20 years before the Halo event, there were some huge battles between the UNSC and the Covenant
I haven’t picked up a game on launch day since Fallout 3 which was a few months ago, so I was pretty excited to grab Halo Wars last Tuesday. A few of my friends got it at launch as well so I’ve been playing through the campaign on co-op while dabbling in some of the multiplayer. I’m about halfway through the campaign and have 6 or 7 multiplayer skirmishes under my belt, so it seemed the right time to post some impressions..
A lot of the things I said in my demo impressions still hold true but I have a better feel of the game now. I’ve broken down my impressions into sections instead of the usual like/unsure of format we use. The game feels like such a mixed bag to me that I think this is the best way to give my impressions. You can check out how I feel about the game after the jump.
Controls
Overall I think the controls are adequate. I definitely miss the “wheel” system that previous console RTS games have used (Red Alert 3 and LOTR come to mind). I can’t produce units unless I go back to my base, which is annoying even though getting to my base is one click on the directional pad. I’ve been utilizing the “armies” function a bit more, which allows you to switch between groups of units that are geographically separated. Even though that helps me coordinate attacks with multiple groups, it still does not placate my desire for control groups. I really don’t understand why Ensemble didn’t include these, they aren’t inherently confusing and it could have just been an option for more advanced players.
Another thing that annoys me about the control scheme is that there is no “move” function. The first mission had an achievement for running over 50 grunts with warthogs. Sounds easy, right? It is, except for the fact that your warthogs shoot most of the grunts dead before you get close enough to run them over since in Halo Wars “move” always means “attack-move”. It took me 3 or 4 tries to get the achievement. I am all for difficult achievements, but I don’t like achievements that are difficult to achieve because the gameplay is broken. Just to add to my rant on this one achievement, it was ALSO annoying that the warthog drivers are not the smartest path takers. In general, I wish units were a bit smarter about the way they moved in this game.
Despite all this complaining, overall the controls work well. They are simple to use and I can do things quickly. They are more or less perfect for beginning RTS players. I just wish some of the more traditional RTS options were available for advanced players.
Campaign
The campaign has been fun so far – out of the first 7 missions I don’t think any of the mission objectives have been the same so I’ve been enjoying the variety. I also really like playing the campaign in co-op because one of us manages the base while the other manages the units and we switch from mission to mission. My friend and I have been playing through on Heroic, which has given us a fair challenge. Mission 6 in particular ate us for breakfast and we haven’t gotten back to it yet, though I beat it on Heroic solo so it’s definitely do-able.
I do wonder if I would enjoy the campaign as much if I was playing single player. It’s kind of tough to manage a base and multiple wars without the aid of control groups. If I am fighting, I need to click back to base, then find the building I want, and then queue up units. Except if I don’t have enough resources I can’t queue up multiple units, meaning during battle I need to keep jumping back and forth instead of focusing on the fight and waiting for queued units to join me. What might have been a better option is the system in Dawn of War 2 or EndWar, basically you pull up a menu to order/upgrade units and they get sent to the field. But I guess that’s neither here nor there.
The story is standard Halo fare, and the cut scenes are amazingly rendered. However, I find myself disappointed in the rare instances when there isn’t a cutscene between missions.
Menu Screens
I feel the need to add this in here: the menus leave something to be desired for me. They just aren’t very intuitive. Sometimes I hit the wrong button and start a mission before I’m ready, and then I need to watch the entire in-game cinematic before I can quit out of the mission. Compounding the issue is the fact that I can only change difficulty BEFORE I start a mission, meaning if I start a mission on a difficulty I don’t want, I need to once again wait for the in-game cinematic before I quit out. I experienced all of this while getting that stupid run over 50 grunts achievement. Overall, the menu is not as slick and useful as it should be. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, but it definitely casts a shadow over my general experience with the game.
Multiplayer
I’m ending my impressions with what I think is the strongest part of the game: the multiplayer options. You can only play 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3, but frankly I don’t even care. I’ve had tons of fun playing in skirmishes with my friend (both cooperatively and against each other). Right now nobody seems to know what they are doing online, but some standard strategies are beginning to emerge. Currently I’m thinking through optimal build orders and hope to put some together. But even if you don’t have any strategy and just build a million units, the game is fun. After I finish the campaign I think I’ll spend quite a bit of time with the multiplayer, which is a good thing since the campaign is supposedly a little short. I do hope multiplayer is balanced in a way that allows for multiple strategies. From my first impressions that definitely is a strong possibility.
Parting Thoughts
My impressions may seem negative, but I’ve been enjoying the game quite a bit. It’s the little things that are dragging me down: the controls, the menus, etc. But the little things don’t keep Halo Wars from being a good game, they just keep it from being awesome. It definitely is not a revolution for console RTS games, but it’s left a favorable impression on me nonetheless. I hope to have a review up in a week or two when I finish the campaign and get some more hands on time with the multiplayer. Until then, let us know what you think of the game in the comments!
interesting read knowing that you just came off of red alert 3 on the console also. how do you feel the two compare? seems like ra3 has more depth (perhaps too much, for a console RTS game) but the multiplayer in halo wars keeps the game from being completely sunk by ra3.
I’ve waited days for this review.
espion4ge we should check out ra3 online. By the end of ra3 I think I was used to the depth in the game, although the special units (“spell users”) were kind of excessive, too difficult to micro. Maybe I’ll do a small side by side comparison for the full review.
tairese, I’ve waited days to play mission 7 coop