• 22Mar 09

  Halo Wars and the RTS dilemma.

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  With Halo Wars comes the first real effort in broadening the RTS genre's appeal since Goblin Commander. As a newcomer to the genre, I have mostly sat on the side lines of what appears to me to be the most involving form of gaming short of development. Do you remember watching older kids going off to surf or hike or just drive somewhere on their own while you, the novice, the child could not? It is frustrating, but there are legitimate reasons why I can only watch.
  I have always struggled with the notion of managing both the civilized half of the world while waging war on the other. It's a juggling act I can barely comprehend. Heck, I can barely play solitaire. Trying out the demo for Endwar I felt disconnected rather than immersed as my units called out to me in some Clancy-esque jargon and while their portraits flashed in red. "What is going on?" I asked myself. Perhaps it was the new, extra low camera or the completely alien controls and interface. Out of three play-throughs, I won one match. Against the A.I. On easy.

  I believe gaming industry veterans are hoping the RTS genre will melt into the console market just like the FPS (remember PC diehards exclaimed the console FPS was impossible). Today the only thing dividing the PC & console FPS is the hardware (Crisis) as most FPS are planned as multiplatform products from day one. So the idea of the complex RTS feeling at home in my 360 controller is plausible yet closer still to absurd.

  Here's were Halo Wars fits in: the game that is "real-time-strategy" is ready to invade your living room, right now. Best sellers indicate exactly what the gaming press has been pushing since GTA: San Andreas. Gamers want freedom or simply, non-linear gameplay and the open, puzzle like aesthetics of the RTS cater to that craving. And Halo Wars is a genuine bridge between worlds. According to critics it's baby steps, but progress just the same, just as Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance did for PC RPG's.

  Alas, I haven't even touched Halo Wars and I still feel lost. It feels awkward saying this (as it can when you express your own opinion), but I crave linear gaming. Yes, straightforward with minimal diversions, like a rollercoaster: I can guess what half will be, because that's what lured me in in the first place, while the other half surprises and shocks me with simple flair (or maybe a good story...). No joke, I bought my Xbox 360 for Bios hock (yeah, no game is worth buying a console for, a couple maybe, but never just ONE). I guess I'm a dinosaur, roaming the used games bins for PS2 games I missed last generation. Yep, I'm a dinosaur, trapped in a land that time forgot.

  • Posted Mar 22, 2009 5:21 am PT
  • Category: Games
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