Halo Wars: Gameplay Demonstration video

Switching genres has always been a hit-and-miss affair, as far as videogame franchises are concerned. While the product may look interesting and even fantasy-realizing on paper, more often than not it falls short and feels disjointed in practice. Thankfully, this doesn’t seem to be the case with the Halo franchise, as it seeks to make a name of its own in the Real-Time Strategy table with Halo Wars – and we see some pretty concrete proof of that with this ten-minute video of the game in action.

In this video, we get a sneak peek at the game’s lush and sharp visuals, as well as some pretty neat gameplay factors that distinguish it from other RTS titles. For example, the all-important window where you select what buildings or units to build actually takes up the entire screen. While this is a good change, it also obstructs your view of the battlefield, which could prove deadly during heated matches.

Another change is the way you’ll be selecting troops on screen – and that’s by “painting” the ones you want to select with an on-field cursor, rather than the oldie-but-goodie box-dragging technique. This one can also prove problematic during gameplay, as you’ll have to be very accurate with moving the indicator around. However, it’s to note that it works pretty well here, with the player easily sending two forces against the Covenant horde outside his base.

Will Bungie Studios‘ Halo Wars match up to the RTS classics we all know and love? Time will only tell. Enjoy the video!

Switching genres has always been a hit-and-miss affair, as far as videogame franchises are concerned. While the product may look interesting and even fantasy-realizing on paper, more often than not it falls short and feels disjointed in practice. Thankfully, this doesn’t seem to be the case with the Halo franchise, as it seeks to make a name of its own in the Real-Time Strategy table with Halo Wars – and we see some pretty concrete proof of that with this ten-minute video of the game in action.

In this video, we get a sneak peek at the game’s lush and sharp visuals, as well as some pretty neat gameplay factors that distinguish it from other RTS titles. For example, the all-important window where you select what buildings or units to build actually takes up the entire screen. While this is a good change, it also obstructs your view of the battlefield, which could prove deadly during heated matches.

Another change is the way you’ll be selecting troops on screen – and that’s by “painting” the ones you want to select with an on-field cursor, rather than the oldie-but-goodie box-dragging technique. This one can also prove problematic during gameplay, as you’ll have to be very accurate with moving the indicator around. However, it’s to note that it works pretty well here, with the player easily sending two forces against the Covenant horde outside his base.

Will Bungie Studios‘ Halo Wars match up to the RTS classics we all know and love? Time will only tell. Enjoy the video!