 controller with the award-winning strategic gameplay only Ensemble Studios can provide.

Site [Official Halo Wars Community Site] Read [G4]

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Dan said:

There’s only one problem I can think of: Humanity’s ass got kicked up until the original halo series. Fighting a game you can’t be successful in just seems ridiculous to me.
on July 17, 2008 at 02:08 AM - LINK
Jonathan Gronli said:

not necessarily true. Yes. In quite a few battles humanity got mauled. However, humanity also put up a fight and won battles as well. Read the books Dan.
on July 17, 2008 at 03:58 AM - LINK
Dan said:

Quite a few? Try most. Me, being a rts fan, kind of like successful campaigns, not one victory in every dozen missions. Even then, what about the battles that humanity lost badly? Put those in the game when you can’t be covenant, and Halo’s storywriters would turn in their graves, er, figuratively speaking.
on July 20, 2008 at 03:31 AM - LINK
Jonathan Gronli said:

In a battle, since there is no such thing as perfect strategy both sides tend to get mauled.
on July 20, 2008 at 03:37 AM - LINK
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E3 2008 offers a bit more about Halo Wars