Halo Wars 2

Halo Wars 2 is an absolute masterstroke, taking console RTS limitations and somehow not only bypassing them, but making them unmissable features. This is one of the most well-made and cleverly designed games I have played in a long time. I hope it sets a precedent for other games to follow.

Halo Wars 2 is the best RTS you can play on consoles today. Whether you're a Halo lore junky looking to toy around with the campaign or a competitive RTS player looking for intense multiplayer matches, you can't do much better than this. Creative Assembly definitely stuck the landing with Halo Wars 2, pleasing fans of the original, bringing new players into the fold, and delivering a worthy successor to Ensemble's 2009 cult classic.

Is this RTS good for beginners? We have just the person to answer that question.

Technical issues and the lack of content in Blitz aside, Halo Wars 2 is a fun game that is the best bet for RTS fans looking for something to play on Xbox One. The campaign is engrossing from start to finish, the multiplayer matches are consistently exciting, and thanks to its status as an Xbox Play Anywhere game, Halo Wars 2 offers fans plenty of bang for the buck. If 343 and Creative Assembly are able to patch the game's technical issues and add more areas to Blitz mode soon, then Halo Wars 2 will be a no-brainer for fans of the real-time strategy genre and the Halo franchise in general.

No one expected much from Halo Wars eight years ago, but it was actually pretty great. And you can kind of say the same for Halo Wars 2.

Halo Wars 2 is a competent RTS game. It has its fair share of issues, and in some minds might be deemed simple. However, if you’re willing to look past the convoluted and frustrating UI, or maybe you want an RTS to get into, but are intimidated by the offerings on the market, Halo Wars 2 is a great place to start. Its story is good, delivering a true Halo narrative on the platform for the first time since Halo 2, and while the issues with the RTS elements might annoy some, it doesn’t mean...

Halo Wars 2 will scratch a real-time strategy itch and give you a dose of Halo-Universe flavor with a decent story, but it won’t go much deeper than that. A run-of-the-mill campaign, controls that hamper micromanagement, conspicuous bugs, and multiplayer that relies on luck limit its long-term appeal, but its fast and flashy action makes it fun for a while.

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 ...

Halo Wars 2 is simultaneously conservative and inventive. It’s definitely trying to evoke traditional RTS games – which is not entirely a bad thing given the recent dearth of them – especially when it comes to the campaign, but elements like base construction and Blitz mode make it stand out enough that it doesn’t feel like you’re just going through the motions for the hundredth time. A clumsy UI and weird, sometimes fixed, keybindings and controls reveal its console heritage, but there are a surprising number of benefits to that side of the design. Some of the places where the formula has bee...

Bringing on the experience of developers Creative Assembly (Total War) for Halo Wars 2 was a big move by Microsoft. When released, 2009's Halo Wars was the biggest selling RTS game on consoles ever. Despite this reception, the closure of developers Ensemble made the attempt at spinning Halo off look like it had finished at the start line. It's a surprise, then, that eight years later we've got a sequel. Alongside this sequel also comes a remastered version of the original Halo Wars (review link).

Halo Wars 2 delivers another worthy real-time strategy game - as long as you're here for the Halo and not a unique RTS.

Boasting high production value and the minor intrigue of what a new villain might mean for the greater series, Halo Wars 2 is fantastic for casual RTS gamers, but probably not for anyone else. Its relatively flat story, short campaign, and strategically shallow mechanics hold it back from greatness, instead relegating it to being yet another example of why RTS games don’t mix well with consoles.