OK, OK, I confess. I'm not a Halo guy. I'm more of a Ghost Recon guy. Maybe I just like shooting people more than aliens.
I think we have a copy of Halo 2 (limited edition no less) kicking around, but I haven't played it much, for a couple reasons.
First, I'm no blushing Betty, but the language...let's just say that I can't play it when the kids are around and I'd rather have my kids around than play Halo. Since I never played the single player and didn't know what was going on, I never got into the multi-player. 
Second, I just don't buy the premise of all these disparate alien races teaming up to kick our butt. I mean you've got these big “Brutes” and these goofy little “Grunts”. I think about ten minutes after they left home the big guys would have killed the little annoying ones just for bouncing around in front of the TV on the spaceship. (And yes, I did research all these names just to write this blog entry…my dedication knows no bounds.)
Anyway, I got an advance copy of Halo Wars last Friday (have I mentioned today that MY JOB IS AWESOME?!?!?!) and it is a total hoot. Luckily, I had time to play it because my “chore” for Saturday was mainly sitting around waiting for house painters to come and do estimates, and the rest of the fam was out doing other things.
Halo Wars is the real time strategy (or “RTS” as the 30 year olds who live in the basement say) game based on the Halo storyline. Ensemble (rest in peace), the masters of the RTS with Age 
of Empires bring their magic to the Xbox 360. Some reviewers have complained that the controls and the game overall are "dumbed down" to make it suitable for the console. I think they mean to say it has been "made FUN" for normal people who don't live in their mom's basement and buy special keyboards to play games on (Timber Wolf? Should be Lone Wolf – if you get me).
One of the coolest things is the attention to detail on the graphics. I upgraded my Hornet (little helicopter/airplane thing) to add two marines as additional gunners hanging off the sides. And there they were. You could zoom in and see their little legs dangling while they popped off enemies with their rifles. I know it seems lame to call out that the graphics are cool on an Xbox 360 game. It wouldn't have much of a chance if they weren't cool. But from the other RTS games I've played, I just wasn't quite expecting this level of "charm" in the little space marines dealing death from above.
The biggest problem I've had is, since I don't know what the heck all these characters are, when the computer voice warns me "The enemy is training Jackals." I just go, "Yikes! Sounds bad!"
I'm still just playing the skirmish levels on "Easy" and I'll probably never be any better at this than I am at Age of Empires, but I really don't care about that.
On another note entirely…
I saw this story about a proposal that went a bit awry. Of course, turns out it is an LDS couple. Just had to be.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29462344?GT1=43001
But I don’t want to give it away.
That sounds pretty cool. I too would be frightened if my enemies decided to train Jackals.
ReplyDeleteAlso, that couple should put the x-ray picture in their wedding announcement.
I hate all role playing games....well, really, unless I am singing or dancing I don't play much of anything, but my bopys seem to think Halo Wars would be a great addition to our home...too bad we don't have a 360...maybe a reason to not get one????
ReplyDelete@ramsam: I just have to clear one thing up here...Halo Wars is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game, definitely not a Role Playing Game (RPG).
ReplyDeleteIn an RTS, you gather up resources, build units, and use your units to kill the other dude.
RPGs are like D&D/World of Warcraft kind of crap. You know, like some Level 5 Angry Elf looking for weapons and potions and all that.
Also, I believe there is a new law that forbids the playing of RPGs by anyone who has actually ever kissed a woman who was not their mother.