Here’s everything we’ve learned about Halo Wars 2 so far, culled from the material presented at E3 2016. This summer’s closed beta, and our recent hands-on tour at 343 Industries in Redmond.
Halo Wars 2 takes place 28 years after the original game’s events, after the conclusion of the Covenant conflict. A new military junta known as the Banished has risen, commanded by Atriox, a violent and clever Brute. With Halo Wars 2, Microsoft, 343i, and Creative Assembly hope to “reinvigorate” the classic R.T.S. genre. Are they able to deliver? Time will tell.
History of Halo Wars
Ensemble Studios, the Age of Empires franchise developers, created the first Halo Wars. Ensemble shut down in 2009, shortly after Halo Wars was released for the Xbox 360. Halo Wars 2 is being co-developed by Halo creators 343 Industries and Creative Assembly. It is famed for Total War titles and, most recently, Alien Isolation. Creative Assembly has a 20-year history of making P.C.P.C. strategy games. It has been hailed as the natural choice to collaborate on Halo Wars 2 with 343i.
The first Halo Wars was set ten years before Halo: Combat Evolved. Further making it one of Halo mythology’s oldest playable entries. It stars Captain Cutter, the United Nations Security Council warship Spirit of Fire captain. The Sprit of Fire possesses its own Cortana-like Artificial Intelligence known as Serina. As well as a massive army that can be deployed at any time. Captain Cutter and his crew face up against Halo’s major hostile force, The Covenant, as well as the parasitic Flood. Without giving too much away, the events of Halo Wars 1 culminate with the last U.N.S.C. crew being trapped in space.
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In our conversation with 343i’s Dan Ayoub. He revealed that a Halo Wars sequel has been at the top of their community’s most-wanted list. For some time and that the company determined that now was the time to deliver on that input. Halo Wars 2 will be available for the Xbox One and Windows 10 Store in February 2017.
Gameplay Modes
Halo Wars 2, like many capable R.T.S. products. It is built around several gameplay pillars that R.T.S. enthusiasts should be acquainted with. Halo Wars 2 has a three-pronged approach to gaming modes divided into Campaign, Multiplayer, and Blitz.
Campaign of Halo Wars 2
As previously stated, the campaign of Halo Wars 2 takes place. It does 28 years after the original game’s events, during the events of the current day timeline. Without giving too much away. Captain Cutter and his crew will face off against Atriox’s deadly Banished Covenant remnants. It was done for the possession of Installation 00, also known as the Ark.
Halo Wars 2 will be a completely self-contained plot regardless of its place in the narrative. In our conversation, 343i’s Dan Ayoub informed us that the game assumes. No prior knowledge of Halo or its external narrative and that it would rehash events. From the previous 28 years as Captain Cutter and his crew realize precisely what they’re up against.
To assist the Spirit of Fireteam to get back up to speed, 343i stated that Isabel. A logistics computer that acts as your primary source of information. About Halo Wars 2‘s all-new opponent, will join the crew. As previously stated, the Spirit of Fire will fight the Banished, a surviving Covenant group. They are commanded by Atriox, a Jiralhanae (Brute) race member. The Brutes are an ape-like species that initially appeared in Halo 2 and are noted for their fearsome strength and absurd endurance.
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Atriox is an exceedingly deadly opponent since he boasts incredible physical power and excels as a military strategist. Atriox handily overcomes not one but three Spartans in close quarters battle while holding a massive red gravity mace during his entrance. We don’t know much about Atriox’s intentions or the consequences Halo Wars 2 may have for the overall plot. Still, during our meetings at 343i in October, the studio stated that Atriox is meant to be a big franchise villain — not simply a one-off for Season 2. Furthermore, 343i said that Halo Wars 2 might significantly influence the entire plot of the franchise, so fans should be in for a treat.
Halo Wars 2 is comparable to the original game in terms of gameplay. There are no gathering units because the economy is created directly from your base. Or the random pickup located on the landscape. Season 2 adds new controls to allow console gamers more control over gameplay. Still, it is also the first Halo Wars game to be released on P.C.P.C. This was done via the Windows 10 Store, with full keyboard and mouse compatibility. There will be many recognizable units for fans of the first Halo Wars. Including Warthogs and Scorpion tanks, but some new ones will also be.
Multiplayer Mode from Season 2
Skirmish: This is your practice mode. Players will be able to combat a variety of A.I.A.I. with varying degrees of difficulty. You may also collaborate with pals to develop cooperative strategies for each game style or practice against one another.
Strongholds: With a strict 15-minute time constraint. Strongholds is intended to provide more fast-paced gaming. Two teams of three will compete to control Strongholds. These are tiny strongholds distributed around the landscape. Your population ceiling grows with each base you acquire. Allowing you to grow and finally overwhelm the adversary. The team with the most bases captured wins at the end of the game.
Domination: Domination in Halo Wars 2 is identical to the previous game. But with all of the other additions and factions. Domination is a two-on-two game style in which each side tries to take. As much control of the map as possible while still building up their army and structures as usual. Players will compete for specific capture points. Reducing the opposing team’s tickets. The first team to reach 0 points is defeated.
Deathmatch: Deathmatch is a traditional R.T.S. gameplay in which players are charged with building their bases. Further loading up their armies, and eventually destroying the opposing player.
Blitz Mode of the Series
Blitz Mode is a one-of-a-kind hybrid of fast-paced. More intimate action-strategy warfare in a MOBA. A light RTS-style economy, and a deck-building card game. In Blitz, players will begin receiving cards that depict various Halo Wars heroes and units. Players in Blitz’s two modes will be able to bring decks of up to 12 cards. With one leader card defining the deck’s role in combat. Leader cards give passive benefits, unique cards, and may totally alter your deck’s playstyle.
You may only use one of the four cards at a time, and each time you spend one. It is replaced with a random card from your deck. You can re-roll a card at any moment. But doing so consumes energy, which is the game’s fundamental resource. During gameplay, energy appears at random on the board, and opposing teams must struggle to recover it. Further making Blitz mode as much a game of energy management as a counterattack and reactive strategic play.
Cards will be obtained at random through collecting packs in Halo Wars 2‘s many modes. And duplicate cards can be used to “level up” existing troops, offering benefits and progression.
Players will always be paired based on their skill and deck strength. Therefore there should be no team imbalance throughout gameplay. Blitz is divided into PvP and PvE modes. With more cards and gameplay elements to be added in post-launch DLC.
Firelight
A firefight is a Horde-style game in which one or two players fight. Against waves of progressively powerful adversaries. Enemy waves spawn indefinitely, and players have rewarded points and killstreak scores in an arcade-style fashion. Similar to the Halo Spartan mobile games. Firefight offers intriguing chances for participants to build complementary decks. For example, one player may concentrate on support troops while another concentrates on skirmishing games.
Versus: Blitz PvP is played in the Domination manner, including 1v1 and 2v2 game variants. Players will compete to control three spots on the map. Further harvesting energy and accumulating points for each capture point held. The team that reaches the scoring cap first wins. Blitz PvP games are meant to run between 8 and 12 minutes. They are accessible to players who are more accustomed to first-person shooter. Halo games or those who wish to experience RTS-style gaming before tackling the game’s main Multiplayer modes.
Play Xbox Anywhere
Halo Wars 2 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, which means you can get a license for both the Xbox One and the P.C.P.C. with a single payment. In contrast to Gears of War 4, Halo Wars 2 will have no cross-play. It was done between P.C.P.C. and Xbox One, even in cooperative modes.
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According to the studio, the reason for this is the significant disparity in control methods on Xbox One and P.C.P.C. As well as the fact that the games are balanced differently across versions to support the diverging styles of play. Nonetheless, your unlocks, gaming progression, Blitz decks, and achievements. They will be synced between devices through the cloud, enabling you to pick up and play from any device.
Conclusion
If you want to buy Season 2, you’ll have to choose between the Standard and Ultimate versions. The Standard Edition, which includes only the base game, will cost roughly $59.99. The Ultimate Edition, which retails for $79.99, is slightly different. In addition to the main game, the Halo Wars 2: Ultimate Edition includes four days of early access. The 2 season pass, and a remastered version of Halo Wars.
