Combat Evolves
PC Gamer US Edition|January 2017

The Total War team are bringing Halo Wars 2 to PC. Can they bring something new to RTS multiplayer too?

Samuel Roberts
Combat Evolves
The first Halo Wars never came to PC—and I’m not sure if we really missed out. That 2009 RTS was tailor-made for the Xbox 360, and it showed. Everything we would ordinarily recognize as real-time strategy was condensed to enable a greater emphasis on combat. Even the unit cap felt stingy—a reflection, perhaps, of the limitations of the hardware. On the platform that created the genre, an RTS made for consoles would never have been a Eight years later, however, we’re not exactly as rich with RTS games as we were in the ’90s and noughties. Ensemble, the studio that made the first Halo Wars, no longer exists. Outside of Relic’s reliable output and the omnipotent StarCraft II, you’ve got occasional outliers like Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak or Ashes of the Singularity but not much else going on in the traditional RTS scene. A second Halo Wars, this time made by Total War masters The Creative Assembly, is more of an enticing prospect.

The appeal of Halo Wars is in taking the vehicles, infantry and worlds of the Master Chief-starring FPS series and presenting it on a scale you could only get with an RTS. Halo Wars is to Halo what Empire at War was supposed to be to Star Wars or Battle for Middle earth was meant to be for Lord of the Rings: weapons-grade fan service.

Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av PC Gamer US Edition.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra January 2017-utgaven av PC Gamer US Edition.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA PC GAMER US EDITIONSe alt
Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.
PC Gamer US Edition

Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.

Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big. Four years later, its successor Inkbound’s launch from Early Access was looking more like Sandwich Big.I’m not just saying that because of the mountain of lamb and eggplants I ate while meeting with developer Shiny Shoe over lunch, to feel out what the aftermath of releasing a game looks like in 2024. I mean, have I thought about that sandwich every day since? Yes. But also, the indie team talked frankly about the struggle of luring Monster Train’s audience on board for its next game.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
SCREENBOUND
PC Gamer US Edition

SCREENBOUND

How a 5D platformer went viral two months into development

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
OLED GAMING MONITORS
PC Gamer US Edition

OLED GAMING MONITORS

A fresh wave of OLED panels brings fresh options, greater resolutions and makes for even more impressive gaming monitors

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
CRYSIS 2
PC Gamer US Edition

CRYSIS 2

A cinematic FPS with tour de force visuals.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2024
PLOD OF WAR
PC Gamer US Edition

PLOD OF WAR

SENUA’S SAGA: HELLBLADE 2 fails to find a new path for its hero

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
GALAXY QUEST
PC Gamer US Edition

GALAXY QUEST

HOMEWORLD 3 is a flashy, ambitious RTS, but some of the original magic is missing

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
FAR REACHING
PC Gamer US Edition

FAR REACHING

Twenty years ago, FAR CRY changed the landscape of PC gaming forever.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2024
THY KINGDOM COME
PC Gamer US Edition

THY KINGDOM COME

SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE is the culmination of decades of FromSoftware RPGs, and a gargantuan finale for ELDEN RING

time-read
9 mins  |
September 2024
KILLING FLOOR 3
PC Gamer US Edition

KILLING FLOOR 3

Tripwire Interactive's creature feature is back

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024
IMPERFECTLY BALANCED
PC Gamer US Edition

IMPERFECTLY BALANCED

Arrowhead says HELLDIVERS 2 balancing patches have 'gone too far'

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024