As a gamer I’m not a fan of overly difficult games. I know that disqualifies me in the eyes of some but hey, to each his own right? Games that border on frustration aren’t all that fun and so on. That is certainly not the case for Halo Wars which is difficult to a point. The game can be adjusted to fit individual needs a lot like the Halo first person shooters are.

Graphically the game is as good as advertised. The models are crisp and the animations are what you would expect from the Halo universe. The Covenant provides the same balance of challenge and comic relief that they originally offered up since the first game. The second part of the games graphic excellence comes in the cut scenes which are out of this world good. I’d read reports that the voice acting was bad but this is certainly not the case.

The game shines when it comes to the control scheme. Units are fairly easy to pinpoint and move around. I only wish the computer AI expanded to allow for units to move out of each other’s way on their own instead having to manually maneuver troops through tight spaces. In other words if you have a bunch of Warthogs you want to send into battle but some troops are blocking their path, the troops don’t naturally move out of the way. It’s not the biggest deal in the world but something I hope they fix if they make a second game.

The game comes with several different ways to play, from campaign to skirmish modes as well as multiplayer games. The campaign will fill you in on the story of Halo some 20 years before the first game. The Covenant has just begun it’s attack on human outposts and it’s up to you to find out why and to stop them. At the end of Halo 3 they indicate that the Covenant did monstrous things to the human race, and now you get to see that first hand as waves of Covenant forces slaughter innocent civilian’s right in front of your very eyes.

The story of Halo is so deep and complex already, and this game really adds to that.

The multiplayer function has its share of pluses and minuses. I didn’t get a chance to see how the co-op system worked because none of my friends owned the game, and it was next to impossible to find a game online. The game offered no way to search for a co-op game, instead you have no choice but to host a campaign and hope someone bites and that can take forever. All I want is a way to join a strangers co-op game, is that too much to ask?

The rest of multiplayer runs like you would expect, there are a ton of maps to play on, some familiar and some new. Each army comes with a commander that has different bonuses. Because of the difference in the commander, strategy becomes a whole new factor in the game, making no two battles alike.

Another cool aspect of the game is the way in which you finance your military operations. Humans collect and receive resources by either finding crates littered throughout the stages or by building supply pads. One of the games cooler animations is watching supply shuttles come and go as your supply pad operates. Like most structures in the game supply pads can be upgraded into heavy supply pads where two ships and come and go on one building.

Upgrading your technology is the key to winning any battle in the game, and Halo Wars has tons of upgrades for buildings, troops and vehicles. You tend to start out with the basics on every stage which doesn’t make a lot of sense storywise but what are you gonna do? Part of the difficulty is getting your troops and what not upgraded as soon as possible while still completing missions and defending your base or bases.

The best news I can bring you about this game is that they Ensemble Studios has managed to do away with the monotony that a lot of RTS’s suffer from by varying the stages quite nicely. There is more than one way to complete most levels which adds to the games replay value.

In classic Halo tradition there are skulls to be found hiding around the various stages. Each skull has a different function, some old some new, and adds to the challenge of any particular stage. The skulls give an extra incentive to exploring a level that is typically a good size.

The music in the game is perfect. It has the same kind of feel that the Halo franchise is famous for a d really adds to the games atmosphere. The same goes for the games sound effects in general. The Warthogs sound great as they zoom around the battlefield, the explosions are all great as well as the lighting effects for explosions and what not. It really is like watching Halo from a bird’s eye view.

The last thing I’ll mention is the cool timeline that comes with the game. The complete timeline has to be unlocked through gameplay but what they start you off with is still pretty cool. The timeline is really details and helps to fill in the gaps between Halo Wars and Halo: Combat Evolved.

All in all the game is very well made but obviously not perfect. The things that need changing don’t detract from the game too much and are easily outweighed by what works. The game looks good and plays great. The challenge is considerable but extremely worth it.

Crave Online Rating: 8.5 out of 10