Despite my relative lack of experience with the first Halo Wars, and console RTS games in general, I rarely felt overwhelmed or confused when playing through the missions. There also exists a relatively smooth progression and learning curve throughout most of the journey. They are well crafted, well acted, and help draw you into the story - an impressive feat considering there’s not much substance to the narrative in the first place. For one, the cutscenes are a treat for the eyes and ears, featuring an epic cinematic quality, and almost making me resist my usual impulses to gloss over them in order to get to the action. That said, there is plenty the campaign does right. Of course, you can thankfully still play as your alien foes in multiplayer. Also, like its predecessor, the campaign only allows you to play as UNSC forces, a bummer as playing the story through the eyes of the Banished could have been a neat addition. There is little throughout that innovates or inspires, and the 12 missions provided can be completed relatively quickly and with only a moderate understanding of the game’s mechanics. When it comes to Halo Wars 2’s strengths, neither the campaign, nor its story, is exactly at the forefront. Cutter takes it upon himself, with the help of Anders and new AI chum Isabel, to keep this new rising threat at bay.
Leading them is Atriox, a super-Covenant rebel whose forces - along with his general Decimus - you will fight throughout campaign mode. Though this time, it is the ruthless band of ex-Covenant mercenaries known as The Banished who wish to see humanity fall to its knees, by way of gaining control of The Ark - a sort of control mechanism for the Halo weapon system. Cutter, along with fellow returning cast member Professor Ellen Anders, has awoken from a lengthy sort of cryosleep “hibernation.” Upon returning to the fold, they find that little has changed since the pre-Master Chief era. The game takes place 28 years after the story of the first Halo Wars, surpassing even Halo 5: Guardians on the timeline. You’ll likely have heard of the resident protagonist, the prideful UNSC Captain James Cutter, who has abruptly found himself thrown into yet another conflict against the Covenant. The plasma beam leader powers for instance can be a killer, cutting through some of the more vulnerable units like butter, and wiping out half your army before you know it. However, it should be noted that I did notice a bit of an advantage when it comes to some of the Banished leader powers. This is probably for the best though, as it helps to keep the factions somewhat balanced.
At a core level the dynamics feel more-or-less similar, outside of some more minor variants in the specialties and abilities of the units themselves. When it comes to the differences between the UNSC and Banished, we’re not exactly talking Terran vs Zerg. And if the Banished is more your cup of tea, you can play around with a handful of new forces as well - like the anti-air walker known as the Reaver, and the giant mechanized spider-esque Blisterback. A few new units include a healing aircraft called the Nightingale, as well as the massive and absurdly powerful Condor gunship on the UNSC side. As we’re talking about a Halo game, Spartans of course make a return as well - the super soldier heroes who still possess the satisfying ability to jump into a vehicle and hijack it. Much of the same palette of troops, land vehicles, and aircraft is still intact, with a few additions and alterations. The “rock, paper, scissors” style of combat - which is to say, one type of unit having an overall strength advantage over the other, coupled with a few more specialized combatants, is still in place.įranchise veterans will of course recognize the iconic units from Halo lore, from Warthogs to Covenant Grunts. From the limited spots for base building and expansion, to the streamlined process of building and upgrading by flicking the joystick to a particular direction on a selection wheel of actions, Halo Wars players will find much that’s familiar. If you’ve at least dipped your toes into the water of the original Halo Wars, you’ll be starting from an advantageous point when delving into the sequel as you’ll recognize the familiar engine underneath the slick new hood.
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