Halo Wars

Platforms

• Xbox 360

  Mar 03, 2009

  ---

  8.1

  playscore

  8.1

  18 Critics

  8.5

  150K Players

18 critic reviews · 6 community reviews across all platforms

Critic Reviews

• 

  Game Informer

  9.0

  Against human opponents, Halo Wars' excellent gameplay is free to shine without annoying campaign gimmicks or bad AI to hold it back. Co-op campaign play is fun as well, though all it does is let both players control the same units – nothing else changes in co-op. Though Halo Wars is a vanilla RTS at its core, it's a solidly made one that proves that traditional genre mechanics can work on console. This is a fitting send-off for one of the best-loved RTS studios in the world.

  Reviewed on X360
• 

  IGN

  8.4

  The Halo feel is most definitely present, and serves as one of the game's biggest strengths. The cinematic cutscenes are gorgeous, if the narrative is somewhat thin in places. Overall, Halo Wars is a fresh and expertly polished approach to the console strategy genre, and it's a fitting goodbye from a beloved studio. Pick up the Limited Edition if you're in the market for some sweet Halo 3 multiplayer maps, a slick graphic novel and some other trinkets.

  Reviewed on X360

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• 

  Cheatcc

  8.6

  Halo Wars is an interesting experiment that turned out to be a complete success. Microsoft and Ensemble proved that this type of game can be successful on consoles. However, I do not believe it is perfect, because I still would prefer to play it on a PC. Also, the campaign is too easy and lacking strategy, there are not enough maps for six players, and I think the developer should have made resource gathering more challenging. Halo fans have to remember that this is a very different Halo than what they are used to.

  Reviewed on X360

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• 

  Giant Bomb

  8.0

  There's no doubting many of its longtime fans (and perhaps some of its employees) would have preferred to see the company go out by doing what it does best with a traditional real-time strategy game on the PC. Still, Halo Wars is a mostly successful effort to bring the strategy genre to the Xbox 360, and not a bad way to kick off a new era of Halo games, to boot.

  Reviewed on X360

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  Destructoid

  7.0

  Whether or not you should buy this game really depends on how much you love Halo, something which I'm sure you could figure out for yourself. Hardline RTS players will not feel fulfilled by the streamlined gameplay, and those who never much cared for the exploits of Master Chief will not be dazzled by the fan service on offer. If you can't tell your Arbiter from your arsehole, then you probably won't want to spend the money. However, if you played the games, bought the novels and wore the T-shirts, you ought to be satisfied with money spent.

  Reviewed on X360

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• 

  Game Trailers

  8.4

  There’s fun to be had in Halo Wars. The campaign is interesting, there’s plenty of replay incentive and a strong multiplayer component. On the other hand, the campaign is short, the experience streamlined, and there’s only two factions for multiplayer. Newcomers to real-time strategy and Halo lovers will be able to get a great first taste. Genre vets, or anyone who’s played Starcraft, will be awash in déjà vu. It’s a great compromise, but a compromise nonetheless. It’s accessible, fun, and a mighty shuffle in the right direction, if a tad on the shallow side.

  Reviewed on X360
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  Video Gamer

  8.0

  Overall, Ensemble's greatest success is that it's managed to conjure up a console RTS that is fun and doesn't suffer from its controls. Indeed those ex-Ensemble staff who have now gone off to form new companies can be proud of Halo Wars, the studio's final game. By virtue of the control system it's the best console RTS available.

  Reviewed on X360

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• 

  CVG

  7.9

  The most playable console RTS yet, but at the expense of some strategy

  Reviewed on X360
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  GameSpot

  6.5

  Although Halo Wars can be rewarding and fun to play for a time, the short length of the single-player campaign and the lack of variety in the multiplayer ultimately leaves the game feeling unfinished and threadbare. It looks and sounds great, and it captures the essence of the series well, but there's not much else to keep you coming back once you've finished the short campaign and grown tired of playing multiplayer skirmishes between the two sides.

  Reviewed on X360

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• 

  VGChartz

  8.0

  It’s not the deepest RTS on the market, but the upshot is that it’s an accessible and easy-to-control RTS that’s been well designed with the console in mind. The lack of a Covenant campaign is disappointing, but Halo Wars is still packed full of extras, from the familiar skulls to cooperative play, and even an unlockable timeline with snippets of back story. All of this adds up to a great console RTS game, and it’s undoubtedly a worthy entry in the Halo franchise.

  Reviewed on X360

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Community Reviews

About the game