
Looking at the control diagram for Halo Wars, you'd think it was a simple action game. Every input on the controller has one function. One. The left stick moves the selection reticle. The right stick adjusts the camera. The A button selects things, whether that means selecting units and buildings or confirming selections in the build queue. The X button issues orders to move or attack. The Y button uses the special ability of a selected unit. The B button cancels actions. The bumper buttons are used to select either all on-screen units or all units in your entire army. Using the D-Pad, you can jump instantly to your armies, combat zones and base (or bases). Up on the D-Pad opens up the Spirit of Fire menu, which allows you to utilize special abilities like orbital strikes and carpet bombing. The right trigger ... well, we'll get to that later.
So yes, the controls are simple. They are so simple that within a few minutes I was queuing up new units to build, queuing up new buildings, issuing attack orders, setting waypoints and generally unleashing hell on the Covenant forces. Once I knew the basic controls, I was actually learning how to do things before the Microsoft rep had time to explain them to me.
As impressive as the controls are, the design of the game is just as important, as it compliments the streamlined nature of the controls. Rather than building a sprawling base with buildings spread in all directions, Halo Wars utilizes a slot system. Your command center has seven slots, all of which can be fit with one of several facilities. At the beginning of the game, you can only build the most basic facilities like a barracks, power reactors and supply depots, while more advanced buildings become available as you build more reactors.
The slot system is something like a deck of cards in a strategy game. You only get seven and it's up to you to decide how you want to play them. Do you stack your "deck" with four barracks so that you can produce a ton of low level soldiers quickly? Maybe you want to build air units. The airstrip requires the output of four reactors though, which means you'll have to dedicate a full five of your seven slots to build it. Then again, you could upgrade two reactors to double their output, reducing the number of slots needed for the airstrip to 3. Upgrading the reactors takes time and supplies though, time and supplies that your opponent could be spending on a grunt rush that will stall your plans before you can produce your first Hornet aircraft.
In short, the configuration of your base is essentially an expression of your play style. Conveniently, the slotted system also keeps each facility close to the main base, which means it's easy to snap the screen to your base and quickly build new units. In most RTS titles, you can zip back your base, but then you still have to scroll over to the appropriate building before queueing up new units. With the depot literally <em>attached</em> to your base, that new Warthog is right at your fingertips. Building new units and upgrading them, incidentally, is accomplished using radial menus. Units are always on the right of the menu, while upgrades are on the left. Again, simple and intuitive.
Undoubtedly, one of the areas where most console RTS games truly fail is multitasking, especially when battles get hot and you have to think fast. Let's say that your massive army of different units, each with different abilities, is suddenly assaulted by a Wraith tank. You decide your Spartan should hijack the Wraith before it launches hot plasma into your ranks. How in the world do you pick that tiny Spartan out from the massive army you've assembled? That's where the right trigger comes in.
When a group of units is selected, pressing the right trigger brings up a menu of icons on the bottom of the screen that displays each unit type in the current selection. Just keep tapping the right trigger until the Spartan is highlighted, place the reticle over the Wraith and press Y. Done. Order issued. Now sit back and watch the Spartan leap into the air, smash the cockpit and turn the Wraith against its former masters.
This ease of use translates to everything I saw in Halo Wars. Snapping back and forth on the battlefield, queuing new units, upgrading, setting waypoints, ordering air strikes, all of it is just easy. On top of all that, the game looks fantastic. The units are well animated and very detailed, right down to the visors and faceplates on the Spartans. I can personally tell you that obliterating an entire Covenant base with a MAC cannon is a glorious sight, one that made me yell and laugh with genuine glee.
As a game that promises to reinvent the console RTS, and as a Halo title, Halo Wars has a lot to live up to. Did Ensemble pull it off? I haven't played the campaign, and there's no telling whether or not the retail version will be able to sustain the satisfaction I felt today, but I can tell you one thing: now that I've played Halo Wars, the 2009 release feels very far away.
Be sure to listen to the next special E3 Fancast for more nitty gritty details regarding things like units and features that were revealed at E3.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-17-2008 @ 3:48AM
Cody said...
I thought this game would just be milking the series, but I hope I have the same reaction as you when the real game comes out.
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7-17-2008 @ 3:50AM
Joe said...
I love these hands on things you guys are doing, its really givin us a great impression
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7-17-2008 @ 4:23AM
Mike said...
I agree; these guys clearly "get" games and can intelligently deliver the intricate nitty gritty details that the hardcore fans want to hear. This is exactly what hands-on reports are supposed to be like.
I'm not naming any names, but some places had hands-on reports for Banjo-Kazooie that said things like "Kazooie holds a wrench, they don't seem to have their old moves, and there are customizable vehicles." Gee, thanks for thoughtlessly listing data that we knew about months ago!
7-17-2008 @ 5:25AM
Ghostbuddy said...
I never once thought this game would just milk the franshise.
Because Ensemble asked Microsoft to use the lisence not the other way around.
Really excited to see how this turns out. All the hands on I have read have made me even more so.
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7-17-2008 @ 8:58AM
Chris said...
HOLY CRAP< could this actually be the first realtime strategy game on the 360 ill buy and sounds and looks great? Looks like it.... just like CIV IV is the first turnbased strategy game... looks to be an AMAZING year for strategy lovers. i hope they do the multiplayer all out on this game.
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7-17-2008 @ 9:52AM
Ian Murray said...
Are we all pretending Supreme Commander, the spiritual successor to Total Annihilation, wasn't released a few weeks ago for the 360?
They built the control scheme from the ground up for the 360 as well, and it plays like a dream.
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7-17-2008 @ 10:02AM
thisguyrighthere said...
It's similar to when Halo came out. Everyone pretended Red Faction, GoldenEye, Medal of Honor, etc.. never existed and suddenly a mediocre entry into an already saturated genre market was hailed as the end-all-be-all for doing something that had been done many times before.
I'm not saying I didnt like playing Halo I'm just saying it was over hyped and marketed on lies. I'll most likely enjoy Halo Wars but console FPS control schemes have worked fine since C&C on PS1. The way they describe HW's controls it sounds like a great dumbing down and a step backwards. Again to aswage the obvious flaming to come I will most likely enjoy this game. Just ease off the lie based hyping.
7-17-2008 @ 10:28AM
Richard Mitchell said...
This really isn't the same thing as Supreme Commander. That's still a PC RTS with a new control scheme.
The difference is that with Halo Wars the entire game was built from the ground up, not just the control scheme.
Also, I appreciate the Goldeneye reference. There were plenty of good FPS games on consoles before Halo. Duke Nukem 3D on the Saturn was amazing. But imagine trying to play a modern FPS with Goldeneye's control scheme. It would suck.
Also, C&C on PS1, really? I played it on the Saturn and yeah, it was playable, but it still didn't even come close to the accuracy you got on PC. Same goes for LOTR and C&C3 on 360. They both do a lot of things right, but there are still *tons* of buttons combinations to remember if you want to be able to multitask effectively.
7-17-2008 @ 3:37PM
kdubbb said...
I hate to be the person that says, "but didn't that game get 5's", but to back up Richard Mitchell, SupCom definitely seems like a game that wasn't built for consoles (and it isn't).
From what I've read, the concepts are right, it just technically hasn't been ported correctly... one of the many downfalls of not building a game from the ground up for a console.
I really enjoy RTS's on consoles actually, and was hoping SupCom would be good. If you have it, and it is good, or they've released a patch, please tell me. Right now I'm playing through C&C3 on 360 and quite enjoying myself.
7-17-2008 @ 10:39AM
KilgoreTrout XL said...
Sounds great. Bummer about the '09 release, though. I could have sworn that this one was coming out this year.
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7-17-2008 @ 11:38AM
Vcize said...
Arg, personally I've never liked these countless "designed for consoles" control schemes that have you clicking or double clicking on units to select groups, then picking individual units out from some sub-menu, etc.
Starcraft 64 (10+ years ago!) still did it best by just simulating the freaking KB/Mouse. Hold A and move the left stick to have a drag box to select units with (how is this not in most console RTS's???), then you could set them to a group by holding the bumper and selecting a button, etc.
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7-17-2008 @ 11:43AM
Richard Mitchell said...
You can hold A to do paint select in Halo Wars, for what it's worth.
7-17-2008 @ 11:54AM
ExMcloud said...
Yes I agree with Richard...The point is to multi-task effectively...SC had some issues as well as C&C when it came to selecting units quickly so it kinda slowed down your attack....The Controls for the console have to be dumbed down...Thats what people wanted so it would be easier to multi-task and issue orders.....
And when it comes to the FPS on console thing Golden Eye was the premiere game and influenced the games that came out after it.......Until Halo:CE came out...It reinvented the console CONTROL scheme as we know it, along with being a excellent game....I assume that's what Richard was talking about when he said,
"Ensemble Studios' goal in creating Halo Wars was to do for real time strategy games what Halo did for first person shooters: take a genre predominantly played on the PC and make it work on a console."
If Halo Wars ends up being a AAA title every developer in the industry will copy the control scheme like everybody copied Halo:CE when it carried the Xbox for it's first 2 years
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7-17-2008 @ 3:41PM
Richard Mitchell said...
What he said :)
7-17-2008 @ 3:36PM
Ben said...
Please just od this one right.
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7-17-2008 @ 10:27PM
mattsave_1 said...
Why are the two fighting sides always in the Bright Green or Bright Purple? Anyone know? It looks really bad and I'm pretty sure most people could tell the difference between the covenant and the humans.
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8-05-2008 @ 1:20PM
DjDATZ said...
Sweetness. I'm definitely picking this up when it hits. :D
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