HALO WARS was not, by any stretch of anybody’s imagination, the best HALO game ever. It wasn’t even in the top five. It is difficult, after all, to imagine an RTS game making much sense in a universe generally defined by what was originally a first person shooter.

And yet… there is something oddly appealing about HALO WARS. I’ve always enjoyed its simple, intuitive, point-and-shoot control scheme and its straightforward, uncluttered approach to resource gathering. The folks at Ensemble Studios basically created a strategy game that allowed for nearly infinite variation and flexibility on the part of the player, subject only to a few simple rules, and then sat back and let that same player just get on with business.

I have to say, I also loved the music. Stephen Rippy’s soundtrack was both innovative and nostalgic at the same time, blending great references to the classic HALO soundtracks and themes while adding new ideas and flavours in at every turn.

So I am very much looking forward to seeing what 343 Industries can do with their latest release, which picks up the torch 25 years after the ending of the original HALO WARS with a similar cast of characters in a familiar location:

This should be good fun to play- and hopefully a damn sight less disappointing than HALO 5: Guardians turned out to be.