Halo: Spartan Assault

Halo: Spartan Assault is a top-down shooter game for Windows Phones 8 and Windows 8 OS for computers, developed by 343 Industries and Vanguard Games. The game takes place sometime between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4, and details the end of the Human-Covenant war and the beginning of the SPARTAN-IV Program. Commander Sarah Palmer from Halo 4 and Edward Davis are featured as playable characters.

Set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault is a new chapter of the award-winning Halo universe that explores the first missions of the Spartan Ops program and dives deeper into the backstory of Human-Covenant wars. Play through the eyes of either Commander Sarah Palmer or Edward Davis, stationed aboard the UNSC Infinity as they fight never-before-seen battles against the Covenant forces.

The cinematics will resemble the art and style of the Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Terminals and the Halo 4 Terminals.

Top Features

 * Original Halo gameplay. An action-packed, single-player campaign spanning 25 missions in battles never before experienced in the Halo Universe, all played from a top-down camera view.
 * New and immersive storyline. An original story set between the events of "Halo 3" and "Halo 4", experience a new war with the Covenant, the first missions of the Spartan Ops program and the rise of Commander Sarah Palmer, all with best-in-class graphics and audio.
 * Built for simplicity. A unique fusion of touch and console-like controls for easy pick-up-and-play gaming, with the added flexibility of keyboard and mouse controls on Windows 8 PCs and tablets.
 * Integration with "Halo 4". Earn experience points (XP), all-new Achievements, and unlock emblems for your "Halo 4" Spartan career, with additional integration features available after launch.
 * Nonstop competitive fun. Compete against friends in Leaderboards or hone your skills against an onslaught of Weekly Challenges while collecting more than 40 in-game Achievements and Medals.
 * In-app purchases. Grind to earn upgrades or speed up your training by purchasing credits for boosts, unique weapons or armor abilities.
 * Only on Windows. Available only on Windows 8 PCs and tablets and Windows Phone 8 devices.

The game was released on July 18, 2013 at 4pm PST, costing $6.99. The game features the Covenant and the return of familiar races—Sangheili, Jiralhanae, Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Yanme'e.

On August 29, 2013, a Title Update was released including Operation Hydra, which added 5 new missions to the game, 5 new achievements and Xbox 360 controller support. Upon launch, a cloud save issue was encountered for the Windows 8 version of the game, which prevented users from accessing their save files. On August 31, 2013, an update was released which fixed this issue, allowing players to access Operation Hydra without having to replay the entirety of the campaign.

Achievements
Halo: Spartan Assault is a new top-down action shooter coming to Windows 8 PCs and tablets and Windows Phone 8 devices. Released on July 18, 2013, this touch-based Halo game takes place between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4, and offers 19 new achievements worth a total of 190 points. With the Title Update, it adding 5 new Achievements with antotal of 50 points.

Trivia

 * Prior to its announcement, Halo: Spartan Assault was code-named Halo: Bootcamp.
 * There are new armor abilities, including one which seems to send out an EMP blast, which immobilizes enemies.
 * Halo: Spartan Assault is the second Halo title to earn a "Teen" rating rather than the usual "Mature" rating, the first being Halo Wars. Futhermore, it is also the second Halo title to not be a first-person shooter, the first being Halo Wars.
 * Halo: Spartan Assault is the first Halo title to be made for mobile devices. Futhermore, it is the third Halo title to appear on PC, the first two being ports of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2.
 * Most of the sound effects, notably the weapons' sound effects, are taken from Halo 3 and Halo: Reach rather than Halo 4.