Campaign Mode: Notes from the Battlefield

Published February 20, 2009

Halo Wars™ helps to firmly establish the real-time strategy (RTS) genre on consoles as Halo®: Combat Evolved once did for the first-person-shooter genre. In this preview of the Campaign Mode, we will reveal, as spoiler-free as possible, where the game lies in the context of the overall Halo story, and give you a taste for what it's like to fight the Covenant, real-time strategy style.

Discover how it all began in Halo Wars.

Pre-Halo Event
Halo Wars takes place twenty years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, in a time where war between the UNSC and Covenant is heated, but has not yet reached critical mass. Indeed, no deadly Halo has yet been discovered.

For Halo fans, it also marks a seminal moment for the series as we discover firsthand the events that led to the infamous "Halo Event."

We begin with the UNSC's Spirit of Fire command ship hovering above the planet Harvest, eager to launch a counterattack on Covenant forces so the UNSC may retake Alpha Base and restore some measure of order to the war efforts on the ground.

Meanwhile, Covenant forces have uncovered an ancient temple on Harvest teeming with secrets they believe will help them uncover the key to humanity's destruction. They are led planet-side by the still faithful Arbiter, made famous in Halo 2.

Where the temple's ancient secrets lead them, and to what purpose it drives the Covenant, cuts to the core of the Halo Wars story.

Get that Vulture out of there!

Mission Pace
Real-time strategy games have long been known for the massive scale of their story missions, with battles measured sometimes in hours rather than minutes. Halo Wars breaks from this mold with more tightly focused missions that play out in quick bursts of warfare. Some take as little as fifteen or twenty minutes to complete, where the lengthier ones weigh in around forty-five minutes if all goes according to plan.

In short, the Halo Wars Campaign wants you out from the staging area and marching into battle within a few short moments. While what units you build, what upgrades you choose, and how you manage your base are critical to success, those decisions take seconds to fully implement, not minutes. It's how you utilize your units and abilities in battle that really makes the difference.

Mission Variety
While you'll experience some of the hallmarks of real-time strategy games, including build-and-defend base missions, the challenges in the Halo Wars Campaign thrive on a great deal of variety.

For example, one early mission finds you fleeing an area with a nearly endless supply of small-time Covenant pouring out of tunnels behind you. The goal here is to continually press forward, handling what foes stand in your way so you can move on before you're overwhelmed from your flank. Another mission requires that you fend off a Covenant onslaught on three fronts as you try to keep three rescue ships safe.

Two Scarabs. That's just not fair.

Another remarkable encounter finds you pinned down by a nearly completed and much feared Covenant Scarab (the enormous, spider-like vehicles found in Halo 3), with its lethal laser eye sweeping the map like a spotlight. You must first build up your army and deal with a wave of smaller skirmishes, then use the hills and other obstacles to stay clear of the Scarab's attack as you move forward in a frantic attempt to destroy the thing.

Environmental Advantage
More than most RTS games, Halo Wars really lets you turn the environment to your advantage. Use bits of cover to hide your infantry behind, man sniper towers, farm resource crates, fire massive cannons and power up energy shields to block incoming vehicles.

There are even entire reactors (needed to gain access to upgraded technology) to take over, as well as supply buildings. Even the iconic Halo teleporters make an appearance, allowing you to whisk whole armies instantly across the map.

All of these small but important environmental assists reward you for exploration and help enormously to shape your tactics for the mission at hand.

The Spirit of Fire
Throughout the Halo Wars Campaign, much-needed assistance can be found in the form of the Spirit of Fire command ship. Commanded by Captain Cutter, the Spirit of Fire orbits whatever planet is the focus of your mission.

The ship works as a support system for your efforts on the ground. If you find a suitable location for a new base, it's the Spirit of Fire that air-drops the necessary resources to build one. And, you may request Pelicans from the Spirit of Fire to drop your armies onto otherwise inaccessible areas of the map.

It's the Spirit of Fire that wields the deadly MAC Blasts, Carpet Bombs and flash-freezing Cryo attacks. The ship can even heal your units and repair your buildings and vehicles.

Time for a last stand.

The command ship also works as a storytelling tool. It's Captain Cutter who pipes in mid-mission to let you know how the battle at large is going, and what pressing new intel is important.

Halo Touches
Beyond all the outstanding visceral touches that evoke the Halo feel (such as using Spartans to jack vehicles, the way marines hang off a Hornet's wings, the crazed gibbering of Grunts), Halo Wars also incorporates a couple of other welcome features common to the franchise.

• Skull time: The skulls made famous in Halo 3 appear once more here, and just like Halo 3, they're scattered about the levels in Campaign mode. It will take dedicated exploration to track down their many obscure locations, but when you do, you'll earn the same kinds of benefits as before. Namely, some skulls will increase difficulty (such as Rebel Sympathizer, which gives enemies 25% more hitpoints) and so increase your score. Others will reduce the difficulty (such as Pain Train, which increases how fast your units train), and so decrease your score. Still others are just plain fun, such as Wuv Woo, which makes Scarabs shoot "rainbow beams made of Pure Love."
• Level score: Whenever you complete a level in Campaign, you are scored based on your efficiency, in turn granting you a gold, silver, bronze, or tin medal. Much like Halo 3, each level also has a par time. Complete the mission under the time limit to work towards achievements, and earn a point bonus.

The Halo Wars Campaign mode is much more than just an affirmation that real-time strategy games can succeed on consoles. For Halo fans, it also marks a seminal moment for the series as we discover firsthand the events that led to the infamous "Halo Event."

The Halo franchise has boldly stepped away from its first-person shooter comfort zone with a perfect marriage between Ensemble Studios' RTS expertise and a franchise that knows its sweeping tale extends beyond one brave Spartan. Mark your calendars, March 3 is nigh.

Article by Ryan Treit