Halo Wars Rating

OVERALL RATING:9.0/10

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Ensemble Studios

Category: Action

Release Dates

N Amer - 03/03/2009
Gameplay: 9.0
A highly action-oriented RTS game, Halo Wars gets huge props for creating a control scheme that proves that RTS games can be done comfortably and intuitively on a console.

Graphics: 8.0
The game features some pretty cool effects and brightly colorful environments, and the unit models take on some impressive amounts of damage. Unfortunately, the choppy framerates are a problem when the action gets hairy.

Sound: 9.5
The soundtrack is on par with the rest of the Halo games, which is a big compliment. The voice work is also great and the sound effects are appropriately huge.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.5
Halo Wars is a great entry to the series, and also introduces a lot of story elements that provide some great insight to the Halo universe.

Multiplayer: 9.0
The 6-player skirmishes that allow you to choose between Covenant and UNSC are a great touch and a lot of fun online.

Overall: 9.0
A solid RTS on the Xbox 360, Halo Wars may not break the mold, but it does provide an impressive entry to the series and one that finally makes the genre feel at home on a console.

Halo Wars Review

If you’re a gamer, you’d have to have been living under a rock to have never heard of the Halo franchise. The flagship series behind Microsoft’s console efforts, Bungie’s Halo series has been among the most successful across two different console generations, first appearing on the original Xbox before finishing the fight on the Xbox 360. 2007’s Halo 3 marked the end of the initial Halo trilogy of games, as well as provided a bookend to the adventures of the Master Chief, leaving many gamers to wonder what the future had in store for the hallowed franchise.

Fortunately for Halo fans, Microsoft is not one to rest on their laurels, as 2009 is set to bear not one but two titles from the Halo universe, including a standalone expansion titled Halo 3: ODST launching this fall and a new prequel set before the events of the first Halo title, Halo Wars. However, in a departure from the previous titles in the Halo series, Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game instead of an action title, giving players the opportunity to command several units across the game map from a top-down perspective instead of a first-person one. While consoles and strategy games have seldom mixed in the past, developer Ensemble Studios (the highly-capable team behind the great Age of Empires games on the PC) has taken great strides to make sure that Halo Wars lives up to the Halo name, providing tons of action while staying pretty accessible for gamers of all skill levels.



Halo Wars takes place roughly twenty years before the events of the very first game in the series. Without giving anything away, the storyline and characters in Halo Wars are as deep as anything a fan of the series would hope for, revealing plenty of plot twists and elements from the series, as well as some pretty big revelations here and there.

As far as the actual mechanics of the gameplay, Halo Wars is a lot more action-oriented than most PC RTS titles. You won’t spend a lot of time building up your structures and units, as you’ll instead focus more on exploring the sections of the map and eliminating the threat of your enemies.

While Halo Wars does seem to focus more on the action element of things, there are still some pretty substantial unit creation functions. You’re able to create new structures and buildings capable of improving your current technology as well as build units as you play. The game also employs the use of Hero units that have special abilities and functions, setting them apart from other units on the map.



One of the elements that seem to be a hotbed for frustration when it comes to console RTS games are the controls. While several games in the genre have taken great strides to make the experience comfortable and accessible, none have come close to matching the mouse/keyboard configuration on the PC. Halo Wars also puts its own unique spin on controls, and while it still doesn’t quite hit the mark to matching the overall comfort of PC strategy games, it comes pretty darn close. 

The controls in Halo Wars are quite solid and benefit from being built from the ground up for console gaming. The thumbsticks allow you to look around the map and zoom in on your units, while the A button is used to select units that are highlighted by your cursor. The X button is your main interaction button, allowing you to move units around the map and interact with other units or attack enemies with your primary attack function. Pressing Y when targeting an enemy unit allows you to perform a secondary attack function, like throw grenades or run enemies over if you’re in a Warthog. The secondary attack function is a nice addition that helps keep the game in its action roots while still making it deep and compelling for hardcore strategy fans.

Additionally, aside from the basic functions of the face buttons, the game also streamlines the controls to allow you to select the units you want a lot more easily. Using the bumper buttons, you can select all of your units or all of the units currently on-screen with a simple button push, or you can use the right trigger to switch between different unit types. Additionally, the D-Pad is used to utilize any Heroes that you may have, using their special abilities, as well as cycling through your Bases, Armies and any Alerts that may come up. Halo Wars uses every button on the controller, but fortunately never feels overwhelming or cluttered.



The game also features some cool online abilities, allowing players to participate in six-player skirmishes over Xbox LIVE. Online, you can play as either UNSC or Covenant forces, utilizing each of their respective technological advances and specialized units.

Graphically, Halo Wars is a pretty solid looking game. The unit models are nicely rendered and take on realistic damage as they see combat, and the environments are colorful and feature some great details that fans of Halo games will get a kick out of. The one main issue with the game’s aesthetic are the framerates, which can be very choppy when the action is in high gear.

The game’s soundtrack is very well done, with a great score that punctuates the on-screen action very well. The sound effects are crisp and the voice work is also spot on.

While PC gamers and hardcore RTS enthusiasts probably won’t be able to see what all of the fuss around Halo Wars is about since their platform has put out much more groundbreaking RTS titles in the past few years, console gamers and Halo fans who have yet to experience a truly great RTS game on a console will now have their chance.

Mirror's Edge Rating

Gameplay: 8.2
Learning the ropes is a little challenging, but once you get it, the game can play very fluidly and exciting. 

Graphics: 7.8
Pretty good, the white city gives an illusion that all is well, but as you know, once you scratch below the surface then all sort of other things come into view.

Sound: 8.3
I like how the sounds all work with one another. During conversations you can hear the sounds of the city and the wind in the background. It makes for a cool addition to the experience.

Difficulty: Medium
There are some challenges, but it never is so tough you can't get through it. Learning how to move to the rhythm can be rough.

Concept: 9.0
Years ago the Gizmondo game system was making a game based on freerunning, it never happened. I'm glad somebody decided to pick up where they left off.


Overall: 8.3
This is well-made, well-developed title. The end result isn't the new gold standard, but the idea and implementation sure are good.

Mirror's Edge Review

Freerunning is the sport that has been slowing working its way into mainstream culture. It's that exercise where men and women run around urban areas, leaping over walls and jumping incredibly far distances. You know, that Ford commercial features a couple of them and the really cool movie District B13 also features many, cool scenes of action in this vein. Well, Mirror's Edge is a game where the main heroine uses this gift of agility to move information around the city after an all-encompassing bureaucratic entity decides that any and everything needs to go through it. Basically most of the human race has given up their rights and you play a courier who moves this sensitive information to the people who don't much care for big brother.

Ok, now this title was also released on the PS3 and 360. The game moves at a breakneck speed (literally) and you will want/need a pretty hot system to run it on - not that it is so graphically demanding, but rather because of the movements of a quick-footed woman who leaps around the rooftops of a very big city. This movement is dictated by your customizable control scheme and various red objects that pop up as you run, letting you know that it is an item you may need to use. Want to jump to the next building? That red ramp will help you do it. As you run, you may need to slide or roll under that steam pipe; good thing it is red. The city is stark white and the red cues stand out easily amongst the backgrounds. 

Learning to freerun does take some effort as you will eventually need to learn how to find a running rhythm. Hopping from ledge to ledge while climbing up onto platforms and dodging gunfire takes some practice. And learning how to link all these movements together to form cohesive movements that keep your rhythm flowing is a pretty slick idea. But mastering it takes some real effort. I thought the developers did a good job of making the game feel like it had some real feel to it. Choosing to make it a first-person perspective literally can affect your stomach as some of the leaps can cause your stomach to flutter. It's really cool. 

The audio is better than your average game and the almost-futuristic techno beat of the soundtrack makes things move crisply. I felt the upbeat tempo of the music kept in line with the upbeat tempo of the game. Voice work was also really well dialed in. The voice acting along with the background noise of a busy city really brings you into the game. A well-scored, well-acted game.

Since our girl "Faith" has about the same amount of suicidal tendencies as a lemming, you can expect all sorts of crazy stunts and learning how to use the quick 180-degree button is essential for survival. Sometimes, you must jump across to a ledge, hit the 180 and then leap across to another six-inch-wide platform. The game is absolutely crazy and I really enjoyed the heck out of it. Some may liken this to the Prince of Persia games but I think it goes a bit further with the first-person perspective. You actually feel the excitement when you are attempting an almost impossible jump. I haven't sweated a game so much since Dead Space.

Now the visuals of the game do come in a bit higher than many other games. The design makes you see a city that is almost clinical in its appearance thanks to the almost gestapo-like regime. Buildings are accurate looking and even the physics of the game seem to fall into place, albeit a little stretched since you do make some leaps that are probably not possible. Either way the seamless way the city is put together, coupled with a smooth framerate and interesting looking character design makes the game come in a bit higher in the graphics dept. Its not phenomenal by any means, but rather, well done.

Mirror's Edge seems to find its strength in the actions that you do rather then the killing that is featured in many FPS titles. You will get your opportunity to dish it out, don't think you are helpless by any means, but the game is through and through an action title that makes you want to get out there and jump over concrete walls and across chasms 20 stories high. Do not, repeat, do not try this crap at home. Leave the crazy stunts to the digital action heroes.

The game also has some off-topic games for practicing and playing. A time trial mode really helps hone your moves and makes the game have a little more something to it. Sadly, there is no multiplayer mode, which stinks because it would be cool to race against others around the city, or even a really crazy version of tag may have added a bit more weight to the game. Seriously, if the sequel has tag in it I am going to want a cut, or the GameZone lawyers will be coming.

Lastly, the story is above par; the game does a good job of drawing you into the character's plight and then throwing some legitimate twists at you. Many of the levels are recovery missions and you are forced into action to help get your framed sister out of the jam she has been set up in. I won't go into too much about it because I don't want to ruin it for you. Much like a movie, there is some clever things going on in Mirror's Edge.