Halo Wars is a strategy game based on the Halo universe. Players will command armies of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. "Halo Wars" will immerse gamers in an early period of the storied "Halo" universe, allowing them to experience events leading up to the first "Halo" title for Xbox.
With the guidance of Serina, a spirited artificial intelligence (AI) persona, gamers will direct legions of UNSC soldiers, Warthogs and Scorpions against Covenant Grunts, Elites, Ghosts and Scarabs, each group having its own strengths and uses in battle. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious.
Created from the ground up for the Xbox 360 console and Controller, "Halo Wars" is being developed by the veteran real-time strategy developer Ensemble Studios, the team responsible for the best-selling and critically acclaimed "Age of Empires" franchise on the PC. "Halo Wars" can be played online via Xbox LIVE and through the single-player campaign. Published by Microsoft Game Studios, "Halo Wars" is an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 video game system.
Background
Confirmed Elements
The following are known elements within the game that have been shown in concept art and pre-rendered trailers for Halo Wars.
UNSC
- Infantry
- Spartan Group Omega
- UNSC Marine Corps
- Possibly a crewman as seen the concept art.
- Weapons
- Battle Rifle wielded by Spartan Group Omega and UNSC Marines.
- Shotgun as seen in Concept Art.
- M6C Magnum wielded by Spartan Group Omega.
- Sniper Rifle as seen in Concept Art.
- Vehicles
- Warthog
- Warthog transport
- Scorpion Tank
- Pelican
- Shortsword
- Sparrowhawk
- Unidentified UNSC dropship (possibly an Albatross)
- Unidentified UNSC tank
- Cougar
- Wolverine(Missile Launching Tank seen in Gamespot update.)
Covenant
- Infantry
- Weapons
- Fuel Rod Cannon as seen in Concept Art wielded by a hunter.
- Energy Sword as seen wielded by a elite in the trailer and Concept Art.
- Needler seen wielded by grunts.
- Plasma Pistol as seen weilded by grunts.
- Vehicles
Achievements
Nothing is known about the Halo Wars achievements yet.
Trivia
- Halo Wars may possibly have been first hinted at in the art book that came with the collector's edition of Age of Empires 3. The last page of the art book showed images from five different Age of Empires games, including the three titles that had already been released. Two images represented unreleased games, including a hypothetical Age of Empires 4 (depicting a World War 2 or Vietnam War-era soldier) and Age of Empires 5, depicting a distinctly science-fiction character design. This may have been intended to represent Master Chief from the Halo universe.
- Halo Wars takes place before Halo CE, and so weapons available afterwards in the timeline (such as the Battle Rifle) are (theoretically) unavailable.
- In the Halo Wars trailer, if you look closely at the Elite that killed the Marine with the Energy Sword, you'll see that it had 5 fingers, not 4.