Halo Wars: The Critics Speak

Thought you finished the fight? Not quite. Today Microsoft released Halo Wars, a strategy game based on the ridiculously popular first-person shooter series. If Halo is a slugfest, Halo Wars is a chess match, tasking players to build bases and manage units as they battle familiar foes in an unfamiliar way. And since it's set a good twenty years before the first Halo game, franchise linchpin Master Chief is nowhere to be seen.

It's safe to say that Microsoft is taking a significant risk by changing its phenomenal formula. The three games in the Halo line have sold a whopping 25 million units, and strategy games have typically had a hard time pleasing console gamers.

So does their leap pay off? That really depends on who you ask.

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For instance, if you were to ask leading print publications Game Informer and Official Xbox Magazine, you'd hear lots of applause. Both gave it a stellar 9/10, the former calling it "a huge step in the right direction for console RTS (real-time strategy)" and the latter praising its "engaging campaign, co-op play, engrossing multiplayer, efficient party-friendly matchmaking, hidden skulls, Legendary difficulty, and impeccable controls." But can it make Julienne fries?

Almost, says IGN, who awarded it a solid 8.4/10 while deeming it "a fresh and expertly polished approach to the console strategy genre." Still, the site takes issue with the game's limited strategic depth, claiming "the campaign missions often seem overly scripted and the experience doesn’t have the wide-open feel of some other RTSs."

It's a thought echoed by Gamespot, though they're much harder on Halo Wars than most. Doling out a dreary 6.5/10 score, they consider the "short length of the single-player campaign and the lack of variety in the multiplayer" as two reasons to consider renting instead of buying.

Nearly every site agrees, however, that there's plenty in Halo Wars to please fans of the series, especially those who might not consider themselves expert strategy gamers. Though its overall metacritic.com score of 82/100 isn't quite on par with its critically-acclaimed forbears, it's easily good enough to warrant enlisting.

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