Halo Wars - Gen. Discussion & Info

May be ok, RTS's really do need a keyboard though, generally there is too much going on to be limited to
 
Great news! Continued support for this game including DLC through newly founded Robot Entertainment.


RobotLogo.jpg


Founders of Ensemble Studios Announce Formation of Robot Entertainment

PLANO, Texas - February 17, 2009 - Robot Entertainment announced today the formation of its new game development studio in Plano, Texas. Founded by many of the original founders of Ensemble Studios, Robot has a staff of 45 comprised entirely of former Ensemble employees. Robot’s team developed the hit franchise Age of Empires™, selling over 20 million units worldwide, and the soon-to-be released Halo Wars for Xbox 360™. Tony Goodman, the founder of Ensemble, is the CEO of Robot.

"The video game industry is in a state of upheaval,” said Mr. Goodman, “not just games, but the entire landscape. Everything is changing: where we buy games, how we buy games, how much we pay, how long we play, who we play them with. As a fast-moving independent team of game developers, industry leaders and market experts, Robot Entertainment is ideally positioned to play a transformative role in the industry’s future."

Robot Entertainment is working with Microsoft Game Studios to develop additional content for Halo Wars and support online gaming and community for both Age of Empires and Halo Wars. Additionally, Robot is developing its own original IP.

About Robot Entertainment
Based in Plano, Texas, Robot Entertainment is a world-class independent game development studio owned and operated by many of the founders of Ensemble Studios. With a team that has proven experience and expertise in creating games that appeal to massive audiences, Robot Entertainment is focused on titles that set new standards for their respective genres as well as groundbreaking original IPs. Robot can be found on the web at www.robotentertainment.com.

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CONTACT:
contact .@. robotentertainment.com
Click to expand...
http://www.robotentertainment.com/PressRelease.htm

Also updated the OP with the achievements...including the secret ones.
 
Great news! Continued support for this game including DLC through newly founded Robot Entertainment.


RobotLogo.jpg


Founders of Ensemble Studios Announce Formation of Robot Entertainment

PLANO, Texas - February 17, 2009 - Robot Entertainment announced today the formation of its new game development studio in Plano, Texas. Founded by many of the original founders of Ensemble Studios, Robot has a staff of 45 comprised entirely of former Ensemble employees. Robot’s team developed the hit franchise Age of Empires™, selling over 20 million units worldwide, and the soon-to-be released Halo Wars for Xbox 360™. Tony Goodman, the founder of Ensemble, is the CEO of Robot.

"The video game industry is in a state of upheaval,” said Mr. Goodman, “not just games, but the entire landscape. Everything is changing: where we buy games, how we buy games, how much we pay, how long we play, who we play them with. As a fast-moving independent team of game developers, industry leaders and market experts, Robot Entertainment is ideally positioned to play a transformative role in the industry’s future."

Robot Entertainment is working with Microsoft Game Studios to develop additional content for Halo Wars and support online gaming and community for both Age of Empires and Halo Wars. Additionally, Robot is developing its own original IP.

About Robot Entertainment
Based in Plano, Texas, Robot Entertainment is a world-class independent game development studio owned and operated by many of the founders of Ensemble Studios. With a team that has proven experience and expertise in creating games that appeal to massive audiences, Robot Entertainment is focused on titles that set new standards for their respective genres as well as groundbreaking original IPs. Robot can be found on the web at www.robotentertainment.com.

# # #

CONTACT:
contact .@. robotentertainment.com
Click to expand...
http://www.robotentertainment.com/PressRelease.htm

Also updated the OP with the achievements...including the secret ones.
 
Yea I read that at Joystiq.com

Have Halo Wars on pre-order from Amazon and this time doing release day shipping, I'll pay to get it day one, (I live in the country). Can't wait for this game, Dawn of War II let me down so here's hoping one RTS launch title will rock lol.
 
For those looking for a keyboard and mouse to play with get the XFPS Sniper Plus 3.0. Its an adapter that lets you play it. Most places sell this for about $100, but I have one for sale for $95 shipped if anyone wants it.
 
The second Ensemble Studio has arose, glad they formed another studio and look forward to their next game.
Ensemble Studio vets start a Bonfire

by Randy Nelson { 3 hours ago }
bonfire.studios.logo.2.021909-580px.jpg

And then there were two. Two studios born out of the still smoldering embers of Ensemble Studios, that is. Last week it was Robot Entertainment, founded by the man behind Ensemble, Tony Goodman. Now introducing: Bonfire Studios, a start-up staffed by 35 former Ensemble employees and established by David Rippy, a lead producer on Halo Wars.

In fact, all of Bonfire's employees had a hand in the creation of Halo Wars, which streets on March 3. The studio, based in Dallas, TX, is at work on an original IP -- genre unknown -- described on its site as "fast, fun and addictive," with "an in-depth story, combat and game play."

Speaking about the pair of phoenixes rising from Ensemble's ashes, Rippy said that, "Ensemble had an incredible group of highly talented people and the companies coming out of it are really made up of the best of the best," adding, "Ensemble was one of the few studios with two A-teams." Now we have what will (hopefully) be two ... A-studios.
Click to expand...
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']That's good to hear...I wonder why they both just didn't start one company.[/quote]

I'm assuming the two teams wanted to go in different directions? It would have made sense but perhaps two studios now is better. That way, as they build up they can focus all their resources at their projects rather than split it between two teams.

As for Halo Wars, i have a $25 GC for Amazon...just need to sell/trade my games to get that other $55 :( Speaking of which, if anyone has spare Amazon GC's with change on them, feel free to pass them my way :)
 
I also pre-ordered the LE from Amazon.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the demo. It felt like someone finally got RTS right on console.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']That's good to hear...I wonder why they both just didn't start one company.[/quote]
It was announced that a smaller portion of Ensemble would be formed to support the game, which means that everyone else that wanted to stick together would probably form a new developer, too.
 
The game looks pretty good but not good enough to pre order the limited edition. I'm more of a PC RTS guy so I'd rather wait for SCII :D
 
[quote name='thebattlebegins']The game looks pretty good but not good enough to pre order the limited edition. I'm more of a PC RTS guy so I'd rather wait for SCII :D[/quote]
You'd rather wait for SC2 so that you can buy 3 games instead of one?
 
[quote name='YodaEXE']You'd rather wait for SC2 so that you can buy 3 games instead of one?[/quote]

Considering each game is twice as long as Halo Wars, why not? Plus if you're not interested in campaign, all you need to do is buy one of the three since the multiplayer will be the same across all of them. Not to mention it has modding/mapping tools included with the game and the multiplayer will be popular for years down the road so it's a good investment if you're into RTS.



That said, each to their own. I feel that Halo Wars is fairly decent (Better than that LOTR RTS crap), but can't really compare to a fair amount of the PC RTS. Although I'm not really going to penalize it for a lack of functionality in some areas since the controller as a playing medium is lacking. I think it wouldof been nice if flood was an unlockable race to play as and if there were more units and a more fleshed out tech tree involved with building. Oh and a campaign for Covenant would have also been nice.

I'll still be getting it, but I'm a little disappointed as I expected a little bit more from Ensemble considering their reputation with Age of Empires and the games fair amount of depth to it. I'm also glad to see that they took the time to put in a co-op in the campaign for the option to play with friends at least. It gives the game a little more value for me and will hopefully keep me occupied enough to get my monies worth since I'm purchasing this day one.
 
[quote name='Draekon'] Oh and a campaign for Covenant would have also been nice.
[/QUOTE]

I'm wondering if the campaign will cross between using USNC and Covenant units... somehow. One of the missions has a side achievement for destroying 25 units with "the Scarab" - That's a covenant vehicle right?

I probably won't be picking it up day 1 since I just grabbed a handful of games from CC's firesale, but I hope to buy it before long.
 
[quote name='wubb']I'm wondering if the campaign will cross between using USNC and Covenant units... somehow. One of the missions has a side achievement for destroying 25 units with "the Scarab" - That's a covenant vehicle right?

I probably won't be picking it up day 1 since I just grabbed a handful of games from CC's firesale, but I hope to buy it before long.[/quote]

Spartans have an ability to steal enemy vehicles if I remember, but I don't know if they can jack Scarabs as it's a 'super weapon' per say. Although I guess it's a possibility that we'll have temporary control over over some covenant units when fighting the flood during a mission or two but a lot of reviews all clearly say that you're UNSC through the entire campaign basically.
 
I've never been hot on RTS games, but I gave the demo a shot and really enjoyed it. The cut scenes alone will make this worth playing through for me. Gameplay seems fun and fairly well mapped to the controller. I think this clicks with me more than other RTS games have because of the Halo license. Not because the universe is the best, but because it's the first RTS I've gone in to really understanding all of the classes and vehicles and everything before I even started playing. That goes a long ways towards making the game more accessible for me. Probably won't get it on day one, but I will pick it up at sometime. Or maybe just wait for it on Goozex...
 
Basically all the other reviews were much higher than gamespots. I won't be buying it right away though, anyways.
 
Finally gave the demo a spin last night. Not bad. I've never played a RTS game, but I might pick this up eventually. Nothing screamed $60+ to me about it though.

Any more word on whether or not the new maps are on the disc or if a code comes with the game?
 
[quote name='Corvin']Finally gave the demo a spin last night. Not bad. I've never played a RTS game, but I might pick this up eventually. Nothing screamed $60+ to me about it though.

Any more word on whether or not the new maps are on the disc or if a code comes with the game?[/quote]
My guess would be a code with the game, as it would be too easy to pass a disc around among people to give them all the new maps.
 
do the controls work, that is though it isn't going to compete with the pc keyboard and mouse just as how fps on consoles isn't going to compete with the pc keyboard and mouse, but the controls were managed and bareable for fps games, does it hold true for this game?
 
[quote name='pochaccoheaven']do the controls work, that is though it isn't going to compete with the pc keyboard and mouse just as how fps on consoles isn't going to compete with the pc keyboard and mouse, but the controls were managed and bareable for fps games, does it hold true for this game?[/quote]

Once you play the game for a bit you get the hang of it...you'll forget about wanting keyboard and mouse in no time. Very intuitive control scheme.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Once you play the game for a bit you get the hang of it...you'll forget about wanting keyboard and mouse in no time. Very intuitive control scheme.[/quote]

are you someone who is very familiar with rts on pc? that is one who has played several contemperary rts games on pc.
 
[quote name='pochaccoheaven']are you someone who is very familiar with rts on pc? that is one who has played several contemperary rts games on pc.[/quote]

Yup. I have played the Warcrafts and pretty much every Command & Conquer game. I was very skeptical at first but the control scheme really works and it's real easy to use.
 
[quote name='Draekon']Spartans have an ability to steal enemy vehicles if I remember, but I don't know if they can jack Scarabs as it's a 'super weapon' per say. Although I guess it's a possibility that we'll have temporary control over over some covenant units when fighting the flood during a mission or two but a lot of reviews all clearly say that you're UNSC through the entire campaign basically.[/QUOTE]

True. I should play around with Spartan highjacking in the demo. I played the demo a lot for a few days but haven't touched it for a while now.

[quote name='yukine']Well it got a 6.5 from GameSpot, it got knocked for being short and not having enough variety regarding multiplayer: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/str...vert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review
[/QUOTE]

Ouch. I put the most weight on IGN followed by Gamespot's reviews. Also like EGM's take, but since my sub ran out I can't really go with their stuff.

Hmm, I wonder if this one will have legs online or quickly fizzle out and it'll end up being somewhat difficult to find a match in 6 months.

Gamerankings is STILL down but if MC's overall score is equivalent it's sitting at 82 and to me that generally means a pretty good game. I was hoping for it to be considered 'great' by the critics which to me is over 90. Whatever.
 
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[quote name='yukine']Well it got a 6.5 from GameSpot, it got knocked for being short and not having enough variety regarding multiplayer: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/str...vert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review

And the Covenant is not playable in the campaign. I'll rent it.[/quote]

I'm not saying that the game deserves a better score because obviously I haven't played the retail release. But seriously, who the fuck bases anything off of a gamespot review?
 
[quote name='wubb']True. I should play around with Spartan highjacking in the demo. I played the demo a lot for a few days but haven't touched it for a while now.

Ouch. I put the most weight on IGN followed by Gamespot's reviews. Also like EGM's take, but since my sub ran out I can't really go with their stuff.

Hmm, I wonder if this one will have legs online or quickly fizzle out and it'll end up being somewhat difficult to find a match in 6 months.

Gamerankings is STILL down but if MC's overall score is equivalent it's sitting at 82 and to me that generally means a pretty good game. I was hoping for it to be considered 'great' by the critics which to me is over 90. Whatever.[/quote]
An 82 is quite goo for an RTS on a console. I still think people judged this game a bit too hard considering it's platform. If Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth II can get a 79 average, then i don't get why Halo Wars isn't at least an 85. The control scheme is way better as well as the CGI movies and from what i've read, both are about the same length.
 
Reviews are flawed, and are just biased opinions like anyone elses. Hell, IGN was paid to give PREY a good review, I can't say I trust them. Rent it, buy it, but don't take other people's reviews into heart, everyone has different expectations.
Just because gamestop gave it a 7, doesn't mean it won't be a 1 or 10 in your book.
 
If the game turns out to be good you'll hear about it, not from reviewers but from gamers. I'm an RTS fan so I will enjoy it and that's why I pre-ordered, plus getting the bonus stuff. I have played all the C&C games, Warcraft games, Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander, World in Conflict, Company of Heroes, many others and yea I felt like the controls worked very well.
 
I'm so tired of people say that this game, "Is like warcraft, mixed with half life with a side of Zone of the Enders!" NO! The game is EXACTLY like Battle for Middle Earth 1 (PC). I haven't heard anyone make this comparison yet.

I liked it. To me it felt a lot like a simplified Age of Empires 3 (which I guess is obvious), mixed in with the first Battle for Middle Earth. They made a good decision to not let you build anywhere and not force you to gather, just produce, as it puts the focus more on combat, and I like the idea that the X button controls the main weapon and the Y button is like a Special move.

I play a lot of PC RTS games and I'm excited to play something that controls well from my couch.
Click to expand...
the demo reminds me a lot of LOTR: BFME. Not that's a bad thing.
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Jalu6 and dubbfoolio are the only baby genius'.
 
^ I've heard it referred to as similar to BFME waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than anything else, and actually pretty much the only thing its referred to as similar on forums... ign...whatever,...so I wouldn't get all tired out just yet. Not that I actually care...refer it to whatever you want. I'll say it's similar to Stronghold, cause they're both easy to play.
 
[quote name='Spades22']^ I've heard it referred to as similar to BFME waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than anything else, and actually pretty much the only thing its referred to as similar on forums... ign...whatever,...so I wouldn't get all tired out just yet. Not that I actually care...refer it to whatever you want. I'll say it's similar to Stronghold, cause they're both easy to play.[/quote]

Oh ok.

BFME1 never really got any credit. My favorite RTS ever.
 
Its totally BFME-ish, (stationary bases, set building slots). I said that like 5 or 6 pages ago and many others have mentioned that too.
 
Yep BFME references are all over. But anyway, I'm looking forward to picking this up probably this summer so I can play some good coop local. Doubt theres a tournament where I'm at.
(BTW Stronghold/Stronghold Crusader are the best RTS' ever -- no doubt)
 
[quote name='Spybreak8']Its totally BFME-ish, (stationary bases, set building slots). I said that like 5 or 6 pages ago and many others have mentioned that too.[/quote]

And thankfully it doesn't feel anything like BFME despite the couple similarities. Damn I've forgotten how much I hated that game.
 
So for anyone in Europe/Australia who gets the limited edition early, after you use your Mythic Map Pack code, want to go online to your purchase history, and post the link to the Mythic Map Pack? I want to see if you can buy it early.
 
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