Be Excellent To Each Other

We discussed this in the general demos thread, but I thought it deserved one of its own. My first impressions are that after completing the tutorial and the two missions, I have to say it doesn't really do anything that we haven't seen in the last decade or so of Command & Conquer games; however, the controls seem perfectly usable and it does look stunning. Plus, we get to delve back into the Halo universe we know and love (sub please check).

I want Star Craft 2.

What he said.

I am d/l the HW demo now.

Oh and hidden on the 'sell you stuff' tabs I noticed that the first 'pay for' DLC for Burny Pee has come out, something called the 'Party Pack'. Anyone know anything about it?

Is that the one with the Ghostbusters car, Back to the Future car etc in it?

No, that's the 'Classic Cars' pack...looking at the Criterion site it seems to be for local party play only. Doesn't seem to add to the online game.

I like this. I normally play RTS games as "build everything and throw it at the enemy", so it fits me like a glove.

I stopped playing them after the C&C glory days of being able to build a sandbag wall from your base all the way to the enemy's, walling them in and then building turrets in the middle of their base.

I could really do with a good RTS to play, but whenever I try any of these new fangled efforts I just find them utterly disengaging. Are they doing something wrong or do I just not like RTSs as much as I like to think I do?

Answers on a postcard.

Company of Heroes, natch. It's a world of awesome.

I use to love them... I still do but I need a MOUSE and KEYBOARD....

I'd love to rely on my EggBox for everything but I need a PC for these types of games.

I keep trying but I just can't be happy with the controls. I need to easily group! Microsoft GIVE ME A MOUSE. I can't afford a new PC.

I will how ever be testing Halo Wars out to see if things have improved yet... I have my doubts.

Also Dawn of War. Dawn of War 2 soon!

Oh no! Who's looking after the Grimlet?

I wish Dawn of War 2 was console-bound.

Yeah, that feels quite fun. I'm unsure about the lack of "queue commands" ability.

That reminds me - we should have some more multiplayer fun get beaten soundly by Grim... again soon.

Gruff voice: "ATTACKING!"

Cue me, flailing around, horrified by Grim...'s sudden mastery. Again. Great fun though. But lets play Defcon instead, the one I'm good at.

I downloaded the Halo Wars demo expecting a HD Quoits simulator where angels battle it out for the control of heaven in a civilised 18th century lawn setting.

Imagine my disappointment... etc.

Played this yesterday. Anyone else think that it's a bit, bit, well 1998? Pretty basic is the impression I got from the demo...and in the strategy video they basically state that tank rushing is a viable strategy. Has no one learnt anything from Brothers in Arms*? I'm not a RTS fan (Turn Based is the strategy of men) but on the whole I thought the thing was pretty poor and something of a waste of the IP.

EDIT: Of course I meant Company of Heroes.

Ahem

couldn't also that be applied to the original Halo? Yet, it was an huge success and critics drooled all over it. This game could also benefit from the "console gamers don't know better" factor

I don't think so - Halo had plenty of innovitave stuff, like the way you set up the controls, the recharging shield, the vehicle driving method and the melee attacks. The AI was highly sophisticated, too.

I played this the other day, wrote a long post out about my thoughts, then reerad it and realised I posting bollocks. I just don't think this is any different to any RTS since C&C. Sure better graphics, but nothing new at all.

No, if anything they've taken stuff away.
But that's not necessairily a bad thing - we'll just have to wait and see.

Indeed Halo was great because it simplified a genre that was getting to complex for it's own good. I hope (and it appears that) they've approached this RTS in the same way.

The demo was quite decent actually. I can imagine picking it up for about a tenner. Which doesn't sound impressive but I never though I would buy another RTS in my life so that is quite a big deal.

But I want a bit more than a erhash of the same game with slightly different map layout. This seemed little different to Spellforce/Sparta Wars/Warcraft. One of the thing I really liked about Starcraft was the tanks which you could turn into spam cannons. And just sit them on a cliff side and use the landscape against the enemy. Rarely have I come across similar aspects since then. The other thing is, I much prefer RTS on a PC.

And there's the nub. Halo Wars is meant to be an RTS built from the ground up to run on the 360, not shoehorning in a control system best suited to keyboard and mouse. Personally, I think it works quite well. Seeing as I haven't played an RTS since Command & Conquer Generals (which I thought was shite), I'm waiting to see how this one pans out quite keenly.