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Halo Wars
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Posted 2009-03-11, 02:05 PM
So, I bought Halo Wars the other day (Special Edition) so I figured I'd review it.

STORY: As the campaign mode starts, you are a lone character, Sgt. Forge, and you must gather the scattered Marines and make haste back to Alpha Base. As you make it back to Alpha Base, you discover that it has been over run with an alien race (Which, at this point, we apparently know are covenant), and you have to take it back. After accomplishing that goal, you have to then stop the bomb the Covenant have planted in the nearby ruins that you were there to initally investigate. Then, the Arbiter (not the same one from Halo 2/3 mind you. This one looks way more bad ass.) abducts Dr. Anders to try to get her to activate the Shield World, on orders given by the Propet of Regret. You may remember he epic fails when he encounters Master Chief in Halo 2. So, the Arbiter and Sgt. Forge get into a scuffle, he kidnaps Dr. Sanders and now you go after her. But wait! No Halo game is complete without an assault from... The Flood! As you battle the Flood, you are pulled into the planet, which has a sun and everything on the inside of it, and you run into Sentinels. And just like at the end of Halo: Combat Evolved, you have to then fight Covenant, Flood, and Sentinels. Then you come up with the brilliant scheme to blow up the planet with super large reactors that you will teleport into the sun, using the planet's teleportation system. You also get to control 3 Spartans during the game, and during one level, a group of about 8 more Spartans aid you. As you are delivering the last reactor to the point where it'll be teleported into the sun, the Pelicans come under attack. Then you have to use an Elephant to lug it up these steep hills to it's final resting place. But wait! Aribiter strikes again! Sgt. Forge and Arbiter duke it out while the 3 Spartans take on an advancing squad of Elites. This Cinematic is by far the greatest in the whole game. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Concluding the scuffle, one of the Spartans surmises that the reactor is going to have to be hard wired to detonate, so he decides to go with it into the sun. Sgt. Forge steps forward and says he'll take the responsibility, because he has, "... a feeling that before this is over, we're gonna need every last Spartan..."! But it's not over yet! You now have to open the ginormous combination lock that is blocking his teleportation path, as well as fight off Covenant, Flood, and Sentinels.

GAMEPLAY: I haven't played many RTS games, but I have played Age of Empires, which was done by these same people, Ensemble Studios. The only problem I have, is the limit on units you are allowed. You can only get 40 units, and while that may seem like alot, a Scorpion Tank counts as 3, as do any larger vehicles. The Human "Uber Unit" (that's what they are called in-game) is a Vulture, and it costs 6 units. So, very quickly you can see that your unit limit is reached if you want to have a well-equipped army. Also, you have to use vehicles when fighting the Flood, as they spout clouds of spores that automatically infect any infantry units... so that huge platoon of 234 Marines you sent over there? (39 x 6, Tech maxed. 5 Soldiers, 1 Medic(1 unit is Sgt. Forge by himself)) Yeah, they got overwhelmed in seconds. Now, when you go over there, you have to fight your 234 Marines AND the loads of Flood creatures. Other than that, the menu system is extremely easy to operate. The "Rule of 8" allows simple and quick actions to be taken during combat, so you can easily get back to fighting. Both Covenant and Human sides are relativley equally equipped, except if the Covenant ever unleash a Scarab, be prepared to be PWN'D pretty hard. Not even the Vulture has much of a chance, and I had 2, sometimes 3 attacking it, and it still took 3 or 4 waves of them. And Vultures aren't cheap!

GRAPHICS: The graphics are astounding! The detail in each unit is amazingly similar to what you would see had you been playing any of the FPS Halo games. And the Cinematics are definately 2 steps above Halo 3. When the 360 first came out, people were disappointed that the graphics only looked as good as some of the better games for XBOX. Myself, I said that near the end of the systems life is when we could expect the greatest graphics, as it would take programmers time to fully grasp the technology. This is what I had imagined games looking like farther down the line. Skin texture is beautifully done, as are the cuts and bruises Sgt. Forge receives during his last encounter with the Arbiter.

SCORE: I am going to give it a 6/10. Reason being, that it is short. I got it about 2, 2:30 on Saturday, turned it off at 8, hopped on Sunday after work, and I was on the last level... right where I left off... I don't know how long RTS games usually last, but this just seemed a tad short for me. Also the story line, as you probably couldn't tell during my synopsis, jumps around alot. And to me, it doesn't feel as though Bungie wrote it, it feels as though it was written very hastily, and just decided to incorporate every instance of the Halo games as possible. Also, the ending tries to make you feel bad for Sgt. Forge's sacrifice, but it doesn't succeed.

I am also going to rate the Special Edition seperately, at a 7.5/10. Mainly because of all the goodies you receive. You get a hard-cover comic that covers the initial attack and capture of an Elite, as well as how the current Arbiter got that job. You get a nice rubber coaster with the 'Spirit of Fire' logo molded onto it. You also get to download an Honor Guard Wraith Tank, a Warthog with 'Spirit fo Fire' flames and stuff on it (only if you pre-ordered it) and probably best of all, the 3 Halo 3 maps. You also get a Prima Strategy tip book for the first encounter, as well as large "Leader" cards that give stats and stuff on each of the leaders you can control. (3 Human, 3 Covenant)
R.I.P
Pontiac
Jan. 1926 - Dec. 2010 est.

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