Halo Wars details emerge

360 News | Game to feature six player online batlles as well as co-op.

Ensemble Studios have shed some light on their real-time strategy title Halo Wars in the latest issue of US gaming magazine GamePro.

The game preview reaffirmed the news that the title was to feature two player co-operative play in the campaign mode, while also revealing that the game is expected to support six players in multiplayer match-ups over the Xbox Live service.

The most notable tidbit from the preview was the news on the Halo War's resource system. Unlike most other RTS games which might have you gathering multiple resources such as wood, iron, or stone, Halo Wars will only require players to collect "supplies". This single resource system is being used in the game as a way to streamline the game's action and cut out some of the RTS genre's excessive need for micromanagement. Ensemble Studios' idea is to keep the title simple, without taking away too much of the strategy involved. By only having one resource in the game, players will be able to focus on the task of war rather than being bogged down in battle preparations.

Ensemble designer Dav Pottinger told GamePro, "the economy is simple but meaningful. All the big strategy decisions remain, but the game style is more adrenaline-filled."

Halo Wars is expected to drop into stores towards the end of this year.

Related Halo Wars Content

Historic Battle pack for Halo Wars
14 Jul, 2009 New multiplayer maps.

Halo Wars balancing patch on the way
13 Jul, 2009 It's all a balancing act.

New add-on pack for Halo Wars
22 Apr, 2009 Includes new game modes and achievements.

12 Comments

insectoid

3 years ago

Sounds pretty cool. Keeping an eye on this one

Passa

3 years ago

I'm naturally excited for this, since it's a Halo game (I love the series) and it's an RTS from Ensemble, who's Age of Empires series I love to bits. But I am quite irked it's on the Xbox 360 and suffering in terms of gameplay as a result. I don't want it dumbed down for consoles.. RTS belongs on the PC as far as I'm concerned.

How can I LAN up for some multiplayer with my friends like we do with all other RTSes if we all need a 360, a copy of the game and a TV set? I suppose I'll enjoy it regardless on Xbox Live and such.. but it just isn't the same

Aftershock

3 years ago

I've got lots of fond memories of AoE.
My mate and i both had copies of the game from Nutri-Grain, and we often set up multiplayer matches late at night, using the old copy-and-paste-the-ip-into-msn method of connecting.

Always had cheats on, of course.
Screw collecting resources, we'd much rather just build up armies of laser dudes.

harness

3 years ago

Passa wrote

it's on the Xbox 360 and suffering in terms of gameplay as a result. I don't want it dumbed down for consoles.. RTS belongs on the PC as far as I'm concerned.

Good thing devs aren't letting this kind of insistent, "traditional ways", stubborn attitude stand in the way of experimentation, innovation and progress. Have you seen the gameplay demo? It's not dumbed down from anything, it's built from the ground up for the 360.

They won't ever get mouse-like precision for consoles because consoles don't have mouses, but they can simplify and streamline tasks to make it more about the game and less about the controller limitations - this his the dilemma for console RTS makers. Halo Wars has something clever in the works, as has EndWar.

Samboy

3 years ago

harness wrote

Passa wrote

it's on the Xbox 360 and suffering in terms of gameplay as a result. I don't want it dumbed down for consoles.. RTS belongs on the PC as far as I'm concerned.

Good thing devs aren't letting this kind of insistent, "traditional ways", stubborn attitude stand in the way of experimentation, innovation and progress.

i agree with Passa on this one actually, i think that RTS should be kept to the PC. im not saying that it wont work, but it just seems to be a more logical decision, as its easier to macro/micro when you have that precision you need to do these tasks, in the form of a mouse/keyboard(hotkeys). not saying it cant be done for the 360, and not saying it will be bad, its just that RTS should be left to the PC's. but kudos to Ensamble for trying something different, i hope it works out for em.

(but i am slightly biased also, because id love to play this, and not owning a 360 kinda hinders that. would be awesome on PC)

Jellyfish

3 years ago

Xbox 360 + TV is cheaper than Gaming PC + portable Monitor though Passa

Plus Xbox Live supports such environments anyway.

Halo Wars will be better that it's only on the 360 as that way it can stand on it's own rather than having to fight to stand out and be utterly ignored as the flock rush to buy Starcraft 2. As much as I love RTS on the PC it pains me to see the extremely high quality games get passed over for a frankly nothing spectacular game from the mid 90s.

Jaws

3 years ago

Give it time and you'll see it emerge on PC, im sure. If there's extra money to be made, a minor port will be no problem. Im sure that M$ want to make as much 360 bank as possible before giving PC players access. If you had both systems and it was out for both, which would you buy it for? It's a no brainer really..

IISpacebreakII

3 years ago

Oh man AoE II was sweet, so this Halo Wars is nothing like Halo 1/2/3 than is it? I thought it was Halo with additional maps and stuff...

Is Master Chief in this one?

Skiller

3 years ago

The reason it'll be 360 only is the same reason the other Halo games were console exclusive originally: compared to PC games of the same genra they suck hard. The only reason it'll sell is because most of the Halo demographic are too boozed/drugged up to realize how crap it is (why do you think the Halo games had such bright colors

Jedi.Jell

3 years ago

Skiller wrote

I'd like to think you were being satirical, but somehow I don't think so...

Skiller

3 years ago

Jedi.Jell wrote

Skiller wrote

I'd like to think you were being satirical, but somehow I don't think so...

Not satirical, but I was exadurating a fair bit

. The halo games are easily some of the best console FPS games, but I'm sick of how much attention and praise they get when in reallity they do nothing new or better than most generic FPS games on PC.

Jellyfish

3 years ago

Skiller wrote

Not satirical, but I was exadurating a fair bit

Mobile phones should never have games on them, I can get better experiences on other platforms

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Halo Wars

Pre-order or buy:
PALGN recommends: www.Play-Asia.com

Australian Release Date:
  26/02/2009 (Confirmed)
Standard Retail Price:
  $99.95 AU
Publisher:
  Microsoft
Genre:
  RTS
Year Made:
  2008

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