If you’re a gamer of a certain age, the idea of a real-time strategy game on a console was once a magical unicorn. And, despite dev teams getting over their stubbornness about controllers, it’s still a rarity. Halo Wars 2 shows why it really shouldn’t be.
Halo Wars 2 (Xbox One, PC)
Artistic Achievement
Let’s be real, here: It’s a Halo game, so the story is inherently silly. And it’s an RTS, so you spend a lot of time squinting at little units who are basically scaled-down models. That said, the game has a fun score, amusing little chatter sprinkled in, and generally looks good. Fortunately, it plays even better.
Innovation
It’s rare to say this, but you really should play this RTS with a controller. Everything about this game is a refinement, or upgrade, of the original Halo Wars control scheme, and frankly the entire game is built around a controller. You can play it on PC with a keyboard and mouse, but, leaving aside my own biases on the subject, it just doesn’t feel as smooth or as fun.
There’s also the multiplayer Blitz Mode, which mixes that gameplay with card strategy. The two go hand-in-hand surprisingly well, and make for a fun twist on RTS games.
Execution
Hardcore RTS players will likely be somewhat disappointed with the single-player campaign. It tends to lack the depth of PC RTS games, bar a few missions that are more tower defense sequences than a traditional strategy game, with simpler missions that tend towards “Go here and blow up this.” Many will need to up the challenge as high as possible. But it’s when you play with a friend, sadly only online at the moment, where the game really takes off.
Here’s the thing about playing PC RTS games that most fans won’t acknowledge: It’s not a very snappy experience. You have to commit to a solid block of time, and that’s fine if you’re both really into the game and don’t mind potentially going head-to-head for a while. If not, it can turn into a drag. Halo Wars 2 on the other hand, genuinely comes into its own when you’re swooping around a map frantically building units and juggling them. It feels like tabletop wargaming but without the tedious part, and having a human opponent brings out the best in the game. It’s perhaps to the game’s credit that I’m terrible at RTS games and multiplayer, died a lot during this game, and still had fun doing it.
Staying Power
The single-player campaign should run you about eight to ten hours, depending on how quickly you get the hang of the controls. The multiplayer may last you quite a bit longer, though.
Microtransactions And DLC
When you read about Blitz Mode, you might find yourself worried that Microsoft wants you to buy packs of cards, and you’d be correct, it does. It also uses a mechanic where you burn copies of cards to upgrade them to better units. That said, you can find a lot of packs in the single player campaign, and bar coming across some self-serious bully of a player in a lobby, most people just playing with friends should be able to play with what they win from the game.
Final Thoughts
Playing Halo Wars 2 made me think about accessibility. Like it or not, over the last few years, gaming has been outed as a hobby that loves being inaccessible, that prefers to shut people out rather than let them in. This is true of any hobby overrun with nerds, of course, but in gaming, with our leaderboards and our speedruns, 100%ing a game for the Platinum or to eke out a few more points in that gamerscore, the prizing of a useless skill beyond all sense has gotten out of control. Games aren’t valued as shared experiences, but as unique baubles only the select few should be allowed to touch.
And I think that hurts gaming, in the end, and niche genres like RTS in particular. There’s something to be said for a game in a niche genre that makes a genuine effort to be more than another jewel in a digital crown. Halo Wars 2 does what’s all too rare in gaming: Try to bring a wider audience to a genre, instead of catering to the fans that are already there. Perhaps that should be valued more than how much challenge it offers your average Homeworld fan.
Verdict: Worth A Chance
Reviewed with Xbox One and Windows 10 review code provided by the publisher