Halo Wars

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Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game in the Halo Universe. It begins in the year 2531, during the Covenant eradication of the Outer Colonies in the Human-Covenant War. The game was developed by Ensemble Studios/Robot Entertainment, and is an Xbox 360 exclusive, like Halo 3. Unlike the rest of the series, Halo Wars is rated "T" for Teen, downgraded from "M" for Mature given to Halo 3. However, in the UK, the game has been classified as a 16+ by the PEGI, higher than the 15+ BBFC rating given to Halo 3.

Summary

A SPARTAN from SPARTAN Group Omega sporting an early concept design of the Mark IV armor(speculated) in the Halo Wars announcement trailer.

The control scheme in Halo Wars.

In the RTS game Halo Wars, players can command armies of both familiar and new UNSC units during its first encounters against the Covenant, a massive group of alien races that threatens to destroy all of mankind. Halo Wars will immerse gamers in an early period of the Halo Universe, allowing them to experience events 21 years prior to Halo: Combat Evolved.

With the guidance of the AI Serena, the player leads UNSC soldiers and vehicles against classic Covenant foes, such as Grunts, Elites, Ghosts, and Banshees. Each group has its own strengths and abilities in battle. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious over their foes.

Halo Wars can be played in both single-player and online cooperative campaign modes. Additionally, up to six players can play three-versus-three matches head-to-head over Xbox Live. Published by Microsoft Game Studios, Halo Wars is a title exclusive to the Xbox 360. Despite speculation of a version for the PC, Ensemble and Microsoft have repeatedly said that no such plans have been made or even considered for it. The Covenant is playable only in multi-player and skirmish modes.

Ensemble Studios began recording the music for the game in March 2008, with Ensemble's Music and Sound Director Stephen Rippy flying to Prague for the orchestral and choral parts and to Seattle for the piano and mixing.

The game was featured at the 2008 E3 event, held in July. It was shown on G4's E3 08 LIVE as a hands on demo. Some newer off-screen demos were released, showing how controls are made up and how battles proceed.

Campaign Missions

Campaign consists of 15 levels which tells the story of Halo Wars.

1. Alpha Base
2. Relic Approach
3. Relic Interior
4. Arcadia City
5. Arcadia Outskirts
6. Dome of Light
7. Scarab
8. Anders' Signal
9. The Flood
10. Shield World
11. Cleansing
12. Repairs
13. Beachhead
14. Reactor
15. Escape

Plot

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UNSC and Covenant units clash in-game. Note in particular the Halo in the background of the image.

Harvest just after the UNSC Spirit of Fire arrived in the system.

"At this point in time, the Covenant is at its most evil. They are hell-bent on the destruction of humanity, on scouring us from the universe."

— Graeme Devine, Lead Writer, formerly Lead Developer.

The game's story is told through in-game cut scenes and in-game moments, as with the other Halo games. The game is set in 2531, it focuses around the Marine forces of the UNSC Spirit of Fire as they engage Covenant ground forces after the discovery of an ancient artifact during a journey to the partially glassed planet Harvest.

The story begins with the UNSC's early battles on Harvest, but also features another colony world, Arcadia, which holds "something of great interest to the Covenant". The planet is subsequently invaded by the Covenant, and the UNSC must evacuate the planet while engaging the invasion force. The Flood is significant in the storyline and several massive Forerunner structures are also explored.

While no Halo Installations are featured in the campaign, they are likely to be present in some multiplayer maps. The majority of the campaign (15 missions in total) take place in the polar/mountainous, parts of the jungle, and ruin regions of the world, allowing Ensemble Studios to "do some great stuff with mountains, snow, ice, forests and some Forerunner structures". In addition to striking into new territory, past events not just from the games will be expanded upon.

It has been confirmed that the Master Chief will not be making an appearance in the game. There will be a group of SPARTANs that are called SPARTAN Group Omega, although the main Spartan characters are the original Red Team. In contrast, the Spirit of Fire is "full of new characters", such as the AI Serena, Sergeant John Forge, and the Spirit of Fire's commander, Cutter. At least some of these characters go planetside to aid the player. The single player campaign is purely from the UNSC's perspective, though it is possible to play as the Covenant in a skirmish game or online. Co-op campaign over Xbox Live is also possible.

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While Sergeant Forge is patrolling the northern regions, Alpha Base was attacked and destroyed by the Covenant, with survivors fleeing to the countryside surrounding the area. Rounding up these survivors, Forge leads them in an assault that removed the Covenant presence and re-established Alpha Base, returning it to operational status. Forge leads an assault on the relic site itself, removing the Covenant occupiers and preventing the enemy from destroying it to deny human access, and securing the site for Anders to examine it briefly before a Covenant counter-attack cuts them off from Alpha Base. Grizzly tanks launched from the Spirit of Fire manage to cut through the Covenant, linking up with Forge and his Marines, and escorting them back out through the relic while forces from Alpha Base hold off the Covenant. Information gathered from the Harvest relic shows that the Covenant have been pointed to a second UNSC colony, Arcadia.

Following the Covenant to Arcadia, Sgt. Forge and his forces deploy on the ground in order to assist the Spartans from Red Team in the effort to evacuate civilians from Arcadia City, via cargo transports. Afterwords, the UNSC forces withdraw to a defensible area on the city outskirts, holding off Covenant attacks long enough for SPARTAN Group Omega to arrive and assist in the destruction of local Covenant forces. At the same time, the Covenant have erected a large energy shield generator around a site of importance, with undiscovered ruins surrounding the area, forcing the UNSC to deploy prototype Rhino plasma artillery to penetrate it. Moving in to examine what was of such interest to the Covenant, they come under attack from a large Scarab, only partially complete and annihilating any UNSC forces in its line of sight. Eventually managing to destroy it, Anders and Forge begin documenting the area, only for the Arbiter to arrive, taking Anders prisoner and wounding Sergeant Forge, with Red Team arriving too late to assist. Rapidly heading out of the system aboard a starship, the Spirit of Fire follows, eventually emerging in orbit over a mysterious planet in an unknown location.

Deploying ground forces to search for Anders, the UNSC and Covenant forces come under attack from a previously undiscovered alien organism - the Flood. Managing to regroup and hold a defensible location, the UNSC forces manage to locate the source of the signal - an apparent body of water. The UNSC forces withdraw back to the Spirit of Fire as a concentrated Flood force begins to gather momentum, narrowly escaping annihilation, regrouping at the Spirit of Fire over the lake - which splits to reveal an entrance, and with swarms of Sentinels emerging to deal with the Flood. The Spirit of Fire manages to enter, proceeding through a docking system, removing Flood growths and moving through a system of concentric rings that filters out Flood biomass, the Spirit of Fire emerges inside a massive Shield World, immediately engaging a Covenant Destroyer and fending off attacks while conducting repairs.

The Arbiter uses Ander's genetic signature to activate The Apex, revealing a fleet of Forerunner warships which the Covenant plans on reverse-engineering and incorporating into their existing naval forces to crush the humans quickly, without needing to dedicate all of their existing forces to the war. Anders manages to escape, using what had been her stasis prison as a translocation device, teleporting to the surface of the Shield World's interior, linking up with Forge and his Marines, who clear the area of Covenant forces and establish a base of operations on the Shield World. Removing the Spirit of Fire's FTL Reactor, the UNSC move it into The Apex, planning to detonate it - the chain-reaction will send the Shield World's sun into a supernova, destroying the installation and the fleet, denying it to the Covenant and saving humanity from near total defeat and extinction. The Arbiter attempts to stop them, but his Honor Guards are killed by Red Team, and Forge himself manages to kill him with one of his own Energy Swords. Forge stays behind to detonate the reactor, while the rest of the UNSC forces activate a portal out of the Shield World, evacuate to the Spirit of Fire, and manage to slingshot around the sun to build up enough speed to escape the supernova's blast radius and the range of the Shield World's debris.

Now unable to return to UNSC space with the speed an FTL drive would have afforded them, the Spirit of Fire's crew enter cryonics storage. The ship begins its long journey home, likely to take many years or Decades.

At some point after the game events during the Spirit of Fire's journey home, Serina awakes Cutter to inform him of a new occurance: "Captain. Wake up. Something has happened." (Legendary Ending Title Screen)

It should also be noted, that the Halo timeline events confirms that some of the surviving members of the Spirit of Fire had been infected with the Flood. The final fate of the ship and her crew is currently unknown. It should also be noted that on the timeline, it says that 25 of 28 surviving SPARTAN-II's were called to Reach, the other three being Gray Team, meaning that SPARTANs Alice, Douglas and Jerome must have been found, along with the crew of Spirit of Fire. It should be noted that those 28 surviving Spartans were what was left of the original 33. Meaning that Alice, Douglas and Jerome could have been listed as MIA being presumed dead by the UNSC after the Spirt of Fire was Presumed MIA. This is highly unlikely however, as four SPARTANs have already been confirmed to not be present at Reach, with another suspected. These are Kurt, Randall, Shiela, and Samuel, as well as possibly Cassandra.

Contradictions with Previous Halo Canon

There are several parts of Halo Wars that do not go along with the official cannon set down in the Halo books and previous games. These conflicts are vary broad, but can be grouped by the origin of the problem, such as the Spartans, Flood, Timeline, and others

Spartans

The Spartans designated as “Red Team Provide the biggest problem when it comes to keeping official cannon. There flaws are both in the in-game Spartans, the cutscene Spartans, and the Spartan timeline

In-Game

The In-Game Spartans are the source of the biggest disturbance in the game. From their armor, to abilities, to weapons, none of it seems to be in concurrence with the other parts of the Halo universe.

• The Spartans must be wearing Mark IV Armor because the story takes place in 2531, 24 years before Reach would fall to the Covenant. However, the Spartans in the game possess recharging energy shields, a feature that would only be later added in the Mark V Armor
• The Spartans are able to be upgraded with “Spartan Lasers”. But, the Halo 3 handbook states that the “Spartan Laser” is a relatively knew product.

Timeline

The events that happen to the Spartans in the game and in the cut scenes make it almost impossible for it to go along with official cannon.

• The Spartans are able to Jack highly complex vehicles such as the Covenant wraith tank. While it is true that the Spartans that fought on Reach were able to do the same thing, those Spartans had no idea how to drive the vehicles until they got in them. Surely the Spartans from Halo Wars would have told their fellow Spartans, or at least ONI, what they knew about driving Covenant vehicles.
• According to the story, the “Spirit of Fire” is unable to transition into Slipspace because it used its reactor to destroy the “Shield World”. However, that would mean that those Spartans would most likely be found before the battle of Reach. But according to “The Fall of Reach” only three Spartans were MIA and one seriously WIA with 3 on battlefields to distant to be recalled. Since two of the MIA were Samuel and Kurt, and the WIA was Cassandra, and it is Grey Team that is out too far, it is logical that the Spartans from the game were present. Some claim that it was indeed the Halo War Spartans and not Grey Team that were out to far. But in “First Contact”, John thinks about Grey Team, who are on battlefields to distant to be recalled.

Cutscene

The only major flaw in the cutscenes that doesn’t coincide with the official cannon but isn’t a major timeline flaw is the fact that the Spartans have magnetic strips in their armor that hold their weapons. That feature wasn’t introduced until after the Mark V Armor.

UNSC

The UNSC, namely the “Spirit of Fire”, on the whole do not keep cannon when dealing with technology and their overall knowledge of the universe.

Spirit of Fire

• The Spirit of Fire is assumedly equipped with the standard UNSC MAC. A destroyer class vessel can shoot 2 heavy rounds with one charge due to possessing 2 separate MACs. The Pillar of Autumn could shoot 3 light rounds with one charge. The Super MACs around Reach could shoot one round every 5 seconds. But somehow, the MAC aboard the Spirit of Fire is able to deal out 4 or more rounds with a single charge, something that is unheard of in a ship born MAC.
• The Spirit of Fire is able to shoot its MAC rounds directly planet-side. However, those rounds were sure to go astray do to the atmosphere and the spin of the planet. If the physics of the Spirit of Fire MAC hold true, then Hood should have been able to destroy the “Scarab” during the first battle of Earth with a couple of his ships MACs.
• The crew of the Spirit of Fire were placed into a cyro-sleep after the incident aboard the Shield World. However, unlike with all other personnel that have been recorded (with the exception of John), they were frozen fully clothed. This is normally not done because those that are frozen with clothes on tend to develop a painful condition known as freezer burn.

Knowledge, Tech, and Other

• The apparent first contact with the Flood was one Alpha Halo. This is apparent because the crew of the Pillar of Autumn did not know what these life forms were, including the Lt. ONI officer. This signifies that either none of the crew of the Spirit of Fire returned to a human controlled center, or that they did return but did not tell anyone. Both are unlikely as the Spartans had to return for afore-mentioned reasons and that those Spartans would be duty bound to tell all that they knew to the Security Council and ONI.
• In the story The Fall of Reach, the Security Council was unaware that their might be some other race of aliens until John’s battle footage during the battle of Jericho IV. However, the crew of Spirit of Fire must have been aware that their were because they destroyed their own FTL drive to ensure that the Covenant did not gain Forerunner ships.
• Since the Spirit of Fire did not use any Archer missiles to defend itself when it was in close combat with the Covenant, Sentinels, and Flood, it must be assumed that they didn’t have any. However, that would not make sense because the standard UNSC strategy for destroying a Covenant ship was to disable its shield, wound it with a MAC round, and then gut it with several Archer missiles inside that hole.

Flood and Covenant

Both the Flood and the Covenant are inconsistent with their later versions described in the other books and video games with the exception of Contact Harvest.

• Only Honor Guard are permitted to wield energy staves and only Elite Minors wear blue armor. However, it the cut-scene where the Spartans are fighting with the Elites when Forge is trying to activate the reactor, Elite Minors are attacking with energy staves. This means that either these were Honor Guard that were composed of Elite Minors or that Elite Minors were given energy staves to fight with. Both are unlikely possibilities.
• In previous cut-scenes with the Prophet of Regret, the Elites that are guarding him are Elite Majors. However, later, these Elites are shown fighting the Spartans in blue armor.
• The flood have the ability to create a Thrasher form. By appearance, this form must either be a version of a pure form or some animal that has been taken over. Both choices are improbable because it seems that more biomass and a gravemind would be required to create a pure form and flood don’t seem able to infect animals because they don’t have sufficient biomass.

Campaign Elements

• Although you only start with one base, you can build up a squad and take over other bases. Most bases are guarded by rebels or sentinels, meaning you have to build up a small attack force before you can take the base.

• Halo Wars incorporates the concept of "Socket Bases", in which only specific areas can be used to build specific buildings.

• Supplies can be found as small crates in the map (only infantry and scout units can pick them up) and can also be received by building "supply pads" or "warehouses", which will give a constant stream of resources.

• Forerunner structures are in the game, but generally unusable by the player although Covenant and UNSC infantry can garrison inside Forerunner Bonus Reactors and Supply Elevators.

• The camera angle and zoom can be adjusted so that the player can zoom in on one unit, while playing, and then see the whole battlefield.

• Downloadable content has been planned for the game, ranging from new units and maps to potentially new campaign levels. This could perhaps expand to new game campaigns.

• The currency featured in the game is measured in Resources. Large vehicles are costly, with the Covenant's Scarab requiring three Energy points, taking up twenty of forty or an upgraded fifty infantry slots and three thousand Resources.

• The Covenant Drone, oddly, is not a unit in Halo Wars. This is probably because Drones were still filling a more minor mechanical role at the time.

• In Halo Wars, certain units and powers are only available for certain leaders. The player(s) must choose a leader in multiplayer and skirmish mode. Brutes and Brute Choppers are available for the Brute Army Commander, while the Prophet of Regret can use Honor Guard Elites, and the Arbiter can make use of Suicide Grunts. Likewise, Elephants & ODST are only available for Captain Cutter, Cyclops & Grizzly for Sergeant Forge, and Hawks & Gremlin for Prof. Anderson.

Characters

File:The Arbiter - Halo Wars.png

The Arbiter that appears in Halo Wars.

The Prophet of Regret as he appears in Halo Wars.

Aside from CGI cut scenes and on-the-battlefield appearances, characters in Halo Wars often appear in "talking head" animations, where a small view screen appears in the upper left corner showing the face of the character speaking at the moment.

UNSC Captain James Gregory Cutter Serina Professor Ellen Anders Sergeant John Forge SPARTAN Alice-130 SPARTAN Douglas-042 SPARTAN Jerome-092

Covenant Ripa 'Moramee Brute Army Commander Prophet of Regret

Gameplay Units

United Nations Space Command

A SPARTAN-II hijacking a Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage.

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UNSC Marines

Infantry

• SPARTAN Group Omega: SPARTAN-IIs are individual units who are superior to Marines. They begin with dual-wielded SMGs and can hijack enemy vehicles, so the player can control them, as well as assume command of the player's vehicles. But they can not pilot vultures. They can also be outfitted with chain guns and Spartan Lasers as well as Neural Implants which help them hijack vehicles faster. When a SPARTAN hijacks an enemy vehicle, their rank is added to the vehicle's rank and the captured vehicle's stats are increased, the same goes for Spartans assuming control of the players vehicles. Only three SPARTANs can be deployed at a time. Their health regenerates over time. They are outfitted with the MJOLNIR Mk. IV; however, they still have the Mk. V abilities to possess shields and use Spartan Neural Interfaces, though these are gameplay perks.

• Hellbringer: Called the "Hellbringers", these Marines are specialists equipped with heavier armor and flame-throwers which can be used to torch entire infantry units. They can be upgraded with Flash Bang Grenades, which stun enemies when hit, napalm ammunition which allows their attacks to burn slightly afterwords, and oxide tanks, which also increase damage.

• UNSC Marines: Marines are the basic infantry of the UNSC who are armed with MA5 Series rifles and have the special ability to throw grenades. The squads can be upgraded to replace their grenades with Rocket Launchers (called RPGs in-game), making them more effective against vehicles. They usually operate in teams of four but may add another member to their squads via the "New Blood" upgrade, and a medic via the medic upgrade.

• Medic: This is a unit capable of healing injured infantry when they are not in combat. These are gained when the respective upgrade is purchased from the barracks. They are equipped with the Prototype BR55 battle rifle. When the upgrade is purchased, each marine squadron receives one medic as opposed to them being a separate unit.

• Orbital Drop Shock Troopers: Also known in both the books and the game as "Helljumpers" in reference to the heat of the HEV pod they use to descend from orbit, this is an available upgrade for infantry. It can be upgraded at the Barracks. The upgrades effects allow the player to substitute standard Marine squads with ODST teams (armed with M90 Shotguns), as well as the HEV drop. The HEV drops can also be used as a weapon similar to the MAC Blast. To do so the player must select the HEV drop ability and put them over an enemy unit. ODST squads still use the Rocket Launcher ability. They are only available as the special upgrade for Captain Cutter.

Weapons

• M6D Personal Defense Weapon System (Magnum)
• M19 SSM Rocket Launcher
• M90 Close Assault Weapon System (Shotgun)
• MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System (Assault Rifle)
• SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
• NA4 Flamethrower
• AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun
• Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle (Spartan Laser)
• M7/Caseless Submachine Gun (SMG)
• Fragmentation Grenade- Secondary Marine weapon, upgraded to rocket launchers

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M808 Scorpion MBT

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UNSC Behemoth-class Troop Transport (Elephant)

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M12 LRV (Warthog)

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Cobra

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Dropship 77-Troop Carrier Pelican

A Shortsword-class Bomber.

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UNSC "Flame" Warthog and Covenant Honor Guard Wraith.

Vehicles

• M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (Warthog): Can be upgraded to carry an M41 LAAG and later an M68 Gauss Cannon at a reduction of speed. Can jump gaps, and has ramming ability as its special attack. May be upgraded so its passenger has a grenade launcher.

• "Flaming" M12 Warthog Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (Warthog) : Same as regular Warthog, as far as power and upgrades go. The only difference being the flame decals on the side of the chassis. Only available if game is pre-ordered.

• M808 Scorpion MBT: The M808 Scorpion is the basic Human tank that can be upgraded to the "Grizzly" variant
  • Upgrade 1: The Scorpion gains the "canister shell" y-ability.
  • Upgrade 2: The Scorpion has a faster turret rotation speed.
  • Grizzly variant: An upgrade of the Scorpion, it packs two cannons and a Machine Gun. This upgrade is only available when the player chooses Sergeant Forge as his or her Leader Character in skirmish mode or on-line play.

• Behemoth-class Troop Transport (Elephant): The Elephant, as it is more commonly known, can carry squads into combat and can fulfill the role of a barracks in the field, along with having the ability to be upgraded with a cannon and twin engines to upgrade speed. During the campaign, it is also used to tow an FTL Drive up a mountain to the Apex. During multiplayer and skirmish, it is Captain Cutter's unique unit.

• Gremlin: A combat support vehicle, the Gremlin is Professor Anders's unique unit. It attacks with an EMP cannon that disables vehicles or non-infantry units temporarily. It can be upgraded to fire farther and to make the EMP blast link to other vehicles.[4]

• Rhino: The Rhino is a heavy tracked unit that has a greater defense but lower attack than the Scorpion. The Rhino is armed with a heavy prototype plasma cannon stolen from the Covenant that lobs giant plasma bolts. It has been confirmed that the Rhino is only in the campaign and not available in skirmish. Also, it has roughly the same dimensions as a Scorpion since a Pelican is able to air lift a Rhino.

• Wolverine: The Wolverine is a specialized anti-aircraft vehicle that uses guided missiles to shoot down enemy aircraft, such as Banshees or Vampires. While powerful in this aspect, it is especially weak against infantry and anti-armor vehicles, and must be heavily protected.

• Cobra: The Cobra is a heavy anti-armor vehicle armed with a pair of rail cannons which can easily tear apart enemy armor. It can be outfitted with stronger armor and its rail cannons can be upgraded to penetrate multiple enemies. It can also be deployed to fire a bombard rail cannon, at the cost of mobility.

• Cyclops Exoskeleton: The Cyclops is a re-appropriated support exoskeleton, usually used for construction and ammunition-carrying purposes, that can crush enemies in close combat, often finishing off infantry with impressive fatality moves. Can also repair damaged vehicles if the player upgrades it once. A second upgrade of the unit improves speed and mobility. It is Sergeant Forge's unique unit.

Aerial

• D77-TC Pelican Dropship: The Pelican is a UNSC ability that is called from the Spirit of Fire menu. The pickup area is selected, then the dropoff area. The Pelican can transport multiple units at one time. It can even take 2 scorpions at once with a second Pelican airlifting the third. If it is destroyed, all units being carried by it are lost as well.

• Shortsword-class Bomber: Shortsword bombers operate low-altitude carpet-bombing runs that can destroy or freeze enemy units. These runs are more like a spray of bombs than a specific target area. These "sprays" are directed by selecting a point on the map with the controller and a direction for the "spray" to go in. Called from the Spirit of Fire menu (Sergeant Forge specific). These "sprays" can be upgraded to feature more damage and a longer strafe distance for thye carpet bomb, and longer freeze time and more damage to aerial units for the cryo bomb.

• Hornet: The Hornet is a light gunship that can carry two passengers to provide support and fire on enemy ground and air targets. The Hornet can also carry "rocket-toting" passengers. If upgraded once ("Wingman" upgrade) two Marines ride on the Hornet for increased damage. A second upgrade ("chaff pods") allows for better avoidance of missile attacks. If you have Anders as your leader you can get an upgrade to turn the Hornet into a Hawk.

• Vulture: The Vulture is a large gunship that can deliver heavy amounts of fire against all ground targets. It can be upgraded once to double the number of rockets in its special attack "barrage". It is the UNSC "Uber-unit", and though it is nowhere near the Scarab's strength and resilience, it makes up for this deficit by being less than a third of the cost of a Scarab in both population and supplies.

• Hawk: The Hawk is the super upgraded version of the Hornet. It is a tank busting aerodyne armed with twin auto cannons and a nose-mounted laser weapon. It can be obtained only with Anders in charge.

• Albatross: The Albatross is used to ferry supplies from the Spirit of Fire to ground-side facilities.

• Pod: This dropship, larger than both the Pelican and Albatross, delivers extremely large objects, such as portions of Firebases, to ground positions.

Buildings

• Firebase/Station/Fortress: Provides the basic base of the UNSC with optional "add on" buildings that can increase its usefulness. May be upgraded to a station/Fortress (Captain Cutter can drop in already upgraded stations and starts with a Fortress).
  • UNSC Reactor: The reactor provides power for a UNSC base to run on. Can be upgraded once to double energy output.
  • UNSC Air Pad: This provides UNSC air units along with upgrades for them.
  • Vehicle Depot: A vehicle depot provides heavier vehicles for the UNSC to use.
  • Field Armory: A Combination of machine shop and laboratory that provides high-tech upgrades for the UNSC.
  • UNSC Barracks: The barracks can provide a number of infantry types for combat.
  • UNSC Supply Pad: Supply is used to get supplies from the Spirit of Fire via Albatross dropships.
  • Base Turret: Initially armed with an M202 XP Machine Gun which may be replaced by an M41 LAAG. The turret may be outfitted with a rail cannon for use against vehicles, a flame mortar for use against infantry, or a missile launcher for use against aircraft. Only available on "Station/Fortress" Command bases.

Ship Support

• Spirit Of Fire: The Spirit of Fire provides both direct and indirect support by sending down troops and buildings, deploying bombers, or directly firing one of its MAC guns on the surface. It also plays a major role in the storyline.

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Spirit of Fire

• Transport: Call a Pelican down to transport selected units to a selected area of the map.

• MAC Blast: Varying numbers of blasts can be used to cause varying levels of destruction, with each being individually aimed. You start with one blast, but you can upgrade to up to four blasts by upgrading the power using the Field Armory. This is only available in multiplayer if you are Captain Cutter.

• ODST Drop: Several ODST Pods, individually aimed by the user, are called down at 100 resources each. The Pods will spawn a whole ODST squad. In skirmish mode, only available if Captain Cutter is the selected hero unit.

• Disruption Bomb: A bomb that deactivates any leader powers and prevents others being activated in a short radius during the effect. Also disrupts covenant "Hot Drop" ability.

• Heal and Repair: Heals all units and repairs all structures in a selected area.

• Cryo Bomb: Freezes any units within blast radius. Also causes air units to crash to the ground and shatter. The more upgraded the Cryo Bomb is the longer freeze time and deadlier to air units. Unique to Professor Anders.

• Carpet Bomb Calls in a bomber to wipe out a large area. Effective against mass infantry or ground vehicles. The more upgraded, the stronger and larger the carpet bomb is. Unique to Sergeant Forge.

Covenant

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The Brute Army Commander in Halo Wars

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Concept art for the Elite grasping two Energy Swords.

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A Covenant Scarab destroys various UNSC vehicles.

Infantry

• Unggoy (Grunts): Fight in lances consisting of a Sangheili Minor or Major (or, depending on the player's selected leader, a Brute Minor or Major) and several Grunts. They have the secondary ability to throw Plasma Grenades. Can be upgraded with Needlers, additional members, and a Deacon to boost combat capabilities.
  • Suicide Unggoy: Will berserk and blow themselves up. Leader-specific unit of the Arbiter.

• Sangheili (Elites): In addition to leading Unggoy lances, several specialties of Elites may be fielded.
  • Honor Guard Elite: Serve as powerful anti-infantry units. They can be upgraded with energy shields and active camouflage. They are the leader-specific unit of the Prophet of Regret. An Honor Guard Wraith unit is available in the collectors edition of the game.
  • Arbiter: An antagonist in the campaign and a leader unit in multiplayer. He is Sergeant Forge's counterpart. His secondary ability is a rage power that drains resources but makes the Arbiter go on a "killing spree". During this rage you will control the Arbiter.
  • Elites are also the drivers of the Ghost units.

• Mgalekgolo (Hunters): Hunters are heavily armored and armed with fuel rod-launching Assault Cannons, like they are in Halo: Combat Evolved. They are the Covenant's primary anti-vehicle infantry. When upgraded, they can receive their traditional shield,and later they can fire a more powerful beam from their cannons.

• Kig-Yar (Jackals): Jackals fight in pairs in Halo Wars and provide decent defense against Marines armed with conventional weapons but little defense against grenades, explosives or vehicles. They are originally armed with Carbines and can be positioned in Covenant Watchtowers to provide a higher range of view. They are initially trained without shields but can be upgraded to incorporate Personal Energy Shields and use Beam Rifles with the shields in the later stages of the Covenant tech tree.

• Jiralhanae (Brutes): In battle the Brutes wield Brute Shots, which are devastating against infantry and effective against light vehicles. Due to their limited battlefield use prior to the events of Halo 2, they are apparently leader-specific units belonging to the unknown Chieftain. They can be upgraded to have Jump packs and more powerful brute shots.
  • Jiralhanae Chieftain. The only usable Brute Chieftain is the same Chieftain that can be selected as a leader, making him a "hero" unit for the faction like the Arbiter.

• San 'Shyuum (Prophets): Prophets fight from their Gravity Thrones and can attack enemy infantry with their destructive plasma weapons. The only usable in-game Prophet is the Prophet of Regret, who can only be used if he is chosen as a "leader" before the start of the game. The Prophet's Plasma Cannons can be upgraded to Fuel Rod Cannons for increased damage. His second upgrade adds a pair of Protectors to protect him and his final upgrade gives him full flight capabilities. His leader power is called "Cleansing," where an incinerator beam comes down and quickly kills anything under it. Fully upgraded, it is similar to a glassing beam in power and appearance.
  • Protectors - a pair of Sentinel-like Protectors guard the Prophet of Regret after the player researches Ancestral Perversion.

Weapons

• Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword (Energy Sword)
• Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer (Gravity Hammer), only ever held by the Brute Chieftain.
• Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol (Plasma Pistol)
• Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle (Plasma Rifle)
• Type-25 Grenade Launcher (Brute Shot)
• Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher (Needler), received by upgrading Grunts.
• Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon (Fuel Rod Gun)
• Type-50 Sniper Rifle System (Beam Rifle), received by upgrading Jackals.
• Type-51 Carbine (Covenant Carbine)

Vehicles

• Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform (Scarab): The Scarab is a super-unit that can destroy infantry, ground vehicles, and aircraft with ease. The Scarab is extremely resilient to most weapons fire, but not MAC strikes or Gremlin attacks. Both the Halo 2 and Halo 3 versions have been seen, though the Halo 2 era Scarab has not appeared in more recent Halo Wars videos and demos. Spartans are unable to hijack Scarabs, with the exception of one campaign level. The Scarab is unique in it's ability to traverse what is considered "rough terrain". In other words, the Scarab can climb over cliffs, mountains and some structures because of its size. This makes it the only ground unit in the game able to do so.

The Scarab walker in Multiplayer. Note that you can build two in one battle.

• Super Scarab: Seen in the 7th campaign and is larger than a normal scarab. It's legs aren't built yet
• Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Ghost): The Ghost is a light attack vehicle that excels against infantry but not other vehicles. Can be upgraded to have a ramming boost ability, similar to the Warthog's Ram ability. Can also be upgraded to strafe as to avoid incoming grenades and rockets and to have a light energy shield.

• Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Chopper): Is able to be used by the Brute faction.

• Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage: The Wraith is the main battle tank of the Covenant and is armed with a plasma mortar and a plasma turret and can decimate enemy vehicles and infantry and can be upgraded with a shield. Comes with a "plasma burn" special ability.
  • Honor Guard Wraith: Exclusive to the special edition.

• Locust: A smaller counterpart to the Covenant Scarab which is described as a "building-killer". When upgraded with the overdrive ability the locust can swap its shields for extra power by using the secondary attack button.

Aircraft

• Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft (Banshee): The Banshee can attack infantry, tanks and other air vehicles due to its twin Plasma Cannons and single Fuel Rod Cannon. Also, with another upgrade, Banshees can attempt to crash into enemy units when it is shot down, causing extra damage.

• DX-class Dropship Spirit: The Spirit is the rival to the UNSC Pelican, capable of carrying vehicles and infantry in addition to giving them fire support. The screen for the Spirit of Fire is not available for the covenant and therefore these cannot be called upon to transport troops or vehicles in skirmish or multiplayer, nor is the "Covenant Carrier"

• Vampire: A Covenant flying vehicle; a potent craft fitted to fight against hostile air vehicles. It can be upgraded to have a stasis beam that drains enemy aircraft health and replenishes its own.

Buildings

• Outpost/Keep/Citadel: Provides the basic base of the Covenant with optional 'add on' buildings that can increase its usefulness. Outpost can be upgraded to Keep and then again to a Citadel.
  • Shield Generator: Provides shield protection for the whole Citadel. It is possible to have multiple shield generators, thus improving the Citadel's shielding.
  • Warehouse: The warehouse is how the Covenant receive supplies. Gravity lifts bring supplies down and workers move them to their proper area. The warehouse can be upgraded to receive supplies more often.
  • Heavy Plasma Turret: The main defenses of a Covenant base, the Turret first starts with Plasma Turrets, but can be upgraded with a Plasma Mortar, Fuel Rod Cannon, or a Heavy Needler.
  • Mega Turret: The Mega Turret looks like a upgraded version for the Heavy Turret. It's power is very high and it is advisable to take it out with the MAC Blast.
  • Temple: A Covenant research building, the upgrades are very expensive but are very effective and powerful.
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    Glassing in Halo Wars.
  • Summit: The roost of the Covenant air force, the Summit builds Banshees, Vampires and Engineers.
  • Hall: The home of Covenant soldiers, Grunt lances, Jackals and Hunters are trained here. The building also researches minor upgrades for Covenant infantry.
  • Factory: The manufacturing plant of the Covenant, the Factory builds Ghost scouts, Wraith tanks and Locust walkers.

• Anti-Vehicle Barrier: Same device used to block tunnels on the level Tsavo Highway in Halo 3, most likely used for defense.

• Type-26 ASG (Shade): The Halo: Combat Evolved variant of the Shade will be featured as a defensive Structure.

• Deployable Lookout Tower: Can be used to garrison infantry units from both players (in co-op), increasing their combat capabilities.

• Gravity Lift: Each Covenant base has a Gravity Lift right outside. Gravity Lifts let the Covenant's players to do "Hot Dropping" which allows to send any units (except the Scarab) directly to their Leader's location.

Ship Support

• Glassing: This appears to be used as a Covenant super weapon. The glassing ship can fire this from orbit to destroy ground positions and units. Can be upgraded for an even more devastating effect. This is named the "Cleansing Beam" in the game and is the Prophet of Regret's leader power

• Gravity lift: The covenant do not use spirit drop ships during skirmish or multiplayer, but instead use a gravity lift to send troops to their leader. This has te advantage of being instantaneous, unlike pelicans. However, the gravity lift is one way, making all retreats need to be done on foot.

Neutral

• Insurrectionists: Can be found occupying secondary base sites, and the area around any Forerunner structures that give bonuses, supply elevators, etc.

• Rebel Sniper: Counter-infantry units armed with sniper rifles.

• Rebel Warthog: Repurposed UNSC Warthog with a Gauss cannon and Insurrectionist paint job. (Only confirmed in concept art, cut in final game)

• Rebel EMP: Insurrectionist wielding an EMP weapon similar to the Gremlin's main weapon. (Only confirmed in concept art, cut in final game)

• Rebel Base: A haphazardly constructed base surrounded by concertina wire and guarded by turrets, built on thriving UNSC worlds.

Forerunner

• Sentinels

• Super Sentinel: Can slow down enemy units and have a more powerful sentinel beam than the standard Sentinels.

• Protector: Able to be "attached" to units, providing either a rechargable enegy shield, replenishing health, or a pulse laser weapon depending on type of Protector. The "Ancestral Perversion" upgrade gives the Prophet of Regret two of these on any map.

• Sentinel Shop: Produces Sentinels for the player who stands near it. Only found on the multiplayer level Repository

• Forerunner Supply Elevator: Produces supplies when infantry are garrisoned inside it. Equivalent to an additional Supply Pad or Warehouse. Means you can build one less supply pad/warehouse.

• Forerunner Spire of Healing: Heals any friendly units nearby for the player who controls it.

• Mega Turret: A huge turret that only appears on tundra.

• Forerunner Teleporter: Instantly sends units to another teleporter location. In most maps these are just one way.

• Forerunner Bonus Reactor: Increases tech level of any player that controls it. This will mean you can have an extra slot on open in a base for other usage.

• Forerunner Lifesupport Pod: Increases the max population for any player who controls it.

• Forerunner Fort: Outpost guarded by automated systems, including beam turrets and a shield wall. Retracts in on itself after sustaining enough damage.

• Forerunner socket hook: Gives you two building pads separate from a base. Only found on Beasley's Plateau

The Flood

Flood biomass and tentacles ensnare an Elephant, with Flood Infection Forms and Combat Forms in the background.

"There is quite a bit of concern regarding how we’re going to fit the Flood into our game and keep it in canon which surprised me, but I promised them all that the Halo 1 canon is intact and that they would have to wait and see how we integrate the Flood."

— Graeme Devine

The Flood are a faction within the game, though the player is unable to use them. The Flood gain bases and units by taking over Human and Covenant bases and troops, and most likely growing Flood biomass around them to signify that they are under Flood control.

A Flood Spawning Grounds under siege by a Covenant Locust's

What has been shown in one of the more recent Halo Wars demos was that Flood Infection Forms, Combat Forms, Carrier Forms and what look remotely like Gravemind tentacles will be the Flood's main attack force.In the February issue of GamePro it is confirmed that there will be new Flood forms in Halo Wars. New ones tend to include a new form which appears to be a flood-infected Engineer, named the 'Bomber Form' it appears to drop acid on units and buildings, when killed, infection forms drop out. Reason the Flood cannot be controlled by the player is due to balance issues, as they would have to be balanced out against the 2 playable factions. In the multiplayer map Release, they will be a hostile force to both sides of the battle and can be exploited by the players as a blessing, or a curse.

In retrospects to keeping the appearance of the Flood canon to the rest of the series, the game has the Spirit of Fire traveling back to Earth at speeds slower than light after its mission had ended, making it impossible for them to report the existence of the Flood, although this raises further controversy over the presence of the Spartans on board the Spirit of Fire.

Ground Forms

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A Flood Infection Form is seen on the bottom left.

• Infection Forms have the ability to crawl over walls, increasing its potent abilities, and is able to reach ground no other forces can reach. When any infantry encounter Infection forms, they are soon attacked and infected. This applies to all combat infantry in game, including both Grunts and Jackals, turning them into Combat Forms and making use their weapons.

• Combat Forms: The standard fighting force of the Flood. There are Human, Elite, Brute, Jackal and Grunt combat forms in-game.

• Carrier Forms: A suicidal unit that explodes and delivers its payload of Infection Forms directly into enemy lines.

• Flood Growth Pods now function as a double-edged sword: shooting them will sometimes releases precious resources for weapon and vehicle upgrades. At other times, however, they will release either a swarm of Infection Forms or a cloud of Flood spores, both of which can destroy infantry squads in seconds. They appear as either large flood "eggs" the size of small vehicles, or as multiple of the Halo 3 variety growing on tall stalks.

• Flood Thrasher Forms: Large, about the size of an elephant. Essentially an anti-vehicle flood form, although easily killed.

• Flood spore clouds: A green mist that if units are in for too long, they are killed.

Air Forms

• Flood Swarms: The first-ever-seen flying incarnation of the Flood, described by developers as "infected buzzards crossed with evil bats". These creatures travel in large airborne packs, and can emit barb-like projectiles to puncture enemies.

• Flood Bomber Forms: Large, bloated, airborne Flood forms. They attack by dropping Flood Growth Pods full of Infection Forms onto enemies.

Building Forms

• Flood Barracks: Organic structures that ceaselessly churn out a variety of attackers. They can't be destroyed by "conventional" weaponry, but players can damage them enough to force them into a withered, dormant state. The effect is only temporary, and given enough time, the Barracks will recover and begin producing more Flood forms.

• Flood Root: This form appears to be a defensive unit that "whips" or grabs units that get close to it.

• Colony Form: A large structure found in heavily infested areas. Used as a "base" by the Flood.

• Proto-Gravemind: This appears to be the main Flood's base's building. It seems to be connected to the Colony Forms, as whenever they take damage, the Proto-Gravemind takes damage too.

• Flood Nest: A small organic building, shaped like a jellyfish which creates Infection Forms and Carrier Forms.

• Flood Launcher: Stationary tower-like forms that fire globs from their tops at enemies. These glob-like clouds have the ability to turn infantry units into infected forms. This makes them dangerous to approach. It appears Spartans are immune to the clouds.

• Flood Den: A medium-sized building form which Flood Swarms and Flood Thrasher Forms come out of.

• Flood Vent: Large vents covered in Flood biomass which create Flood Bomber Forms.

Flood Killing Tactics for Halo Wars

The Flood still have a weakness to fire so as a base defense from Flood, build up the Fire Mortar add-on for the Turrets. Also build up Flamethrowers as well. Beware that only certain Flood buildings can be destroyed,the rest are put into hibernation(which means it can regenerate). Air vehicles are uncaptureable by the Flood so if you wish to assault a Flood base, have air units ready. Be sure to have a building destroyer to destroy Flood buildings(especially Flood unit producers and Flood Launchers), and have anti-air units to destroy the Flood Swarms. Warthogs with Gauss Cannons can make quick work of the Flood as well. Tanks are also a good contribution. If the ODST upgrade is avaliable get it so you can drop units to use rockets to blow up buildings. Beware that organic units such as ODST are able to be infected, Flamethrower units are a little less at risk and have a higher Flood kill rate without being captured then Marines. If you have all these units upgraded to the max, then you have a good chance at beating the Flood. Also if you surround Flood vents with 3 Gauss Warthogs then the vent will easily be put into hibernation. Spartans can't be captured so have the handy as well.

Civilian

• Civilians are only encountered on Mission 4: Arcadia City, where the Spirit of Fire and Spartan Red Team helps them board Cargo ships for evacuation from the city. They function as normal infantry units, with 5 people per "squad" and a health bar that can be healed from a Repair Beam.

• Arcadia City policemen are also only encountered on Mission 4: Arcadia City. They have low health and do little damage, but assist the Spirit of Fire and Red Team in evacuating civilians.

Known Civilians

Adam - Adam is a civilian male, possibly a child due to the fact of a mother heard asking where her son Adam is. He is only seen when you activate a control panel that opens up a door to a tower. He runs out and goes toward Cargo ship 2. If you can manage to escort him to the ship without him dying, you will unlock "The Real Winner" achievement.

Ambient Life

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Thorn Beast seen in the middle of a battle.

Ambient life forms will be encountered in the gameplay. They may be found on the battlefield, and might react to the actions of the player's forces (such as firing a weapon, flying around or near them, etc.). Examples include the Space Owl, the Harvest Whale, the Arctic Beast, Ice Hound and some sort of eel-snake creature that has yet to be named.

The ambient life forms will be on the multiplayer maps and they will be interactive. However, in a recent interview, some Thorn Beasts were observed. The Thorn Beasts seen in the game, merely run away from units, not battles; if there is a bombing next to it, it will not flinch. This has probably been changed for a more realistic gaming experience. Although with the release of the game only birds flying in the air have been seen.

Technology Advancement

Throughout the campaign and in Skirmishes, the player must advance their technology in order to increase their army's power. When technology is increased, more units, upgrades, and buildings become available. For instance, infantry units can receive additional members or stronger weaponry. Field Armories or Temples (and the upgrades within them) can become available with increased technology as well.

The tech tree is different for the two playable factions. When playing as the UNSC, the player advances by building and upgrading reactors. The Covenant moves through the tech-tree in Ages by purchasing upgrades at the leader temple. Players can also advance by capturing Forerunner Bonus Reactors .

When a Reactor is built or an Age is researched, OR a Forerunner Bonus Reactor is claimed, the tech number on the top right of the screen goes up. If, say, a reactor is destroyed, the number goes down. Different buildings, units, and upgrades require higher numbers for use.

Veterancy Points

Veterancy points increases a unit's statistics, such as attack, attack speed, defense, etc. This number can be calculated by counting how many stars a unit has above their health bar. This is the number of veterancy points said unit has. The stars or "Veterancy Points" are acquired only after a unit or a group of units have defeated enemy structures, units, vehicles, etc... ex: a Spartan is sent to take out a rebel base. If the spartan is successful after destroying said base he will have gained at least 1 Veterancy point thus increasing his stats, the same goes for the additional units that caused "damage" to the structure currently under attack. They are also gained by upgrading said unit. A unit has a maximum of 5 stars. On a side note a Spartan-Commandeered vehicle has a maximum of 15 "Veterancy Points". This maximum can only be acquired in 2 different scenarios. 1) when a Fully upgraded Spartan (meaning - Chain gun, Neural Implant, And Spartan Laser) is added to a fully upgraded Vehicle with its complete set of veterancy points. this will give you a total of 12 Veterancy points. Finally The remaining 3 are gained by that specific spartan-commandeered unit in battle, destroys Buildings, units, etc... Or 2) A spartan Commandeers a vehicle and is then sent out into numerous battles thus allowing the vehicle to acquire the remaining veterancy points, while both the vehicle and the spartan are upgraded. Finally if counting stars is somewhat of a hassle then Halo Wars features a tiny shield With the total number of upgrades plus veterancy count inside. When a spartan hacks a vehical he may also receieve veterancy points.

Leader Abilities

Certain characters belonging to both the Covenant and the UNSC have been confirmed to be "leader factions", which are sub-factions with unique units and bonuses. All of the Covenant leaders appear on the battlefield and have unique in-game abilities. The UNSC leaders on the other hand do not appear on the battlefield but instead have economic bonuses and "super units" (upgrades of normal units). Currently known leaders are Captain James Cutter, Sergeant John Forge, Professor Anders, an Arbiter, an unknown Brute Army Commander and the Prophet of Regret. Each leader has a number of unique features, for the UNSC it's "super units", economic bonuses, unique units (Cutter's Elephant, Forge's Cyclops and Anders' Gremlin.) and leader powers (ODST Drop/MAC Blast, Carpet bomb and Cryo bomb, respectively to leaders stated previously) that can be called from the Spirit of Fire. The Covenant on the other hand have a unique unit (two for the brute leader) and a "hero unit" (their leader) with their leader power attached to the "hero unit". The Prophet of Regret's ability is to glass enemy forces (known as the "Cleansing Beam" in Halo Wars), which causes significant damage to both structures and units, however it also drains resources while active. His unique units are Sangheili Honor Guards. The Arbiter can go into a rage mode and wield two energy swords and can upgrade to infinitely cloak himself, but at the cost of draining resources for every second these modes are active.. The Arbiter will also have the ability to train Suicidal Grunts. The Brute Chieftain can use his Gravity Hammer to create a vortex which sucks in infantry, then the player can press the A button to create a massive Explosion.

Although Covenant leaders are limited to one at a time, they are the strongest units in the entire game (maybe apart from Scarabs). They can also empower surrounding units.

Achievements

There have been confirmed to be 50 achievements available in Halo Wars, adding up to a total of 1,000 Gamerscore.

Skulls

Main article: Halo Wars Skulls

Each level in Halo Wars has an optional objective where you are asked to kill a certain number of a certain unit type, such as killing 100 Grunts in the first mission, Alpha Base. Once this objective has been completed, the skull location will flash on the mini-maps for a couple of seconds, so it's important to watch the map as you complete the objective. To simplify this, the objective will have a counter that pops up every time you kill a unit of the designated unit type. For example, the HUD will show "56/100 Grunts Killed", when you have killed 56 grunts for that objective.

Black Boxes

Main article: Halo Wars Black Boxes

Black boxes are a new feature in the game. Black Boxes are collectibles in the Halo Wars campaign that when collected, they add new events in the Halo Wars Timeline. They look like black boxes with yellow stripes on them and can be picked up by any unit. When you collect one you can just resign straight away and you will still have it.

Halo Wars Multiplayer

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Covenant forces engage humans on the level Chasms.

Just like Halo 2 & Halo 3, Halo Wars will have a strong characteristic of online gaming. Halo Wars' live gaming characteristics include Direct voice communication & Online leader boards. Unlike any of the other Halo games, now your vehicles' and troops' armor will change to the teams color so you can get red Hunters, purple Grunts, etc. There's no specific information regarding player ranking but players will be able to achieve the ranks of Recruit, Lieutenant, and General. As of now, multiplayer is said to be up to 6 players at a time in a match. Two player online Co-op for the campaign story will also be in the game.

Maps

Each multiplayer map apparently takes place on a different "world", each with its own musical theme and playlist. The Halo Rings won't be in the story, but may be included in future maps for multiplayer.

• Beasley Plateau - A multiplayer map set on a dense jungle plateau.

• Chasm - A multiplayer map set on a frozen region of Harvest.

• Blood Gulch - A multiplayer map based off designs from Blood Gulch, the Halo: Combat Evolved map.

• Release - A multiplayer map set on a Flood-dominated environment.

• Fort Deen - A multiplayer map set on a UNSC military base.

• Tundra

• Pirth Outskirts

• Crevice- A multiplayer map set on a Flood-dominated environment.

• The Docks- A multiplayer map set in the city of Arcadia.

• Labyrinth - A multiplayer map set on a open-bridge-like map in a forest environment.

• Repository - A multiplayer map with a Sentinel factory in the middle.

• Terminal Moraine

• Frozen Valley - A multiplayer map set in a large, open area of snow.

• Exile-A multiplayer map set on a Flood-dominated environment.

Skirmish Mode

Halo Wars features a "Skirmish Mode", where the player can battle on multiplayer maps against an AI opponent in 1V1, 2V2 and 3V3 modes. There will be 14 skirmish and multiplayer maps at launch.

Editors of OXMs January 2009 Halo Wars article played on a multiplayer map called "Blood Gulch". It was stated that it is not the same map as that in Halo: Combat Evolved, but some elements have clearly been used in the design for the map.

It is also known that you have to win a Skirmish match on every playable map and with all the different leaders in order to achieve the Halo Academic and the Halo Historian achievements.

It is possible to side the Covenant with the UNSC in Skirmish mode.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Halo Wars was released on Feb. 17, 2009.

It will come on two discs, be over 50 minutes long and features performances by FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir Prague. It was composed by Stephen Rippy. Many of the songs are meant to portray how hopeless humanity was during the first years of the Human-Covenant War. The Halo theme plays during a cutscene when the player is first introduced to the Spartan II soldiers on Arcadia (Planet).

The official track list is as follows:

1. Spirit of Fire
2. Bad Here Day
3. Perspective
4. Money Or Meteors
5. Flollo
6. Just Ad Nauseam
7. Unusually Quiet
8. Flip And Sizzle
9. Put The Lady Down
10. Six-Armed Robbing Suit
11. Action Figure Hands
12. Status Quo Show
13. Part Of The Plan
14. Work Burns And Runaway Grunts
15. Freaked Out
16. Rescued Or Not
17. Best Guess At Best
18. One Problem At A Time
19. De Facto The Matter
20. Part Of The Problem
21. Fingerprints Are Broken
22. Out Of There Alive
23. Through Your Hoops
24. Under Your Hurdles
25. Insignificantia (All Sloppy/No Joe)

Marketing Promotions and Release

Alpha Test

A screenshot taken of an Alpha playtester in Sway.

An Alpha test was done for Halo Wars, concluding during May, 2008. The test was open only to several thousand Microsoft employees, including Bungie Studios, in order to locate any bugs or glitches, and to test its performance over Xbox Live. It consisted of a brief "tutorial" and multiplayer, and was "limited to a specific set of units." It is unknown how long the Alpha test was conducted, or when it began. The Alpha testing is now complete, as stated in the May Monthly update.

During the Alpha test, anti-air units were glitching so that their effectiveness was lessened, and Scorpion tanks and aircraft were extremely powerful. Aircraft strength was lessened to prevent players from sending in air-strikes against the enemy Command Center and crippling them too easily, ruining many a protocol player's chances of victory. This actually isn't an element of the game, but in fact a "balance issue".

Trailers

E3 2008 Trailer

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A screenshot from the trailer.

File:Halo Wars unlucky marine.JPG

A Marine about to be killed by a Covenant Elite.

Main article: Five Long Years Cinematic

Five Long Years is a Halo Wars cinematic preview released on the July 14th of 2008 depicting the five year long struggle to reclaim Harvest from the Covenant, as well as being the first cutscene for the game. The trailer can be downloaded from the Halo Wars official website or here.

Field Trip To Harvest

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A Zealot Field Master taking orders from an Arbiter on Harvest.

Field Trip To Harvest is a cinematic preview that was released to the public on October 3rd, 2008 showing the UNSC's retaking of the planet Harvest and the Covenant's finding of a Forerunner structure. Also, in the conversation between a Zealot and the Arbiter, there is mention of "the Infection". This could be an introduction to the Flood in Halo Wars, or just a name for the Humans on Harvest.

The Call To Battle

The Call to Battle is a collection of already known cinematics, but it also shows some campaign maps. You can also see that you can make a lot more units than in the demo, this could mean that the population levels differs from stage to stage.

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Unknown Trailer Video

On February 8th, 2009, the Taiwanese Xbox Live website released a four minute-long trailer which contained spoilers detailing the later story of Halo Wars. It was soon taken down, and other sites which put it up, including halo.bungie.org, removed it at the request of Microsoft Game Studios. However, several sites still have the video. The music from the trailer has been confirmed to be "Optimus vs. Megatron", a song from the Transformers movie. It can be watched here: Halo Wars Spoiler Trailer

ViDocs

Halo Wars ViDoc #1 - Halo Times Ten

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On January 23rd, 2009 the first ViDoc of Halo Wars has been released on Xbox LIVE marketplace, it tells how a different perspective can change the gameplay and the announcement of the demo planned on February the 5th. Note that the Spirit of Fire is at the Planet Arcadia in the Procyon system, proving that Harvest is not the only world visited in the game.

Halo Wars ViDoc #2 - Expanding The Arsenal

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On February the 3rd, 2009 the second ViDoc was released, it tells about Spartans and hero unit abilities. Some new cinematic scenes appear in the ViDoc. Again, this ViDoc announces the demo on February the 5th.

Halo Wars ViDoc #3 - Strategy on Xbox

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On February 12th, 2009 the third ViDoc was released, it tells about the controls featured and what expectation there are of the game. As well as the previous ViDoc, this one features cinematic scenes. Note that at a certain point in the video, there are exactly three Brute Chieftains, one Arbiter and six Elite Honor Guards fighting against a UNSC army. This would mean that all three Covenant leaders would have had to of been selected to get all these things at once. And it is strange that there are so many Brute Chieftains when it has been thought that you could only select one in a battle, this could mean that there is the main Chieftain, and the more lesser unnamed Brute commanders, or that the image seen is from a multiplayer match where multiple players are playing as the Brute led covenant faction. However this is unlikely, because there is an Arbiter and six Honor Guard Elites being shown. And it has been thought that you can only have 3 players on one team (A.I. or non A.I.).

Halo Wars ViDoc #4 - Jaws of Victory

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On February 19th, 2009 the fourth ViDoc was released, it tells people about tactics, multiplayer and developers tactics. Unlike the others, this ViDoc shows already known cinematic scenes, however an intro to a mission is shown in which human civilians can be seen.

Demo

Main article: Halo Wars Demo

On February 5th, a demo for Halo Wars was released on Xbox Live for the first time for Gold Xbox Live Subscribers. The demo was made available to non-Gold subscribers on February 12th.

It has been confirmed that the player can play the first two levels of the campaign, as well as play skirmish mode on the map Chasm, where the player can play against an AI opponent. The demo's skirmish mode can be played as the Covenant or the UNSC. The Covenant leader character in the demo is the Prophet of Regret, and the UNSC leader character is Captain Cutter. The demo's campaign mode allows the player to attempt to repossess Alpha Base with Sergeant Forge as their first unit, gathering stranded Marines and Warthogs along the way, which will in turn help the player retake Alpha Base from the Covenant. The second mission deals with the UNSC's attempt at gaining access to the relic before the Covenant destroy it to keep it out of UNSC hands. The demo also contains an optional tutorial for both advanced and beginner players.

Downloadable Content

Although not much is known about the content, it has been confirmed that Ensemble Studios had already finished DLC for Halo Wars long before the actual game was finished. Some of the downloadable content could be new vehicles, units, buildings, storyline addons, new skirmish maps, and much more!

Cut Content

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The asteroid that never was...

Three units, the UNSC Cougar, Covenant Air Artillery, and Covenant Gorgon were under development early in the game along with the ability to actually construct individual buildings (something that was seen in the 2007 build of the game). The developers later announced that these things been cut, as they had decided to focus on more recognizable Halo units and simpler gameplay.

Before Ensemble conceived the idea for The Apex the storyline was supposed to feature a Covenant mining asteroid that was located at a Forerunner ore refining mechanism. This concept tries to show the scale of the large Forerunner machinery in place, machines that are still operational (although now controlled by the Covenant). In the end the mining aspect of the story was removed from the game.

Criticism

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Contradictions

While accepted by Microsoft, the owners of the Halo IP, as official canon, Halo Wars contradicts previously established canon in a number of ways, ranging from minor errors to major flaws. Some of these may simply be retcons of previous statements, or mistakes by the developers.

Arbiter

At the conclusion of the game, the Arbiter's body is discarded and dropped off the Apex ledge. The following explosion would have surely destroyed the Arbiter and its armour, yet in Halo 2, when the Arbiter armour is revealed, the Prophets say that it is the very armour that each Arbiter wore.

Spartans

Given the traditionally high popularity of the Spartans within the Halo universe, it is understandable that the new Spartan members of the Halo Wars cast have come under extensive scrutiny, considerably more so than other facets of the game. The Spartans designated as “Red Team" provide the biggest problem when it comes to breaks with previous canon. Their flaws are both in the in-game Spartans, the cutscene Spartans, and the Spartan timeline.

• The Spartans wore the MJOLNIR Mark IV as the story takes place in 2531, 24 years before Reach would fall to the Covenant wrath. However, the Spartans in the game possess recharging energy shields, a feature that would only be later added in the MJOLNIR Mark V. Notice that no energy shields are shown for the Spartans in the cutscenes - it may simply be a gameplay neccesity to balance the unit against other units, rather than an actual canon mistake.
• The Spartans are able to be upgraded with “Spartan Lasers”. But, the Halo 3 handbook states that the “Spartan Laser” is a relatively new product.Template:Fact
• According to the story, the “Spirit of Fire” is unable to transition into Slipspace because it used its reactor to destroy the “Shield World”, and was later classified as WIA in 2534. But according to “The Fall of Reach” only three Spartans were MIA and one seriously WIA with 3 on battlefields to distant to be recalled. Since two of the MIA were Samuel and Kurt, and the WIA was Cassandra, and it is Grey Team that is out too far, it is logical that the Spartans from the game were present. Some claim that it was indeed the Halo War Spartans and not Grey Team that were out to far. But in “First Contact”, John thinks about Grey Team, who are on battlefields to distant to be recalled. This is not the first time the number has been contradicted - Sheila and Randall were both MIA before the Fall of Reach, but are not mentioned as part of the missing Spartans.
• The only major flaw in the cutscenes that doesn’t coincide with the official canon but isn’t a major timeline flaw is the fact that the Spartans have magnetic strips in their armor that hold their weapons. That feature wasn’t introduced until the Mark V Armor.

Trivia

• March 3, the release date for Halo Wars in the United States, is also the date that the Human-Covenant War ended.

• Halo Wars is the first game to officially feature the Huragok without the use of mods.

• Marines can shoot a Grunt's Methane tank, causing the Grunt to explode. In addition, each individual soldier will have his own separate reaction to background stimulation in an attempt by Ensemble to add a "Human element" to the game. Orders can be given for troops to take cover and/or take shelter in buildings.

• Halo Wars is the first Halo game to portray Elites dual wielding energy swords without a mod or image manipulation.

• The Doritos snack food held a sweepstakes where the winner got a voice role in the game.

• Halo Wars didn't start as a Halo game at all. Six months were spent developing a control scheme for a viable RTS for the Xbox 360, which was later pitched to Microsoft, asking to use the Halo IP, to which Microsoft agreed.

• There are skulls in the campaign like in Halo 2 and Halo 3, which add replay value. They may increase or decrease the score, and there is an achievement for getting Gold on a mission with the three "Rebel" skulls which make gameplay harder turned on.

• Halo Wars is the first Halo game to include Grunts and Jackals as a species capable of getting infected by the flood. It is possible this was a mistake on Ensemble Studios' part, them not knowing Grunts and Jackals could not be infected, or Grunts and Jackals can in fact be infected by the Flood, and this is a new fact revealed to us.

• During the introductory level in the E3 demonstration video, UNSC Marines can be seen doing push-ups behind the barracks, being drilled by a Drill Instructor. This has been dropped from the final version.

• At this point in time, there are over 5,402 sound files for sound and voice in the game.

• Many new UNSC units were seen on G4's hands-on coverage of Halo Wars on July 14th.

• An article released by ShackNews states that Halo Wars is Ensemble's last game, and that they are laying off any personnel not essential to the game's completion. In fact, the supposed layoffs were confirmed merely as a rumor, and that while Ensemble was indeed shutting down after the shipment of Halo Wars, layoffs had not begun. However, some of Ensemble's employees had started the company Robot Entertainment and offered the executives at Ensemble a job there.

• The Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide was released on the 3rd of March, the exact same date as the NA release of Halo Wars.Template:Fact

• The Mark IV MJOLNIR armor that the Spartans use includes a personal shield. This contradicts established canon, as the Mark V is supposed to be the first MJOLNIR armor variant to have such an ability.

• The demo has been downloaded over 2 million times in the week following its debut, setting a "day one record" in its initial release.

• On February 28 Gamestop hosted a Halo Wars tournament. First place winners received a Collectors Edition copy of Halo Wars and a Halo Wars T-Shirt, while second place received only a Halo Wars T-Shirt.

• During battle, Spartans can sometimes be heard to shout "For Samuel!" This is a reference to the first Spartan to perish by Covenant hands.

• Grunts have a diverse audio file, in an attempt by Ensemble to make them humorous characters.

• Marines will react to the presence of a Spartan with lines such as "Whoa, a Spartan!" This same line can be heard in Halo 3.

• The Limited Collectors Edition of Halo Wars includes the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack, a pack supposedly unavailable until the release of Halo 3: ODST.

• In the spirit of previous Halo games, when watching the games credits, a line is heard to indicate a possible sequel or continuation of the story. It is Serina stating "Captain. Wake Up. Something has happened." with the Halo Wars logo appearing in the background. This only occurs when the game is finished on Legendary difficulty.

• There is little or no blood during game play and cut scenes, which is most likely the reason why it is rated T for Teen.

• The "Rally Point" flag features Halo 3's Legendary difficulty icon.

Gallery

• Halo Wars - Collectors Edition (Box Art).png

  The cover for the limited edition of Halo Wars.

• HarvestT-1-.jpg

  An early cutscene from Halo Wars.

• 

  An Elite holding a dead Marine.

• HWscreen.jpeg

  Multiplayer Screenshot, revealing that Scarabs will be usable in multi-player.

• Wolveriney.jpg

  A trio of defending Wolverines.

• 

  A battle against a Scarab.

• Screenshot 6 preview.jpg

  Concept art of a battle to claim a Forerunner structure.

• 196539.jpg

  Kig-Yar, as they appear in Halo Wars.

Links

Internal

• Circle Menu
• Halo: Contact Harvest
• Halo Wars Announcement Trailer
• Halo Wars: Limited Edition

External

• Official website
• Halo Wars announcement
• Halo Wars Fansite
• Halo Wars E3 Trailer
• Extended Halo Wars E3 montage
• Heavengames.com
• Halo Wars Profile Page
• Halo Wars GC 2008: Halo Wars Hands-on
• Halo Wars Spoiler Trailer