Slashdot Mirror
Hands-On With Halo Wars
The Opposable Thumbs blog got some hands-on time with Halo Wars, the upcoming RTS from Ensemble Studios. The early look is promising; concerns about the controls and the game's adherence to Halo's style have effectively been laid to rest. Now that work on the game is complete, Ensemble is shutting down, its employees splitting amongst at least two new game studios.
"Thanks in large part to the game's control and Ensemble's clear consideration for the limitations of a controller when playing an RTS, Halo Wars manages to achieve a level of playability and accessibility that truly is fitting of the Halo dynasty. As Halo brought console FPS games to the masses in a way that Goldeneye couldn't, so too will Halo Wars introduce RTS games to a whole new league of gamers. ... Ensemble has done a great job at emulating what made Bungie's titles so great; from the orchestral themes to the massive battles and the ongoing drama of the Covenant war, Halo Wars is a Halo title through and through."
I think Bungie, or Microsoft or whoever thinks that Halo is so bloody popular because it's Halo. Which is probably true, but only in the realms of first person shooters. Once you take all that generic space marine action and bring it into the realm of giants like Starcraft, and Dawn of War, and even Command and Conquer (though not really a space marine RTS). Halo starts to look a lot more stale, and it becomes obvious that the developers are more interested in making money than innovative games. If they were interested in good games they'd bring back Myth.
I have nothing compelling to say
Other than the people who aren't old enough, who played Halo that didn't play Goldeneye first? I don't get that statement.
Goldeneye was the first console FPS that was a lot of fun, until your friends left of course or you had to go home. It was on the N64 so there was no online play. Halo 2 brought online competitiveness to console fps though unreal did try on the dreamcast but 56k didnt cut it =P. And for the people that think they are ruining an rts by making it controller friendly i dont know about you but WOW has destroyed my wrists and I hate to sit at my pc anylonger then I need to. Yes the mouse is faster and there are more buttons on a keyboard to bind to, but my bed and tv with the controler is where i want to be. Not having my hand and ass go numb in my chair.
Yes the mouse is faster and there are more buttons on a keyboard to bind to, but my bed and tv with the controler is where i want to be. Not having my hand and ass go numb in my chair.
This isn't a problem inherent to the mouse and keyboard, but with your desktop arrangement and posture.
I sit at a PC nearly 12 hours a day and never have my hands become sore or numb. You should definitely look into fixing up your desk or how you sit if your hands are getting numb.
Not having my hand and ass go numb in my chair.
Not a fan of the stranger?
I'm actually quite a big XBox fan, I think the 360 is the best console out there quite honestly because it simply has so many fun games.
But even I have to wonder what they mean by Halo brought console FPS to the masses in a way Goldeneye couldn't? Halo 2 only just sold as many units as Goldeneye and they're roughly the join top selling console FPS of all time. Whilst I think the Halo series rocks, suggesting they were over and above Goldeneye in terms of their success is outright false unless you're considering the entire series of Halo vs. the single release of Goldeneye which is like comparing apples and oranges.
I'm really looking forward to Halo Wars, but I'm a little puzzled by that particular comment. I just find it odd of all the console FPS games on the market, the only one they could think to compare against was the only one that has actually sold as many units as the highest selling Halo game!
Thanks in large part to the game's control and Ensemble's clear consideration for the limitations of a controller when playing an RTS, Halo Wars manages to achieve a level of playability and accessibility that truly is fitting of the Halo dynasty.
So controller limitations are truly fitting of the Halo dynasty? I hope this game has a demo as I can't possibly believe the controls will be half as responsive and effective as a mouse and keyboard setup. And what level of playability and accessibility are they talking about? How is Halo as a FPS easier to pick up than a fighting game or puzzle game? How does that possibly relate to its RTA counterpart?
As Halo brought console FPS games to the masses in a way that Goldeneye couldn't, so too will Halo Wars introduce RTS games to a whole new league of gamers.
Wow such objective language here. You might as well put that in the Halo Wars advertising campaign. Where is the objectivity in video game previewing and reviewing. I want to read about a game in an objective way, not be subjected to blind praise, and worship. I'm not a 360 or PS3 or Wii fan, I'm an objectivity fan. I own all three consoles, and a (moderately adequate) gaming PC. But my god am I getting really sick of 'independent' video game writers.
In the long run, the ability for the game's campaign to differentiate itself from the pack as something other than just a ho-hum, run-of-the-mill RTS in MJOLNIR armor, as well as the game's multiplayer experience, will determine whether or not Halo Wars has the success and longevity of its FPS predecessors
What ho-hum, run-of-the-mill RTS games are they referring to? Starcraft? Warcraft III? C&C? Warhammer? Just because those games don't use 360 Pad controllers?
Am I the only one who is wary of purchasing this game because Ensemble is being shut down? There are two reasons for this:
1) It feels like I'm rewarding Microsoft for shutting down one of my favorite studios.
2) It pretty much guarantees no substantial post-game support.
I'm normally not counted among the "I hate M$" crowd, but I simply don't want to reward this behavior. I suppose management would look at poor sales as an indication that they did the right thing anyhow, but at least they wouldn't have my money...
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
Who are these people? Because Ive got a fair bit of experience playing halo with a controller, so if you sat someone down at a comp with limited experience playing fps' Id cream them, keyboard or no.
On the other hand, put someone down who is a master at it, and they'd cream me.
So what you're really saying is put down two people who have an absolutely identical amount of experience playing with their controller of choice, and the keyboard person will cream them. Which I dont think is necessarily true, but if you find the two people who have absolutely identical experience, i'd be glad to find out.
Im so sick of this, every time the whole fps-keyboard-vs-gamepad argument pops up, someone has to say "a person with a keyboard would cream a person with a gamepad, just because!"
it's bullshit, meaningless bullshit.