GamePro: Halo Wars Hands-On

If Halo Wars is successful, it won't only be viewed as a great Halo game," Ensemble Studios executive producer Harter Ryan explains. "We're looking for a bigger success -- to establish the strategy genre on the Xbox 360. We want to make a beacon for other developers."

Developers could use the help. Real-time strategy (RTS) games have suffered a dismal track record on home consoles over the years, scoring vanishingly few successes amidst countless failures. The problem is elementary. The very elements that make PC games such as Starcraft so addictive -- micromanaging resources, juggling multiple battles at once -- bog down the console experience to a near standstill.

But that isn't stopping Ensemble Studios, the masterminds behind the trend-setting PC strategy series Age of Empires. With Halo Wars, Ensemble is aiming to pull off the impossible: craft a simple, intuitive, highly playable strategy game based around the strengths and limitations of the Xbox 360 controller. And you know what? These console first-timers just might pull it off.

[NO_PUDding]

Meant for the Gamerzone.

[NO_PUDding]

I think the main problem is, that people with consoles don't have the same kind of taste. In the same way, you'd find people who own PC's like point and click adventures (in addition to the average FPS).

Ofcourse, no worries here, the name will sell it.

But I doubt they can apply any intuition to the controller. They just aren't really made for it period. Even sixaxis would be rubbish.

[Superfragilistic]

You miss the point of Halo Wars, EndWar and Civ Revolution. They are designed from the ground up to use the strengths of the console as opposed to PC ports which merely expose the formats weaknesses (No K&B and micromanagement).

The aformentioned titles are really a new form of RTS/TBS that have little in common with their PC cousins. They are an evolution of the genre and I hope the beginning of a new sub-genre. They are perhaps better labeled as action-RTS, RTT (real-time tactics) or CBS (console-based strategy).

[Rogert]

hey, i didnt read the full article, but does it say if the Covenant are playable?

consoles for me are the only way i can play an RTS now. With graphics card requirements for RTS games now going higher and higher, and my declining interest in PC gaming, i dont see the point to upgrading my PC. So, games like Red Alert 3, Supreme Commander, Halo Wars, Command and Conquer 3, and so on are the only way i can play a RTS game. I dont have any issues with the controls since i dont micro manage, so basically the more the merrier!

[NO_PUDding]

Good point. I also have given up on PC's. As logn as this rig can play Morrowind and DArk Messiah, I am happy.

[IaMs12]

im a fan of RTS, i love them and i do to see it pretty hard to make one for a console, yet i never played one for a console yet but i hope they pull this one off. I was not too interested in it un til i saw screenies now im having some hope... also to me i think it will make its way to the PC, its Microsoft and would be a more of a hit on the PC if it fails on the 360...

[Adriokor]

The game is only for xbox.

This is the only xbox game I would like to see on other platforms :(

[ice_prophecy]

I assume a lot of halo players aren't interested in RTS?

[Superfragilistic]

You forget a lot of Halo players are very interested in Halo. Whether that is an FPS, RTS, RPG or Action/Adventure I don't think it really matters to many.

Add the fact that the leading RTS developers in my opinion are responsible and they have full access to Bungie assets and I'd suggest this has hit written all over it. :)

[ice_prophecy]

I see. Yea I honestly dont have that understanding since I only liked halo for Its multilayer aspects, but never really got into the single player.

[Superfragilistic]

Yeah I agree.

Only the original had a campaign I felt was worth writing home about. The multiplayer and user generated content is still way ahead of its time, and is what keeps bringing me back. Forge literally stands alone in the console world. :)

But a lot of Halo players love the whole Lore of Halo, the Spartans, the Arbiters, the Flood and the Convenant. Check out the Halopedia and you'll see that such obsession is rarely matched by other titles. Some fans are as devoted to Halo as any to Star Wars or Lord of the Rings.

Having said that I don't expect Halo Wars to outsell Halo 3 at all, as the FPS genre is much larger as you noted, but it's sure to pull PC gamers in (it's exclusive to the 360) and get a lot of crossover appeal form the Halo FPS fans if the game stays true to the lore and adds to the lore (it's a prequel), whilst offering a fast action packed experience.

If it does 2m it'll be a massive success for a new IP, anything beyond that would perhaps further illustrate the widespread love for the franchise among 360 gamers and set new commercial benchmarks for RTS's on consoles.

[green]

I don't play RTS games but this is one of my most anticipated 360 title.

[u got owned]

This game keeps looking better and better. Im a fan of RTS and will be playing this one on day one.

[Mr Fancy Pants]

i haven't played an RTS in my life...

[Dr Pepper]

Well, if you own a 360 and aren't sure whether you'd like Halo Wars, or you just want to get in the RTS mood, you could rent or buy Battle for Middle-Earth II, which made a pretty good transition to the 360 from PC.

[phony force slayer]

i play that on my 360 aswell. all RTS have gone down a treat on my 360 IMO. LOTR:BFME II, C&C 3 PLUS SOON THE EXPANSION PACK,STAR TRECK: LEGACY, THE ENDWAR BETA TEST THAT I AM IN(btw i will not leak any infomation at all about this game. the only infomation you will have is the allready released infomation. SO DONT ASK!!) AND BATTLE STATIONS MIDWAY(i am number 1 in the world on 1 of those maps)

i think RTS have worked on xbox 360 and to think other wise you have to be a 'droid' of some sort cough cough.

[gogators]

I just find that they work better with a mouse and keyboard. I'll be interested in these types of games for consoles, but I always have to take a very close look at them. I still like what I see for Halo Wars and End War so far.

[Superfragilistic]

I agree that Halo Wars and EndWar look promising and I think it's because they are new takes on the RTS genre that play to a consoles strengths. Conventional RTSs get bogged down on consoles largely due to the micromanagement. But as Civ Revolution has already proved with TBS, designing Console Based Strategy (CBS) rather than just porting RTS can be mightily successful and offer a new and faster paced experience. :)

I'm in the EndWar beta and it not only breaks new ground, but breaks all the rules of the conventional PC RTS that it really shouldn't be considered to be in the same genre. I see it very much as a turning point for strategy on consoles which clearly shows what potential the genre has on the format. Not just in changing the control format but the focus on real time tactics and strategic thinking.

If RTS on consoles are to become like Chess, RTS on PCs are like a visit to Games Workshop to play Warhammer. I love Chess's fast pace tactical thinking and seemingly simple units/rules that hide incredible depth. If consoles RTSs follow that example we may well have a new sub-genre on our hands in the coming years. :)

[power of Green]

Looks cool.

[Space_cancer]

Last C&C worked pretty well with a controller so i don´t see why this one would fail. Nice graphics, fast paced action and online co-op with all the Halo stuff baked in makes this game promising. I really hope Ensemble will get the work done right as it should be. If so, this game could be a big step forward for the console RTS-genre. Day one purchase for me.

[KBDuB]

I think this game will do very good.. It's being made by one of the best developers, in my opinion, in the RTS genre, Ensemble. This is one of my anticipated games on the 360.

[phony force slayer]

and to disagree you must be a droid. just look at the selection on xbox 360 no over console scratches it.

[Trekster_Gamer]

This is simple. And before you think of the tired old rhetoric it makes your console too much like a computer, thats hogwash! They are peripherals just like everything else. They would make RTS mainstream in the console world.

Mouse and Keyboard! Give us all this as a standard on ALL consoles and RTS will be a hellavalot bigger in the console world versus the PC.