[Dovek916]

Halo Wars looks awsome! The graffics are good, the idea is good and the trailer was way cool. The only problem is playing a RTS game on a consol could be a problem, but why let that get you down, this game is going to be a good way to get your mind off of Halo 3

[Luca]

link ploz

[HezMah19]

Link Here

*Jaw Drop*

That...looks....awesome...

If only I had a 360...

[Luca]

To clarify, normally I wouldn't simply ask for a link without searching, but my Internet connection in China ranges from "just like dial-up" to "makes me want to tear my eyes out and feed them to some cute little Chinese kids, scarring them for life." My average download speed is around 5 kb/s, and many sites will only work once or twice before they simply fail. Luckily, AppleNova is an exception.

Also, it's generally bad form to post about something without posting a link about it. Even if said link would be the #1 hit on Google. That's all.

That said, the game looks to be pretty awesome. I will probably have to pick up an Xbox 360 once I come back to the US.

[pilot1129]

when will that be?

[Dovek916]

Srry Luca, they didn't say when it will come out but i suspect summer 07, which means Halo 3 will be fall 07

[Yontsey]

I saw this video yesterday and instantly surcomed to erection fever. Im glad I have my 360 and new 55inch Sony tv ready to go!!!

[alcimedes]

You should check out gears of war then. Fully co-op online play.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by Yontsey I saw this video yesterday and instantly surcomed to erection fever. Im glad I have my 360 and new 55inch Sony tv ready to go!!!

That's WAY more information than I needed, Yontsey.

I'm excited too, but maybe not as much as you. I'm also really excited about Gears of War and the new Splinter Cell later this year. Damn, I'm gonna be broke again.

[washington mac user]

did anybody check out Mass Effect? That looks like another crazy game. I want to buy an Xbox 360 but according to ign, they are switching from 90nm over to 65nm processors in Q1 2007; it will benefit the 360 because it will have "lower power consumption and less heat." The PS3, when it comes out, is going to use 90nm technology, but will switch over to 65nm in 2007, too. Here is the link for you guys:

http://gear.ign.com/articles/736/736297p1.html

old links:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060423-6655.html

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/712/712522p1.html

I think I'm going to wait to buy an Xbox 360 till after they do the upgrade because all the best games being shown at X06 right now are coming out in mid '07 except Gears of War.

[alcimedes]

yeah, i'm tempted. I have a $400 giftcard for CompUSA burning a hole in my pocket. I'll figure what to buy after Black Friday though.

[Elysium]

I think this seals the deal on my next console purchase. That and the forthcoming yet to be announced franchise game being headed up by Peter Jackson.

[Gargoyle]

The trailer is very nice, but it is pre-rendered. To quote the FAQ:-

...it's based around our world concepts and uses lots of in-game models.

[Electric Monk]

Does anyone else find it funny that the original vision of Halo was as an RTS? And now here it is again.

Meh I say. There have been very few great RTS games (my personal subjective list is limited to Starcraft, Total Annihilation and Homeworld but you can't add much more than Rise of Nations, Warcraft III, Age of Empires 2 and C&C Red Alert to that list) and graphics aside I see no reason this is going to break into that list. But it's early.

Nevertheless the idea of an RTS in the Halo universe is appealing. If only because it comes closer to what Halo looked like at the beginning of the development cycle. A persistent overworld where you had to trek around on the vastness of the halo to get to missions, kind of like an RPG. Would have been cool and maybe this RTS will have some of that flavour.

Course I'm still not willing to buy a Xbox 360 (or PS3 for that matter). Go Wii!

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by Electric Monk Does anyone else find it funny that the original vision of Halo was as an RTS? And now here it is again.

Not only that, but it was an RTS for the Mac before Microsoft crashed the party.

I'm very interested to see how this game turns out. RTS isn't a genre that generally works as well on consoles as it does on a computer, but if anybody can do it, Ensemble can. I can't wait to get my hands on this.

[Enki]

The original version of halo was still an FPS, not an RTS game. It was just conceptualized as a continuous semi-non-linear progression, not episodic or independent level driven.

[Kraetos]

Originally Posted by Enki The original version of halo was still an FPS, not an RTS game. It was just conceptualized as a continuous semi-non-linear progression, not episodic or independent level driven.

Not quite. It was orignially billed as "Myth in a sci-fi universe." Read: RTT (Real-Time Tactical) game.

In an RTT, the emphasis is placed on tactics and combat, resource gathering is left out. You choose your army at the beginning of the game and are stuck with it. Reinforcements might be available but not in the traditional RTS, gather gold/tiberium/minerals/ore/whatever and then build them yourself method. One of my favorite RTTs that flew under the radar was Ground Control. A popular RTT these days is the Total War franchise.

But, was Halo a shooter? No, not to begin with. But Enki is right, it wasn't an RTS either.

Halo's RTT roots shine through with its incredibly detailed and interesting back story. I love the Halo novels, they are a solid, action packed read.

Anyways, that's EXACTLY what I think Halo Wars will be - an RTT. Especially considering RTS's play like shit on consoles, and the Halo universe would really lose a lot of realism if you made it an RTS. (What would your resources be? Metal and He3 for fusion reactions? Lame.)

As an RTT, you can really stick to Halo's backstory. In an RTS, for example, the most powerful unit always loses a little bit of its awesomeness because in the endgame, players just build a zillion of them. But in an RTT, your best units truly are special. Imagine how awesome it would be to command a group of 5 SPARTAN-IIs around the battlefield, kicking ass and taking names like no other. Now, imagine how lame it would be when you're allowed to build a hundred SPARTAN-IIs after collecting enough metal, or whatever.

I also think it's being billed as an RTS everywhere because thats what everyone knows. Rome: Total War is most definitly an RTT, but is always billed as an RTS. Same with Ground Control.

Anyways, I will be buying an XBox 360, purely to play Halo Wars and Halo 3, when they come out. I figure by then the price will have dropped a good deal. I am a HUGE Halo fan, in case you haven't already figured that out.

[Schnauzer]

Well those graphics pretty much own.........

[HezMah19]

I love Ground Control, but I must confess I've never herd of the RTT Genre... If Halo Wars has any of the aspects that made GC great, and utilizes all that power sitting in the 360...it's gonna be one hell of a game.

[Kraetos]

Originally Posted by jmahe19 I love Ground Control, but I must confess I've never herd of the RTT Genre... If Halo Wars has any of the aspects that made GC great, and utilizes all that power sitting in the 360...it's gonna be one hell of a game.

Ground Control is a perfect example of an RTT. And a spectacular game, at that. I wish Boot Camp was working so I could play it

[Electric Monk]

Originally Posted by Enki The original version of halo was still an FPS, not an RTS game. It was just conceptualized as a continuous semi-non-linear progression, not episodic or independent level driven.

Originally Posted by Kraetos Not quite. It was orignially billed as "Myth in a sci-fi universe." Read: RTT (Real-Time Tactical) game.

Amusingly you are both right, I freely admit I was oversimplifying.

Version 1 of Halo was indeed an RTT, Myth in space. There's an old video or two floating out there where you can some demo runs of it.

Version 2 of Halo was an FPS set in (for lack of a better word) an action RPG style dynamic overworld (think Zelda). You still had stuff to do and missions to accomplish, but no levels. You got there, did your thing and moved on. If you didn't feel like doing it you could stage a huge battle somewhere for fun and come back a month (game time) later and see the rusting wreckage. This got tossed (I believe, though it may have been earlier since the Bungie team now denies this version) after Microsoft bought them and they had to port the game to the Xbox. A few of the old previews talk about it like that.

Version 3 of Halo was the as-released model. A standard FPS with some leftover bits and pieces from the earlier conceptions, and a number of interesting innovations and improvements with a far better story than is usual for the genre.



As for Halo Wars if it is indeed an RTT I am much much more excited. As an RTS it didn't seem to hold a candle to the upcoming Supreme Commander, as an RTT I think it would be awesome.

[Kraetos]

Originally Posted by Electric Monk As for Halo Wars if it is indeed an RTT I am much much more excited. As an RTS it didn't seem to hold a candle to the upcoming Supreme Commander, as an RTT I think it would be awesome.

Exactly. IMHO, the last truly great RTS we had was WarCraft III because it really broke some new ground. Everything since then has been minor theme or mechanics change. I mean yeah, there have been some good ones, and you can always pump up the eye candy or slap a new theme on it and attract some buyers that way, but has any ground been broken since WC3? No, not really.

You can still make a good RTS without innovating. The Battle for Middle Earth 2 is funny because it basically combines all the RTS features from the the first half of of this decade, such as WC3 style heroes, or "magic" which are really General Powers from C&C:Generals, but it shines because it is well executed and sticks to the source material.

I am very pumped for Supreme Commander. Its innovative use of scale, space, and timing, the eye candy, the balanced factions, it all makes my mouth water. A standard RTS with a Halo skin can't compete.

On the other hand, the RTT is a relatively young genre. Not young in the sense that its new, but young in the sense that it hasn't been innovated over and over again. And the RTT formula is already pretty solid, as long as the Ensemble guys stick true to the Halo lore, Halo Wars as an RTT would be incredibly kickass.