Kieron Gillen
This author account hasn't been claimed yet. To claim this account, please contact the outlet owner to request access.
Writing For
Eurogamer Latest Reviews
The biggest strength for both though is the fact that most people understand the Halo universe. It's not just the geek thrill of seeing a Scarab in action - it's that you understand what the Scarab means on the battlefield (trouble). We know which characters are best against tanks, and which are probably best in special vehicles. Over on the special ability side - also well-judged, with everyone's abilities activated by the Y-button and members of the subgroup selectable with a trigger - some of the more unusual abilities are also familiar. Take the Spartans, who are able to take over most of the Covenant vehicles. You quickly realise in multiplayer that while the Covenant are able to churn out tanks quicker than the UNSC, it's something of a double-edged sword when you're just delivering a spanky new car to our boys in the green hats.
The "real-time" thing may be confusing. This isn't something that moves with the pace of Command & Conquer. Even the small maps are a couple of hours' play. If you want to deal with a multi-star galaxy with ten races looking to be the winner, you're looking at the sort of commitment of time that matches many entire single-player games (or two or three Losts). You can have slower games by reducing the speed, or speed them up instead, but this is a game where the relative ponderousness of what you're controlling is absolutely the point.