When I experienced the first Halo Wars title eight years ago, developed by the esteemed Ensemble Studios, I was the definition of a greenhorn when it came to the real-time strategy genre. Admittedly, I’m still coming to grips with the nuanced art of commanding legions in wartime scenarios. Though Ensemble Studios’ vision of an accessible, casual strategy title was realised as Halo Wars expanded the Halo canon with great meaning all the while offering up a solid gaming experience that only Ensemble could, at the time.
With Ensemble having succumbed to closure, Creative Assembly (of Alien: Isolation fame) and 343 Industries, developer of the mainline Halo titles, have carried the torch forward. Aside from the obvious departures in playstyle, Halo Wars 2 is a huge departure from the much maligned Halo 5: Guardians, as Captain Cutter’s speech after the game’s prologue painted clearly the game’s intended direction. It’s a bare-bone military narrative, peppered with some incredibly effective character performances.
Halo Wars 2 is at its best when it’s telling the story of its two most interesting characters. Isabel acts as the game’s emotional centre, as she longs to exact vengeance on Atriox after he swept through and eradicated her once ‘family’, as she considered them. Not since Cortana many games ago have I cared for a character in the Halo universe, but Isabel’s plight was one I was happy to invest in. There’s an emotional weight to her performance that, in all honesty, carries the tug-of-war between Spirit of Fire and the Banished throughout the game. In a series where not enough time is ever spent getting to know the enemy, Atriox doesn’t quite get the screen time deserved during Halo Wars 2, though when he does make an appearance it’s one to remember. There’s an early scene in which Isabel pours a tall glass of exposition, telling Cutter about Atriox’s rise to leadership.
Much like Halo Wars, its sequel is as streamlined and easy to pick-up.
The campaign eases you into the core game’s many elements. A tutorial is blended into the narrative, which sees you beginning with general infantry movement. Soon after, you’ll learn how to operate your command centre, becoming a logistical dynamo with precise tact and resource management. That’s if the game’s helpful hints sink in. Admittedly, I was slow on the uptake as some of the game’s missions provided a welcome challenge even on the easiest difficulty. Though, as I emphasised earlier, I’m still very much a greenhorn to the genre itself. The bombastic, military-themed campaign stretches out to a dozen missions; some might only last ten to fifteen minutes while others may take up to an hour. It may be short, but it’s linear and focused in a way that assures your cursor is never far away from the thick of it.
While all of the traditional real-time strategy modes are in place for the game’s multiplayer, Creative Assembly has concocted something rather bold in an attempt to evolve the genre. Blitz is very much a mash-up of traditional Halo Wars gameplay and a deck-builder game, like Hearthstone. It’s a fast-paced, white-knuckle mode where a clear head and fast decision making is key. Fortunately, the game throws cards at you at a crazy rate, eliminating some of the pressures of succumbing to microtransactions in an attempt to remain competitive. It’s unlike anything the genre has seen and I expect it to catch on as the Halo Wars competitive circuit, hopefully, grows.
Special plaudits to Blur, the production company responsible for the game’s cinematics. We’ve all seen their work, even if we’re not aware it’s theirs, and their efforts in not only Halo Wars 2, but the Halo series as a whole, has been astounding. Their work is the height of badass. Look no further than the aforementioned Atriox origins cinematic. If it reminded me of anything at all, it’s probably the scene from 300 where Leonidas shield-punches his way through a handful of meat bags in slow-motion. Epic.
It’s hard not to be taken aback by the performances of both Erika Soto and Gideon Emery, whose performances as Isabel and Captain James Cutter respectively can only be described as first-rate. While I sang Soto’s praises earlier for her performance, Cutter’s bellicose patriotism is pinned permanently to his sleeve courtesy of Emery’s portrayal. It was certainly jarring for Cutter’s appearance to change so drastically between games, but he’s in good hands.
Halo Wars 2 is familiar but different in all of the right ways. A short, robust campaign, rich with genuinely effective character performances and a compelling (though far too absent) villain is complemented by a multiplayer facet that is far better off on the back of a daring deck-building venture.
The Xbox One version of this game was played for the purpose of this review. You can read our review policy HERE.
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Looks good! Been getting back into strategy games again thanks to Xcom 2 anyways.