Halo Wars Critic Reviews

The differences between Halo Wars and a more traditional PC RTS are distinct. Yes, the controls aren’t as precise nor are there a great diversity of units, structures, or resources—but that's the point. By approaching the game as fundamentally different, the resulting design feels native to the console controller. In the end Halo Wars just plain works, and is a huge step in the development of real time strategy gaming on the consoles.

Halo Wars is an absolute triumph, every bit as well designed and beautifully implemented as the Halo trilogy; the only real downside is that it's so addictive that you'll find it hard to tear yourself away. Finished the fight? Time to start another one!

Halo Wars is possibly the best real-time strategy game ever made for console. It captures all the essence of the genre and, for the first time, translates it to our gamepad with absolute success. It's not like the dominating sort of strategy game in PCs, but it has its own, well defined personality, and its specific features, which define Halo Wars as a solid and outstanding bet.

Halo Wars is such a good RTS because it does so many things right. It nails the Halo look and feel through its cut scenes, environments, units and even that distinctively saturated Halo colour pallet.

It's a shame to see that Ensemble had to close their doors after this, because it's really the best attempt I've seen at bringing over a solid RTS experience on consoles, and I hope it's a game that other RTS fans (and even non-fans) will give a try, because it's definitely worth picking up.

Ensemble Studios finally achieved a result sought by many developers this gen: creating a true console RTS, easy and amusing to play, yet keeping it highly challenging. Besides this, we get a great Halo story, with charismatic characters and amazing CGI cut-scenes. This game did for the RTS genre what the original Halo did for the FPS, and we're sure it will have a great impact in future games of this kind.

Halo Wars isn't perfect, but it's a huge step in the right direction for console RTS. For the first time in the sub-genre, I felt like I was playing a game instead of wrestling with a kludged-together control scheme.

Though it's not a first-person shooter, Halo Wars packs all the Halo fixings you've come to expect: an engaging campaign, co-op play, engrossing multiplayer, efficient party-friendly matchmaking, hidden skulls, Legendary difficulty, and impeccable controls. We can confidently say that it's the foremost example of a real-time strategy game done right on a console.

If there's a better swan song for a game studio than creating an important console title in the Halo universe, I'm at a loss to think of it.

There's a real sense of cohesive design and polish at play here, something that we feel is missing from ports of PC titles. This is truly a console RTS, rather than a rethink on an existing title and that shines through in the intelligent interface, the interesting campaign and the multiplayer and co-op friendly gameplay.

Halo Wars is undoubtedly fun; one just worries if it’s not enough for one group of gamers and too much for another. If you’re part of that middle ground like I believe I am, then you’ll love Halo Wars as much as I did.

Perhaps the most impressive thing, though, is that it's managed to feel like a totally authentic Halo experience, rather than just a cynical spin-off. We've no doubt a strategy game will be a hard sell to a lot of people, but if this introduces even just a small proportion of die-hard Halo fans to a rewarding new genre of game, or indeed just a small proportion of strategy fans to the brilliance of Bungie's rich sci-fi universe, then it can be deemed a success that the now defunct Ensemble Studios can be proud of.

Overall this is a tremendous addition to the Halo universe.

A solid RTS on the Xbox 360, Halo Wars may not break the mold, but it does provide an impressive entry to the series and one that finally makes the genre feel at home on a console.

If you're a die-hard Halo or RTS fan, Halo Wars is a must own. For everybody else, I highly recommend, at the very least, a rental.

A must have for RTS fans, and a must have for those who enjoy the Halo universe.

Ensemble have created something really special, they have managed to make a genre previously inaccessible to console audiences and turn it around into something that’s easy to play and heaps of fun.

Halo Wars easily sweeps you up in the action even if you’re not a huge fan of real-time strategy titles.

For those of us who are fans of the Halo series this is a great game to play and have to further explore the rich Halo universe. But for those people looking for a deep strategy experience should look elsewhere because this Real Time Strategy title is not your standard RTS but more of an action game with some RTS elements added in for flavor. A must buy for anyone who likes action games, Halo and playing with their friends.

Folks that like arcade real-time strategy games, without lots of micromanagement and a well-developed multiplayer-mode will absolutely love this title. Halo Wars is a must-have for a sophisticated games collection.