Well made, keeping console controls in mind throughout. I'm not at all an RTS fan, but this is the first game in a while i've wanted to go back and play some more of. All those that will have RTS player engraved on their tombstone probably won't enjoy, but for an introduction to the genre its definitely a thumbs up.

This is a fun game..LIGHT RTS but fun in action. I wonder if it would have gotten better critic scores had it not been part of the Halo Franchise? More Multiplayer Options would have bumped my score. Bottom line is that the game is fun.

Halowars is a great game on the xbox 360, not a fantastic one but a great one. it has the charm of halo, cut scenes to die for and a story which is simple but believable. you can tell that the developers worked hard on this to get the controls right for a joy pad, however it pales in comparison with the computer titles such as dawn of war and age of empires. the multiplayer is a hoot and a much needed aspect of the game however much needed updates are in order for it to be triple A quality. this game is definatley worth picking up from a reduce price (£30) however if looking for a triple A game for any platform i strongly reomend dawn of war over this anyday.… Expand

This game is awesome. the graghics are good and the sound is great. playing skirmish matches are fun. the game cool except you can't use the flood and that its to short. I recommend it if your a halo fan who who wants to play something knew or a fan of both.

This game was awful. The game gives you absolutely no freedom to do anything and you have to do the missions exactly the way the game wants you to or else you cannot move on. You also cannot move while using your knife which makes it very difficult to kill anyone when you are out of bullets. You also cannot shoot unless you aim which makes it difficult especially when all you have is sniper ammo and there are people right in front of you. Oh and there are also long cut scenes every 2mins which you cant skip through. The only good thing about this game are the amazing graphics.… Expand

Halo Wars is an incredibly well done console RTS. It doesn't strive to be StarCraft or C&C, it is a HALO game that focuses on battle strategy rather than micro management. Not only does this approach work because it's a HALO game (a series that is centered around the action of the battle), but because it makes the game playable as an RTS on a console rather than a PC.

I suppose this could be interesting if this is your first time playing anything other than an FPS, but for the rest of us the game is overly simplistic, dumbed down, and simply not very interesting. There are so many other games that do what this is trying to accomplish, only much better.

It's an RTS but at the same time it feels exactly, sounds exactly and looks exactly like Halo. What more did people expect? It's not as deep and slow=paced as other RTSes, and that's a GOOD thing. It's supposed to feel like Halo, a fast-paced game. Just wait till you see the 4th or 5th cutscene and you get to see something that's only been talked about for years, but we've never actually seen it on-screen. Don't worry, when that cutscene comes around you'll know exactly what I'm talking about and if you're a big Halo fan you may even get a tear in your eye once you see it and hear the Halo monk chanting. All the cutscenes are good enough that the team responsible for them should be tasked with doing the Halo movie in CGI. If you don't like RTSes but like Halo, then this is the game that'll make you respect RTSes more. If you like RTSes and Halo, then this is for you. Just don't go in expecting to be cutting trees down and spending tons of time resourcing. It's all about the combat here. This is not C&C. It's Halo. Reviewers should have thought about that before comparing it to games like C&C and so should gamers.… Expand

Clunky controls, horrble "alerts" system often
relaying messages about base and mission critical objects being attacked way after the fact.
Unit path finding is problem matic often wandering off course.

The only thing the game has going for it is it's graphics and lore, however many will not
be able to tolerate with the terrible game play to
progress the story.

Halo Wars Is really what it is meant to be, a CONSOLE RTS.

If people would stop comparing it to PC RTS-es, they'll come to appriciate what HW has done. Still The story is IMO a freaking cliffhanger similar to H3 and H2, but generally still well done. The CG cutscenes are one fo the best i've seen in a long time, and are certainly superior over game&C chessy ones.

A perfect game for Halo fans like myself. Never got into the RTS genre. Always got boring for me. Well the control scheme is good and the action oriented pace is a breath of fresh air. The cutscenes are beautiful and tell an interesting story in a universe rich with possibilities. Did it make me want to play hardcore RTS', no. But I will give the genre more of a chance rather than remember the micro managing boredom of past tries with it.… Expand

First Halo was one of the first FPS games to revolutionize how FPS are played on consoles. Halo Wars' is now the first RTS to revolutionize how console RTS are constructed. People who thought this would be just milking of the frachise are wrong unless the definition of "milking" is changed to expanding the boundaries on how genre's of consoles should be made.

Halo Wars is a fun game though not the most in depth RTS I have ever played it certianly has the best controls of any on the 360. Lets face it if you want to play a deep RTS go play some@adf PC and a C&C or a Civ game if you are looking for a fun RTS on the 360 Halo Wars is pretty fun.

This is an unexpectedly great game. I enjoy RTS's and I enjoy the Halo games. This fuses them together really well and is also very accessible for those less familiar with the genre. Top game.

This is by far the best console rts game I have every played, it was obviously made with console play in mind. That being said it is incredibly average compared to normal rts. It has a familiar set of characters, and I do love how a Spartan can hijack a Banchi, also the cut scenes are very good. But there is nothing other than previously metioned that set it apart from every single other RTS.

As a huge fan of the RTS genre I was quite excited when the first rumors of Halo Wars came out around 2 years ago. When the trailer came out about a year later, I was ecstatic; I thought "This is it, this is the game that will put Ensemble back on the map. It'll be like Age of Empires II, but with Halo units." Unfortunately, as I later learned, Halo Wars was only and ONLY be released for the 360. I thought "What the heck Microsoft?! This game could have slingshotted your Games for Windows Live franchise!" After I played the demo, I thought "What a waste of 2-3 years, this game isn't even that great. Sure, it's got the units, it's got the story (one that doesn't follow the game or the books), and it has HALO written on it, but where's the game?" It wasn't challenging, not even in the least. The gameplay is terribly stripped, interfaces are practically nonexistsant, and I can't do a bloody thing with any of my units without the "Help Voice" coming on, even in Skirmish mode. I played on the hardest difficulty, and beat the other team in less than 10 minutes. Resource collecting is ridiculously underdeveloped, navigating the battlefield is far too easy (Covanent Grav Lift?), it basically takes away all of the fun of an RTS. I want to wall myself up, gather resources, and spew out an army worthy of Mordor, not build "Factories" that gather automatic "resources" and travel instantaneously to any hero on the map. I feel that Ensemble and Microsoft churned out a game that was made too easy so they could sell it to Halo fans.… Expand

I saw this game on the store shelf and quickly grabbed it to purchase it. I love the Halo games and when I saw a new one I was excited all to heck. I speed home to put this into my 360.... when the game started I was sorely disappointed. I was expect a new action packed Halo game. What I got was a slow paced building game. MS this is a wonderful way to kill your best selling franchise. I would not recommend this game to anyone. PC is better for games like this and MS is trying to bank off of name recognition.… Expand

Don't be fooled by the low user score. This game is a very well made Halo port. It excels in making the RTS accessible for a console, where previously many were overly complicated. The only major flaw in the game is the plot, which for me is why I rated it a 9 and not a 10. However, the cutscenes are nothing short of amazing, far superior to the cutscenes you saw in Halo 3. They are arguably movie quality. It also has little in the way of micro, which for hardcore RTS fans might be off putting. All in all, if you like Halo and are eager to try it out in a new setting, this game does not disappoint.… Expand

nice one!
i even like the base building. if you have limited places for buildings it adds some more strategic value to the game.

and it's good that ensemble didn't want micro management to play too big of a role, this is what i dislike about the next generation RTS the most. It should be strategy and not CPM (clicks per minute) which decides the battle.

Halo has just become so over-rated that they are starting to do RTS for it now?? I mean come on sure Halo 1 and 3 were great but those were FPS and that just works for Halo but RTS sadly does not. If Halo Wars was a more position troops here here and here then play that in FPS i think it would live up to all the hype that has been caused by all of this.

hi there there is not enough population for more then 2 scarabs sence i like the power full scarabs put out i realy would like 2,000 or more scarabs each scarab takes 20 population soo your stuck with 2 scarbabs soo were stuck useing locus and wraiths

It's not perfect but it is a great game! People think that they are just milking the halo franchise and they are, but it is still an amazing game! It does have it's flaws and it isn't very in-depth but still very fun. If you listen to people that say it is to easy then they have no life. If you do more than just play video games day and night it will be a somewhat challenging game. And it is one of the best control schemes for a console RTS to date! And a comment to Eric F. It has flaws but doesn't deserve a zero!… Expand

After playing multiplayer you can easily realize that this game is terribly unbalanced. A sound strategy is having a lot of just one thing and anyone who chooses to create an army of a variety of units will be stomped. This sort of gameplay creates matches that last less than 5 minutes and successful strategies implied, lack thought or real tactical skill. For example, a common strategy for this game is producing as many warthogs as quickly as possible and then simply sending them towards the general direction of your opposition. Since warthogs are cheep to upgrade, produce, and they build fast opposing this strategy can be very difficult. While the user only has to build one unit. Now for a greater tatical experience I emphasize players to try out Tom Clancy's Endwar.… Expand

If you have any respect for halo don't buy it or at least wear condoms on your fingers when you play it. Boring multiplayer(30 mins+of waiting for an attack)terrible campaign which has many anachronisms to the halo universe and limited gameplay options

This game was really flat as far as being an rpg...however a great step towards bringing them to the console. But the bottom line was that this game was simply not fun at all. It breaks many if not all the trust hereustically speaking in an RTS. The AI is also sub par, why can't my vehicles path correctly? Why can't I buid that cool unit I built last mission? Its also not that innovative as far as RTS's go...overall a very non paradigmatic move which I expected in an HALO IP...I had the feeling it was a little cheap and not having the entire soul of the brand is holds.… Expand

Extremely well made, I found it very easy to use and the controls work seamlessly. Give this game a chance and you'll like it. Yes, the cut scenes are brilliant and look beautiful. Dont judge it just because its an RTS its fluppin good.

That reviewer from "Gamers' Temple" (54%) is nothing but a Sony fanboy / Halo hater / PC Lover. 1. Comparing RTS games with FPS games (KZ2 no less) & ect...? 2. Comparing graphics from FPS games (KZ2 no less) instead of other console RTS games. 3. It's clear the reviewer only wants RTS games on PC's instead of a console. 4. Because of the reviewers clouded judgements, he can't get the facts straight nor do proper research on the game. 5. It's clear the reviewer does not like Halo as a "whole". In summary: The reviewer hated the fact this is a Halo game & the success it's getting. (Sony fanboy / Halo hater) It's only on the XB360 instead of the all mighty PC. (PC RTS Lover) Because of his clouded judgements, can't do proper research on games he's reviewing.… Expand

A solid, interesting RTS which has a control scheme that realy works with the 360s controller, at the cost of any real depth or strategy. While Halo Wars looks pretty and has plenty of upgradable units pulled straight from the Halo universe, it realy does just boil down to spamming enormous amounts of the two or three most awsome units and using them to take down the enemy. The single player has a fairly interesting, yet terribly cliched, plot which is shown in some beautifuly rendered cutscenes but the multipalyer is probably the best feature of the game. Even so, the multiplayer can be totaly flawed in some instances: If your enemy decides to attack early with some realy basic units, you'll be competely pwerless to stop them if you'vebeen plannign on creaqting a big base first and attacking with a massive army later on. So it's nice... but far too shallow.… Expand

Don't go into the game looking for the complexity of Empire: Total War and you'll be fine. Very easy to pick up and play, streamlined, and plenty of fun. It's like a mix of both Dawn of War games, LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth, and Starcraft. Well worth the price of admission.

This is quite a poor milking of a solid franchise. HALO WARS is one of the most unintuitive and uninspiring games of recent memory due to it's unbearably simplistic RTS gameplay and lack of innovation. Why play this game when there are so many great RTSs (new and old) out therer to enjoy; even on the 360?

Halo Wars brings with it huge feelings of joy and sadness; the joy that comes with a fantastic and hugely immersive title, and the sadness that follows the closure of an epic studio on a high. The action orientated RTS may be light on the RTS aspects in some areas but that by no means detracts away from the gameplay in the slightest. It just gives you a unique experience. Definitely a must purchase for Halo fans, action fans and those who are turned on by a good story.… Expand

If I were told that my studio was about to be dissolved, I would go out in a blase of glory by doing something that conventional wisdom claimed could not be done. I would make history, even if all that it would achieve would be that college students would mention in passing what a bad decision the dissolution was.

This is what Ensemble did with Halo Wars. As they have done in the past, they took a popular IP and made an RTS out of it, but this time they made a perfectly functional RTS on a console. This, up until now, was unheard of. Halo Wars might not have been the first RTS, or the best RTS, but it was the first RTS with a good control scheme for a console as a platform. The game itself wasn't bad either, but I give legendary status to the Ensemble team that, in their dying breath as a company, made this game.… Expand

By far the worst halo game of all! It may have been fun for some people but not for me. It got repetetive and if you failed a mission you get to start from the begining! Some mission's were 20 minutes long just to fail in the dieing seconds? AHHHHHHHHH! I give it a 6.3 out of 10.

This game is alright but to slap the halo name on it was just to get sales and maybe better ratings for a very average RTS game. The campaign was horrible. The gameplay was somewhat boring and not all that interesting. But this game does have some decent multiplayer. You can play with up to 6 players on xbox live. It is pretty fun but will only keep you interested for a little bit. This game is alright and if you are a hardcore RTS fan, this game probably is not for you, but if you a pretty big halo fan, you might want to take a look. This game is alright for a console RTS but with all of the excellent ones on the PC, this just falls flat on its face.… Expand

Halo Wars fulfills Halo: Combat Evolved's origins as an RTS. Ensemble did a great job of simplifying the gameplay so you don't have to worry on Micromanaging and concentrate on making strategic maneuvers. The multiplayer can have 3v3, which is pretty good and mostly the number of players goes above 10,000, probably more than Tom Clancy's EndWar. As for Campaign, the cutscenes are great, the music is great (thanks to Stephen Rippy), and has little easter eggs for Halo fans. But, it is short and the reason why it is short is because Microsoft cut the budget (Ensemble had plans for a Covenant campaign, probably featuring the Brute Chieftain since he isn't in the main campaign, but the budget was cut and it was scrapped). According to the Guiness Book of World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition, Halo Wars has sold over 1.21 million units making it the Best Selling Console Based RTS. Not bad, huh? And for all those people out there who don't like it because Bungie was not involved, here is an article on what Bungie has to say about it: http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=bwusept29osix For what it's worth, Halo Wars is an excellent addition to the franchise, but it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. In any case, this a great game any Halo fan should have as well as to introduce people to the RTS genre.… Expand

I Quite enjoyed this game, the base building and command system is of the utmost simplicity witch is good on a limited controller rather than a keyboard and mouse. Its worth at least a try for most console gamers who want a break from all the clone fps gaming there used to.

The game itself was great and enjoyable. I gave it a low score due to the ridiculous amount of multiplayer play time required to get all of the achievements. No one enjoys playing at least 18+ hours of multiplayer, assuming they're boosting, and far more if you earn the general achievement the "honest way". It is a cheap shot to get people to play a game more than they want to.

Fantastic in every way, Ensemble have gone with a giant bang! Not only have they nailed down the conversion of halo FPS to RTS, with user-friendly controls, Unit abilities, and mass unit movement controls, the campaign story is great and challenging with incredible CGI cutscenes, arguably the best graphics I've ever seen from any game and incredibly fun multiplayer with enough variety and strategy in the maps and leaders to keep it fresh. In both the campaign and the multiplayer you have to think and be smart, what units should I use, what units might my enemy have, should I attack now, should I build an extra base? Not only this but ensemble have had the generosity to open a huge new section of the halo universe, not just with the story, but with the black boxes, giving you tonnes of halo lore to work your way through. If you don't like RTS's this might actually change your mind (due to the simplistic controls). All in all, this is Console RTS perfection.… Expand

This is the first RTS I have ever played, and really shows that a RTS can succeed on a console and not only on PC, the controls are outstanding, as are the graphics, sound, and story, a must play for RTS and Halo fans, and for those who want to try an RTS this is a perfect starter, it's easy to approach and is simple to figure out but difficult to master, add some great multiplayer and you've got a fantastic game.… Expand

Looks really nice, best RTS UI on a console yet, the multiplayer is pretty fun and the code is stable. Stupid Halo story but it is what it is. Wonâ

Solid. Halo War's entertains in every way a strategy fan and in the same way a Halo veteran . Taking a franchise to a new genre ( or changing ) is a big risk . But it turns out that Halo Wars is quite addicting and very fun . While I don't feel that blowing sensation like with other strategy games, Halo Wars does it well .

This is a very good game not perfect but nothing is, the RTS system is great, build strategies etc are good. campaign can be repetitive, which focus's on establishing a base, building units and destroying all nearby enemies. But that said, this games strength lies in multiplayer. 3v3 max. 3 players vs 3 AI can be a blast the only downside is that it wasn't 4v4, i would of liked a fourth friend to of been able to play, he can, but on the side of the AI unfortunately. that said cinematics are fantastic. What you'd expect from a halo branded game.… Expand

As a huge fan of rts games especially ag of empires, halo wars is by far the best rts on the console today! The user friendly controls make halo wars fun for everyone! I'd recommend this game to all halo fans!

It's not the cheap cash-out a lot of people accuse it of being, but Halo Wars is really nothing special. It's an extremely basic RTS with simplistic gameplay and awkward controls (why it exists on the 360 and not the PC is a mystery). Multiplayer was extremely disappointing - prepare to be warthog or ghost rushed within the first ten minutes of any given game. The biggest redeeming factor is the graphics - Ensemble Studios did a great job of capturing the visual style of the previous games in the series. All in all, Halo Wars is not necessarily a BAD game, but unless you're a diehard Halo fan you're much better off getting your RTS fix elsewhere.… Expand

I like playing RTS games so I picked up Halo Wars thinking it was a good game .... it was. For starters it's the only RTS game on the Xbox that doesn't suffer from frame rate drops, and it's the only console RTS that isn't a port from a PC version.

The graphics are fantastic, and the game feels very well polished.

The campaign was amazing, although it was a little short. My major complaint is that there is no campaign for the covenant. Which means you are stuck playing the UNSC story line.

Overall it is one of the most polished and best RTS games on the Xbox 360 to date and I am sad that there are not more Halo RTS games coming out.… Expand

It's a worthy console RTS that is fairly enjoyable to play with friends. The single-player story fails to do anything interesting though and you'll probably be playing the multiplayer component more. The framerate can get seriously choppy to the point where massive battles feel like low-quality animated GIFs. It's also inexcusable, because the game is pretty ugly and doesn't have very much going on in the landscape. Covenant leader powers are also seriously dull and underpowered. Other than that, the gameplay is good and I like playing with my friends online. You can also play against bots, but you'll have to crank them up to Legendary for a challenge. The community isn't all that bad and it's one of the only decent RTS games on the Xbox 360. If you are a fan of RTS games looking for a good, multiplayer console RTS to play; look no further than Halo Wars.… Expand

My personal opinion over this game influences much of this review since I purely loved this game, an RTS game on consoles is not the best idea but this game changes that. The campaign is not the best thing of this game, it's short and the difficulty unbalanced although the skulls and secrets found there are great and they unlock a Halo timeline that tells you a little about the story. The campaign is good, but not great and I just wish there was a covenant campaign. This game really shines on multiplayer though since the maps are great, the units more varied and you can play as UNSC or as the covenant and both have different game mechanics. Fighting strategically in 3 vs 3 online matches is just epic and I just can't get tired of playing this game. Overall this game is totally amazing just because of the extremely fun multiplayer, now that the price for this game isn't high at all you should buy it.… Expand

I expect better from such a well respected developer. Like I said in my review of Endwar, this game is a crappy wanna be of Starcraft, Command and Conquer and Dawn of War. It's not the fact that its on Xbox that I don't like it, it's the fact that is a bad game. Halo Wars and ODST have tarnished my love of Halo, and the game's bad AI, voice acting and story are what make a beloved franchise look bad. Can we rewind time, and make this game never be made?… Expand

As a firm hater of strategy games I only picked up Halo Wars as it was a Halo game. The gameplay was great for a console strategy game but that wasn't the saving grace for me. Halo Wars tells you the story of the events on Harvest, pre-Halo:CE you command marines and SPARTANS alike along with vehicles and even a UNSC frigate. By no means is Halo Wars great but its worth picking up if your a Halo fan… Expand

Halo Wars was poorly made. The story is good, but the campaign is boring. With the multiplayer, what brings it down heavily for me is in custom/local you can't pick your colour and will stay green or purple. Gameplay in multiplayer is really fun, but it has a lot of problems. The playlists for DLC are screwed up, for example only 1v1 for Capture The Flag, only 2v2 PARTY teams for Tug of War, and there is only 3 maps for 3v3 with only 1 map with DLC. And I'd like to play in a 3v3 game with my friend at times, but if forces us to have another person with us, which is unnecessary. The Developers poorly handled this RTS and army sized shouldn't be so limited. Only 3 maps for 3v3 gets very boring. Speaking of DLC, when I got this game, it came with a code for extra content like more game modes and there should also be free-play style mode like deathmatch but not have to claim base to increase population. It's a shame Ensemble Studios closed though, I want another RTS based on the new trilogy, and to be set around the Halo 5 time with UNSC vs Prometheans and I have other ideas, and no "day 1 DLC," taking out parts of the game is a cheap way of trying to make extra money. It's such a shame a really fun RTS has to be poorly handled and screwed up, multiplayer is fun but the big problems put me off.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Halo Wars deftly dodges between the hardcore micromanagement of real-time strategy and the instant gratification expected by Halo fans. Ensemble has nailed console RTS controls, but at the expense of some depth.… Expand

Beautiful, interesting
But only two races it would have been very interesting using also flood but any flood here :(
UNSC and Covenant
Very good game RTS I am still playing this awesome game in 2013

Great game I highly recommend it to people. There is only one flaw with this game and that is in multiplayer. When you start off a game you think you can win and then boom you get rushed it is the most annoying thing especially if you are trying to rank up. But still a great game.

I can say without a doubt, the vast majority of people who did not enjoy this game are either:
A- Impatient 12 year olds that play nothing but shooters
B- People which had no taste in strategy games to begin with, preventing themselves from developing a taste for this game. Many friends I have who did not play RTS games before, actually enjoyed this game plenty.
C- Snotty PC elitists that are mad they can't play the game.
Give this game a chance, and you will enjoy it.… Expand