We noticed very quickly, that the new Halo Wars 2 has a elaborate campaign with bombastic Tank-Battles. But is this really enough to be the next Command & Conquer for your Xbox One console? Let’s find out.

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The new Halo Wars 2 turns the world upside down. RTS games been made only for the PC for such a long time. If there are console versions of this genre, RTS-Games that also released for the console been only known for a quick time. Or did somebody of you remember, that there has been a Starcraft for the Nintendo 64? Or an Age of Empires 2 for the Playstation 2? Yes, these games been also released for a console. And then there was Halo Wars, made by the same people that made also Age of Empires, and people that showed, that you can play a RTS-Game with a Gamepad! Great is also, that the second Halo Wars is also available for the PC. Halo Wars 2 gives people what they have waiting for such a long time….huge Tank-Battles packed in a fantastic campagne. Could the XBox One be the one unknown hero that saves us all?

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Halo Wars 2’s basics are so classic, that it could be a port from the PC to the console: Built a Base, collect Resources, unlock Upgrades and finish your enemy by sending him a horde of tanks! Unfortunately, from time to time you can feel that this game is made for the console. For example, it is only possible to built you base on fixed positions and your troops are much smaller, than than you possibly know it from other PC-RTS-Games. We believe, that a gamer, that only plays with his mice and keyboard can also Halo Wars 2, even if it is not so fast as a StarCraft or complex like a Supreme Commander. We love it that Halo Wars 2 is a RTS for everyone who like to command their futuristic units into bombastic battles. Important is also to choose your units clearly, to plan tactical maneuvers at the right time, to think about an orbital strike and not to micromanage your units every single second. And yes, we think also that Halo Wars 2 is a game for the PC-RTS-Player. Unfortunately, we only get the Xbox One version. And this is the reason this review focuses on the XBox One Version.

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If we would talk about the word “spectacular”, we would use the game’s rendered videos to describe it. It starts with Captain Cutter, his ship Spirit of Fire and a very bad day. He and his crew wake up until 30 years. This means, that they missed the whole Halo story and everything that happened after the first Halo-Wars. As if that were not enough, they also get a new enemy.

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We love it how great the game is produced, who great our soldiers sneak through the destroyed research facility, unexpected Atriox comes out of the shadows and kill them all. We think, that the game’s story is so well done, it could also be a movie in theatres. We also think that you can compare it very good with cutscenes made by Blizzard! Unfortunately, such great produced videos are rare in RTS games. On the other hand, thank you 343 Industries & Creative Assembly for such great entertainment.

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Unfortunately, we have to say, that Halo Wars 2 is only an Action packed Blockbuster and nothing more with some brave Marines and Aliens that See thirsty for blood and gore! Unfortunately, the game’s characters never leave this role. That also means that we do Not get much to know about the main figures. It was really clever to introduce a complete new villain. Because of that, players will understand the game’s story even if they did not play any Halo game before.

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You have to beat Atriox in 12 different missions. What we like is, that this game’s missions are very varied. Once you have to built a base and attack your enemies, once you have to save your position while you get attacked by waves of enemies, once you have to attack the enemy base with one very strong spartan while you collect other soldiers in prison camps. Unfortunately, we miss the something special that surprises us, compared to games like StarCraft.

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But what we like is the game’s own Highlight. One of them is that you can play the whole campaign in the Co-Op-Mode. We wished the developers of Halo Wars 2 had include more and longer mission. In addition to that, we would love to play with more than 2 fractions.

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We noticed very quickly, that Halo Wars 2 wants to give every strategic player a matching multiplayer mode. We can confirm, it worked out. This game includes something for everybody. Players who like the classic Deathmatch in which you fight until the last base is destroyed will have the same fun as players who likes it a little bit faster. This players will like the Halo Wars 2’s Fortress mode in which you have unlimited resources.

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In Domination you have to save 3 points until you reach enough points to win. And there is also the Blitz mode. In this mode you do not have to built a base, you choose your armee by cards. In this mode you
also use this cards for example to call an airstrike. Player of this genre will know such modes from games likeBattleforge.

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This sounds undemanding at the first glance, but it is not. You have to move your troops all the time, cut the enemy’s ways from the control-points and the resources and command your troops that any Orbit-Strike can not hit them. This mode is funny and exciting at the same time because of all the things we said before.

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We have to confirm, that we had about Halo Wars 2 before we could test it and to play a RTS Game with a gamepad. But then the clown jumped out of the box! We never thought that Halo Wars 2 would be such a great game. Bombastic battles, great units, dynamic matches and fantastic videos. We could find in Halo Wars 2 many things that made games like Command & Conquer such great. After a while we had no problems with the game’s limited complexity. We love the game’s story and how great they telling it. The missions are varied, but unfortunately, we did not find anything special or new. But this did not change our opinion. We think that Halo Wars 2 is a high quality RTS game.

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