Halo Wars 2

Halo Wars 2
Developer(s)
Publisher(s) Microsoft Studios
Director(s) Alistair Hope
Artist(s) Jeremy Cook
Writer(s) Kevin Grace
Composer(s)
Series Halo
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Xbox One
Release date(s)

‹See Tfd›

  • WW: February 21, 2017
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Halo Wars 2 is an upcoming real-time strategy (RTS) video game developed by 343 Industries and Creative Assembly, and published by Microsoft Studios. It is scheduled to be released in February 2017 for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox One video game console. The game is set in the science fiction universe of the Halo series in the year 2559, and is a sequel to the 2009 video game Halo Wars. The game sees the return of the human crew aboard the UNSC warship Spirit of Fire and introduces a new alien faction known as the Banished. Development of Halo Wars 2 began in 2014 and the game was announced at Gamescom in 2015.

Gameplay

Halo Wars 2 is a real-time strategy video game, in which players command armies from a bird's-eye view of the battlefield. Like Halo Wars, the game features two playable factions: humanity's main military arm, the United Nations Space Command (UNSC), who return from the first game, and a new alien faction known as the Banished, who serve as replacement for the Covenant.[1][2] Each faction has different leader units.[1] The campaign mode is composed of thirteen missions,[3] and will support cooperative gameplay.[4]

The game features a number of multiplayer modes that can be played online with up to six players.[3][5] Skirmish supports cooperative or solo play against AI opponents.[5] Deathmatch involves fighting until only one player remains.[5] Stronghold and Domination are multiplayer modes centred around controlling bases or nodes on the map.[5] Blitz is a mode that combines elements from collectible card games.[6] The mode replaces base building and resource management with a card-and-deck mechanic for unit deployment.[7] In Blitz, players creates decks from card packs that are earning by playing the campaign mode and completing daily challenges.[6] Each card features a unit that is deployed on the battlefield.[6]

Plot

Halo Wars 2 takes place in the science fictional universe of the Halo series, during the 26th century. The game is set in 2559, 28 years after the events of Halo Wars and shortly after the events of Halo 5: Guardians.[2][5] Halo Wars closes with the crew of the UNSC warship Spirit of Fire entering cryosleep and drifting into space. Since that event, the war between humanity and the military alien alliance known as the Covenant has ended, and the Spirit of Fire has been declared lost with all hands.[2]

Halo Wars 2 opens with Captain James Cutter (Gideon Emery),[4] Professor Anders (Faye Kingslee),[4] and the crew aboard Spirit of Fire waking from cryosleep at the Ark, a Forerunner installation that manufactured the Halo rings. Unaware of how the Human-Covenant war concluded during their absence, the Spirit of Fire's forces travel down to the surface of the Ark upon receiving a signal from an emergency beacon.[2][8] They encounter and battle with an alien faction known as the Banished, a group that broke away from the Covenant.[2] The Banished are led by the Brute warlord Atriox, who rose to power following the Covenant's demise.[2] On the Ark, a logistics artificial intelligence, Isabel (Erika Soto),[9] is recovered from the ruins of a UNSC base destroyed by the Banished.[10] She informs the Spirit of Fire of recent events and seeks retribution against the Banished.[10]

Development

In 2009, Microsoft Studios launched Halo Wars, a real-time strategy spin-off to the first-person shooter video game series Halo.[11] The game was created by subsidiary developer Ensemble Studios.[11] While Halo Wars was a commercial success,[5] Ensemble Studios was shut down upon completion of its development.[11] Prior to its closure, Ensemble had started writing a script and laying the narrative groundwork for a sequel.[12] According to Halo Wars lead writer Graeme Devine, this original script explored the history of the Forerunners and involved the Spirit of Fire arriving at a Forerunner station that Anders had tracked.[12] Later that year, Microsoft formed an internal division named 343 Industries to oversee and develop products in the Halo franchise.[13] The division did not want to create a sequel to Halo Wars until they found the right developer to partner with on the project.[14] In 2014, 343 Industries began development on Halo Wars 2 after approaching UK-based studio Creative Assembly about collaborating on the game.[1][11][15][16] Creative Assembly—known for their Total War strategy game series—[11] were chosen because of their reputation in developing real-time strategy games.[14] While Creative Assembly is primarily a PC-centric developer, the Halo Wars 2 development team is mainly composed of people who worked on Alien: Isolation (2014), due to their experience in producing games for a console devices.[17] At Gamescom in August 2015, Microsoft Studios announced Halo Wars 2 for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox One video game console.[11]

Design

Creative Assembly's studio director, Tim Heaton, explained that Halo Wars 2 would not feature gameplay similar to their Total War series.[17] Instead they wanted to build upon the foundation established with Halo Wars.[17] Halo Wars 2's creative director, Alistair Hope, praised the control scheme implemented in Halo Wars and aimed to enhance the system by ensuring that Halo Wars 2 is intuitive to play on a console.[1] With Halo Wars 2, the development team seeks to introduce new players to the strategy game genre while appeasing experienced players.[1] They aim to accomplish this goal by including a range of multiplayer modes that different groups of players can enjoy.[1] 343 Industries' head of strategy games, Dan Ayoub, mentioned that the multiplayer online battle arena genre was particularly influential when the development were designing new game modes.[1] 343 Industries had initially considered supporting cross-platform play between Windows and Xbox One devices, but the feature was ultimately excluded.[15]

The Blitz game mode was the result of experimenting with ideas for a fast-paced and accessible variation of RTS gameplay.[7] The development team wanted to streamline mechanics, such as base building and resource management, that players typically viewed as being complex and intimidating.[7] The initial design of Blitz involved players having an army roster, like in tabletop war games.[7] After playtesting this version, they realised that the scale of battles would shrink over the course of the match, making the mode less appealing.[7] They revised the mode by implementing a card-and-deck system for unit deployment and introducing randomly spawning resources on the maps.[7]

A multiplayer beta ran on Xbox One from June 13–23, 2016.[18] The beta included the Deathmatch and Domination game modes.[5] Players could earn rewards for Halo 5: Guardians by participating in the beta.[5] The development team used community feedback and data gathered from the beta to implement improvements for the final game.[19] The changes include resolving connectivity issues, tuning the gameplay, and adjustments to the control scheme and user interface.[19] A second beta will be held on Windows and Xbox One in early 2017.[19]

Story and characters

The story of the first Halo Wars is set 20 years before Halo: Combat Evolved, and is largely isolated from other games within the series.[2] This was to prevent it from interfering with other projects (Halo 3, Halo: Reach) that were also in development at the time.[2] Franchise development director, Frank O'Connor explained that Halo Wars 2 would be more integrated with other fiction in the universe than its predecessor.[2] Consequently, the game is set in the contemporary fictional timeline following the events of Halo 5: Guardians,[20] and is said to have a "sense of scale" that the first game was missing.[2] This decision also opened a narrative thread in Halo Wars 2, in which the returning characters are placed in an unfamiliar universe with outdated technology.[20] Narrative director on Halo Wars 2, Kevin Grace,[9] said that the development team took most of their inspiration for the game's tone from Halo: Combat Evolved.[2]

The developers wanted to establish a new villain who was both powerful and intelligent by introducing the Brute warlord Atriox.[21] He has been described as a "smart commander" who has salvaged and re-purposed the Covenant's technology.[2] While his faction, the Banished, have been referenced in previous Halo media, Halo Wars 2 marks their debut as the primary enemy faction.[2]

Art and cinematics

Art director, Jeremy Cook, stated that maintaining readability and clarity of the units and combat space was highest priority of the game's art direction.[22] He also wanted to make sure that the visual style remained consistent with the Halo universe, by ensuring that the recognisable traits of the units and structures were preserved.[22] The Banished's art style is designed to contrast visually with the UNSC; it is reminiscent of the Covenant, but with a greater emphasis on the aesthetic of the Brute species.[22] Brute vehicles and weapons featured in past Halo games helped influence the design changes and creation of new technology in the Banished's arsenal.[23]

The in-game cinematic cutscenes for Halo Wars 2 were created by animation company Blur Studio.[5] The studio has collaborated with developers to create animation for past Halo titles, including the original Halo Wars.[24] The scenes are directed by Dave Wilson, who worked as a visual effects supervisor on the Halo Wars cutscenes.[9] 343 Industries pointed out that alterations to the design of returning characters were a result of upgraded technology, the use of performance capture, and casting new actors.[4] Wilson explained that advances in technology allowed the animation team to capture body motion, facial motion and audio simultaneously for Halo Wars 2.[25] Previously on Halo Wars, each of these performances was recorded separately and later combined.[25]

Audio

Paul Lipson served as audio director on Halo Wars 2.[26] The game's soundtrack was composed by Gordy Haab, Brian Lee White and Brian Trifon.[26] White and Trifon had collaborated with Lipson on previous Halo projects.[26] The composers analyzed design documents, artwork, and early versions of the game to learn about the game's story and the motivations of characters presented.[26] This research helped them to determine the emotional tone and instrumental choices for the composition.[26] They wanted to incorporate the customary components of Halo scores such as the use of a large orchestra, a choir, and electronic music, while also taking the music into a new direction.[26] Specific melodies were written for each of the game's main characters.[26] To generate an array of emotional effects, different instruments were used to create variations of the character themes.[26] The composers created music of different intensity levels to correspond with the player's actions in the game; for example, low intensity, ambient music would play during base construction and more percussive, thematic music would play during battles.[26] A system was designed to adapt the score based on events occurring during gameplay and to prevent the music from becoming repetitive.[26]

Marketing

Halo Wars 2 demo booth at Gamescom 2016.

The announcement trailer showed at Gamescom 2015 was created by Blur Studio.[24] It showed an injured UNSC soldier being dragged away and a Covenant Brute taunting.[27] In February 2016, 343 Industries and toy maker Mattel announced a partnership to create a new line of Halo toys. Among the figurines is a model of the Brute Spiker weapon featured in Halo Wars 2.[28] In May 2016, 343 Industries' community manager confirmed that Halo Wars 2 would be presented and available to play at the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June 2016.[29] The trailer shown at E3 2016 was once again created by Blur Studio.[22] It depicts the leaders of both factions—Cutter and Atriox—facing off as their forces are engaged in conflict.[2][22] The Strongholds multiplayer mode was playable on the show floors at E3,[5] the RTX convention,[30] and Gamescom in 2016.[31] At RTX, 343 Industries also revealed a teaser of the in-game cinematics, illustrating the Spirit of Fire's arrival at the Ark and Spartan supersoldiers encountering the Banished.[32][33]

Release

Halo Wars 2 was initially scheduled to be released for Windows and Xbox One in 2016,[11] however in June 2016, Microsoft announced that the game would launch on February 21, 2017.[34] The game is part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program introduced in 2016, meaning that a copy purchased digitally can be played on both Windows and Xbox One.[4][5] Microsoft also revealed an Ultimate Edition version; it will include a downloadable content (DLC) season pass, access to the game four days early, and a copy of Halo Wars: Definitive Edition—an enhanced version of the original game for Windows and Xbox One.[35] The post-release DLC will include new units and leaders, and a campaign expansion.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Francis, Bryant (June 24, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 and the challenge of bringing new players into the RTS genre". Gamasutra. UBM. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Makuch, Eddie (June 13, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 New Story Details and Images Revealed". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Matulef, Jeffrey (June 13, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 release date set for February". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Makuch, Eddie (June 18, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 Has New Actors for Lead Roles, Here's Why". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "KNOW YOUR ENEMY". Halo - Official Site. 343 Industries. June 13, 2016. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Nelson, Mike (October 19, 2016). "Halo Wars 2: Exploring the Campaign and a New Way to Play". Xbox Wire. Microsoft. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Easterling, Jeff (October 21, 2016). "Blitz Coverage". Halo - Official Site. 343 Industries. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  8. ↑ Ayoub, Grace & Cook 2016, 1:20.
  9. 1 2 3 O'Connor, Frank (July 22, 2016). "Inside the Halo Wars 2 Panel at Comic-Con 2016". Xbox Wire. Microsoft. Archived from the original on July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Makuch, Eddie (July 22, 2016). "Halo Wars 2: New Character Images and Details Revealed". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sarkar, Samit (August 4, 2015). "Halo Wars 2 coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 in fall 2016 (update)". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Keefer, John (August 5, 2015). "Halo Wars Lead Designer Says Interface Key to Sequel Success". The Escapist. Defy Media. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ Graft, Kris (April 26, 2013). "Making Halo 4: A Story About Triple-A". Gamasutra. UBM. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  14. 1 2 Wolfkill et al. 2016, 50:22.
  15. 1 2 Makuch, Eddie (June 13, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 Won't Have Cross-Play at Launch, Not Ruled Out for the Future". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  16. ↑ Wolfkill et al. 2016, 49:55.
  17. 1 2 3 Batchelor, James (August 7, 2015). "Halo Wars 2 'will not be Total War: Halo'". Market for Home Computing and Video Games. NewBay Media. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  18. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (June 24, 2016). "Another Halo Wars 2 Beta Is Coming With a New Mode". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 Ayoub, Dan (August 11, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 Development Update". Halo - Official Site. 343 Industries. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  20. 1 2 Wolfkill et al. 2016, 10:42.
  21. ↑ Ayoub, Grace & Cook 2016, 2:35.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 Easterling, Jeff (June 18, 2016). "Surface Features". Halo - Official Site. 343 Industries. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  23. ↑ Wolfkill et al. 2016, 31:55.
  24. 1 2 Wolfe, Jennifer (August 5, 2015). "Blur Studio Creates 'Halo Wars 2' Teaser Trailer". Animation World Network. Animation World Network. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  25. 1 2 Wolfkill et al. 2016, 34:56.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Nelson, Mike (October 5, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 Composers Revealed, Listen to the First Two Tracks Here". Xbox Wire. Microsoft. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  27. ↑ Prell, Sam (August 4, 2015). "Creative Assembly bringing total Halo Wars 2 to Xbox One and Windows 10". GamesRadar. Future. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  28. ↑ Martin, Liam (February 16, 2016). "You can now buy Master Chief's Halo blaster in foam-dart form". Digital Spy. Hearst. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  29. ↑ Dunsmore, Kevin (May 30, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 will be Playable at E3 2016". Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Halo at RTX 2016". Halo - Official Site. 343 Industries. June 23, 2016. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  31. ↑ Hope, Alistair (August 16, 2016). "Halo Wars 2 Comes to Europe: Thoughts from Creative Assembly". Xbox Wire. Microsoft. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  32. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (July 3, 2016). "New Halo Wars 2 Trailer Revealed and Halo 5 Forge Getting File Browser". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  33. ↑ Halo Wars 2 Cinematic Teaser. Halo - YouTube. 343 Industries. July 22, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  34. ↑ Sanchez, Miranda (June 13, 2016). "E3 2016: Halo Wars 2 Release Date Announced, Beta Begins Today". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  35. ↑ Dornbush, Jonathon (June 13, 2016). "E3 2016: Halo Wars: Definitive Edition to Come With Halo Wars 2: Ultimate Edition". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.

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External links

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