Halo Wars

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Halo Wars
Developer(s)	Ensemble Studios/Robot Entertainment
Publisher	Microsoft Game Studios
US date released	March 3rd, 2009
Genre	Real-time Strategy
Game modes	Campaign Mode, Multi-player, Co-op Campaign Mode, Skirmish.
ESRB rating	Mature (M)(Or 16+) (In UK only) Teen (T) for Mild Blood, Mild Language, and Violence
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Media	DVD
Website	http://www.halowars.com/

Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game in the Halo Universe. It begins in the year 2531, during the Covenant eradication of the Outer Colonies in the Human-Covenant War. The game was developed by Ensemble Studios, and is an Xbox 360 exclusive, like Halo 3. Unlike other Halo games, Halo Wars is rated "T" for Teen, downgraded from "M" for Mature given to previous installments. Downloadable content and support is currently being developed by Robot Entertainment, a studio founded by ex-Ensemble Studios employees after its closing.

Summary

A SPARTAN from SPARTAN Group Omega sporting an early concept design of the Mark IV armor(speculated) in the Halo Wars announcement trailer.

The control scheme in Halo Wars.

In the RTS game Halo Wars, players can command armies of both familiar and new UNSC units during its first encounters against the Covenant, a massive group of alien races that threatens to destroy all of mankind. Halo Wars will immerse gamers in an early period of the Halo Universe, allowing them to experience events 21 years before Halo: Combat Evolved.

With the guidance of the AI Serina, the player leads UNSC soldiers and vehicles against classic Covenant foes, such as Grunts, Elites, Ghosts, and Banshees. Each group has its own strengths and abilities in battle. Strategic-minded players who react well under pressure will emerge victorious over their foes.

Halo Wars can be played in both single-player and online cooperative campaign modes. Additionally, up to six players can play three-versus-three matches head-to-head over Xbox Live. Published by Microsoft Game Studios Halo Wars is a title exclusive to the Xbox 360. Despite speculation of a version for the PC, Ensemble and Microsoft have repeatedly said that no such plans have been made or even considered for it. The Covenant is playable only in multi-player and skirmish modes.

Ensemble Studios began recording the music for the game in March 2008, with Ensemble's Music and Sound Director Stephen Rippy flying to Prague for the orchestral and choral parts and to Seattle for the piano and mixing.

The game was featured at the 2008 E3 event, held in July. It was shown on G4's E3 08 LIVE as a hands on demo. Some newer off-screen demos were released, showing how controls are made up and how battle proceed.

Campaign Missions

Campaign consists of 15 levels which tells the story of Halo Wars.

1. Alpha Base
2. Relic Approach
3. Relic Interior
4. Arcadia City
5. Arcadia Outskirts
6. Dome of Light
7. Scarab
8. Anders' Signal
9. The Flood
10. Shield World
11. Cleansing
12. Repairs
13. Beachhead
14. Reactor
15. Escape

Plot

File:HaloWarsGameplay2.jpg

UNSC and Covenant units clash in-game. Note in particular the Halo in the background of the image.

Harvest just after the UNSC Spirit of Fire arrived in the system.

“At this point in time, the Covenant is at its most evil. They are hell-bent on the destruction of humanity, on scouring us from the universe.”

— Graeme Devine, Lead Writer, formerly Lead Developer.

The game's story is told through in-game cut scenes and in-game moments, as with the other Halo games. The game is set in 2531, it focuses around the Marine forces of the UNSC Spirit of Fire as they engage Covenant ground forces after the discovery of an ancient artifact during a journey to the partially glassed Harvest.

The story begins with the UNSC's early battles on Harvest, but also features another colony world, Arcadia, which holds "something of great interest to the Covenant". The planet is subsequently invaded by the Covenant, and the UNSC must evacuate the planet while engaging the invasion force. The Flood is significant in the storyline and several massive Forerunner structures are also explored. This game differs from previous Halo titles in that Master Chief does not make any appearance, although several key Spartans, collectively known as Red Team, do factor into the plot. In contrast, the Spirit of Fire is "full of new characters", such as the AI Serina, Sergeant John Forge, and the Spirit of Fire's commander, Cutter. At least some of these characters go planetside to aid the player. The single player campaign is purely from the UNSC's perspective, though it is possible to play as the Covenant in a skirmish game or online. Co-op campaign over Xbox Live is also possible.

While Sergeant Forge is patrolling the northern regions, Alpha Base was attacked and destroyed by the Covenant, with survivors fleeing to the countryside surrounding the area. Rounding up these survivors, Forge leads them in an assault that removed the Covenant presence and re-established Alpha Base, returning it to operational status. Forge leads an assault on the relic site itself, removing the Covenant occupiers and preventing the enemy from destroying it to deny human access, and securing the site for Anders to examine it briefly before a Covenant counter-attack cuts them off from Alpha Base. Grizzly tanks launched from the Spirit of Fire manage to cut through the Covenant, linking up with Forge and his Marines, and escorting them back out through the relic while forces from Alpha Base hold off the Covenant. Information gathered from the Harvest relic shows that the Covenant have been pointed to a second UNSC colony, Arcadia.

Following the Covenant to Arcadia, Sgt. Forge and his forces deploy on the ground in order to assist the Spartans from Red Team in the effort to evacuate civilians from Arcadia City, via cargo transports. Afterward, the UNSC forces withdraw to a defensible area on the city outskirts, holding off Covenant attacks long enough for SPARTAN Group Omega to arrive and assist in the destruction of local Covenant forces. At the same time, the Covenant have erected a large energy shield generator around a site of importance, with undiscovered ruins surrounding the area, forcing the UNSC to deploy prototype Rhino plasma artillery to penetrate it. Moving in to examine what was of such interest to the Covenant, they come under attack from a large Scarab, only partially complete and annihilating any UNSC forces in its line of sight. Eventually managing to destroy it, Anders and Forge begin documenting the area, only for the Arbiter to arrive, taking Anders prisoner and wounding Sergeant Forge, with Red Team arriving too late to assist. Rapidly heading out of the system aboard a starship, the Spirit of Fire follows, eventually emerging in orbit over a mysterious planet in an unknown location.

Deploying ground forces to search for Anders, the UNSC and Covenant forces come under attack from a previously undiscovered alien organism - the Flood. Managing to regroup and hold a defensible location, the UNSC forces manage to locate the source of the signal - an apparent body of water. The UNSC forces withdraw back to the Spirit of Fire as a concentrated Flood force begins to gather momentum, narrowly escaping annihilation, regrouping at the Spirit of Fire over the lake - which splits to reveal an entrance, and with swarms of Sentinels emerging to deal with the Flood. The Spirit of Fire manages to enter, proceeding through a docking system, removing Flood growths and moving through a system of concentric rings that filters out Flood biomass, the Spirit of Fire emerges inside a massive Shield World, immediately engaging a Covenant Destroyer and fending off attacks while conducting repairs.

The Arbiter uses Anders to activate The Apex, revealing a fleet of Forerunner warships which the Covenant plans on reverse-engineering and incorporating into their existing naval forces to crush the humans quickly, without needing to dedicate all of their existing forces to the war. Anders manages to escape, using what had been her stasis prison as a translocation device, teleporting to the surface of the Shield World's interior, linking up with Forge and his Marines, who clear the area of Covenant forces and establish a base of operations on the Shield World. Removing the Spirit of Fire's FTL Reactor, the UNSC move it into The Apex, planning to detonate it - the chain-reaction will send the Shield World's sun into a supernova, destroying the installation and the fleet, denying it to the Covenant and saving humanity from near total defeat and extinction. The Arbiter attempts to stop them, but his Honor Guards are killed by Red Team, and Forge himself manages to kill him with one of his own Energy Swords. Forge stays behind to detonate the reactor, while the rest of the UNSC forces activate a portal out of the Shield World, evacuate to the Spirit of Fire, and manage to slingshot around the sun to build up enough speed to escape the supernova's blast radius and the range of the Shield World's debris.

Now unable to return to UNSC space with the speed an FTL drive would have afforded them, the Spirit of Fire's crew enter cryonics storage. The ship begins its long journey home, likely to take many years or Decades. Here, Sgt. Forge's cyro tube is closed by Captain Cutter, who briefly nods, upon which the camera pans down to find the words "Sgt. J. Forge", insinuating the death of the valiant Marine, and Cutter's own acknowledgment of the Marine's sacrifice.

In the final moments of the credits, Serina speaks the final words of the game, saying "Captain. Wake up. Something has happened," As the logo appears on the screen.

The final fate of the Spirit of Fire is unknown. Investigations by the UNSC and ONI are officially closed a few years after it is officially designated MIA, but there is some evidence that the ship does at some point return to UNSC space, with the strongest argument being the number of Spartans present during the Fall of Reach; At the time, 25 of the remaining 28 are present on the planet, with the three missing identified as Grey Team and the remaining dead or missing all previously identified, leading credence to the idea that Red Team, and thus Spirit of Fire, do eventually reunite with the UNSC. However it is noted that since Spirit of Fire's crew were the first humans to encounter the Flood, information should have been reported to ONI, but the first recorded Human-Flood encounter was in 2552, 21 years later, on Halo Installation 04, meaning that either the Spirit of Fire did not come back or ONI kept the 2531 Human-Flood encounter a closely-guarded secret.

Characters

The Arbiter that appears in Halo Wars.

The Prophet of Regret as he appears in Halo Wars.

Aside from CGI cut scenes and on-the-battlefield appearances, characters in Halo Wars often appear in talking head animations. Where a small view screen appears in the upper left corner showing the face of the character speaking at the moment.

UNSC Captain James Gregory Cutter Serina Professor Ellen Anders Sergeant John Forge SPARTAN Alice-130 SPARTAN Douglas-042 SPARTAN Jerome-092

Covenant Ripa 'Moramee Brute Army Commander Prophet of Regret

Gameplay Units

United Nations Space Command

A SPARTAN-II hijacking a Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage.

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UNSC Marines

Infantry

• SPARTAN-II: SPARTAN-IIs are individual units who are superior to Marines. They begin with dual-wielded SMGs and can hijack enemy vehicles (although this is not the case against uber units), bringing them under player control. They can also be outfitted with chain guns and Spartan Lasers as well as Neural Implants which help them hijack vehicles faster. When a SPARTAN pilots a vehicle or hijacks an enemy vehicle, their rank is added to the vehicle's rank and the captured vehicle's stats are increased. Only three SPARTANs can be deployed at a time. They are outfitted with the MJOLNIR Mk. IV; the in-game units posses traits that are trademarks of the Mk. V armor, however this is for gameplay considerations and is not accepted as canon.

• Hellbringers: These Marines are specialists equipped with heavier armor and flame-throwers that can used to torch entire infantry units. They can be upgraded with Flash Bang Grenades, which stun enemies when hit, napalm ammunition which allows their attacks to burn slightly afterwards, and oxide tanks, which also increase damage. They can somewhat run faster than Marines.

• UNSC Marines: Marines are the basic infantry of the UNSC who are armed with MA5 Series rifles and have the special ability to throw grenades. The squads can be upgraded to replace their grenades with Rocket Launchers (called RPGs in-game), making them more effective against vehicles and giving them newfound combat superiority against air units. They usually operate in teams of four but may add another member to their squads via the "New Blood" upgrade, and a medic via the medic upgrade, adding up to a total of six squad members. However, the medic can only heal existing squad members, not do so and bring back dead members consecutively.

• Orbital Drop Shock Troopers: Also known in both the books and the game as "Helljumpers" in reference to the heat of the HEV pod they use to descend from orbit, this is an available upgrade for infantry. It can be upgraded at the Barracks. The upgrades effects allow the player to substitute standard Marine squads with ODST teams (armed with M90 Shotguns), as well as the HEV drop. The HEV drops can also be used as a weapon similar to the MAC Blast. To do so the player must select the HEV drop ability and put them over an enemy unit. ODST squads still use the Rocket Launcher ability. They are only available as the special upgrade for Captain Cutter. Effects include increased line of sight and more hitpoints.

Weapons

• M6D Personal Defense Weapon System (Magnum)
• Prototype BR-55 (Wielded by Medics)
• M19 SSM Rocket Launcher
• M90 Close Assault Weapon System (Shotgun) (Used by Forge and ODST squads)
• MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System (Assault Rifle)
• SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle- (Only observed in use when player units on watchtower)
• NA4 Flamethrower
• AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun (Spartans)
• Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle (Spartan Laser) (Spartans)
• M7/Caseless Submachine Gun (SMG) (Spartans)
• Fragmentation Grenade- Secondary Marine weapon, upgraded to rocket launchers

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M808 Scorpion MBT

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UNSC Behemoth-class Troop Transport (Elephant)

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M12 LRV (Warthog)

Cobra

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Dropship 77-Troop Carrier Pelican

A Shortsword-class Bomber.

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UNSC "Flame" Warthog and Covenant Honor Guard Wraith.

Vehicles

• M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (Warthog): Can be upgraded to carry an M41 LAAG and later an M68 Gauss Cannon at a reduction of speed. Can jump gaps, and has ramming ability as its special attack. May be upgraded so its passenger has a grenade launcher. Ramming ability is strong enough to destroy a ghost.

• "Flaming" M12 Warthog Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (Warthog) : This variant Warthog is only aesthetically different than the original vehicle in the game.

• M808 Scorpion MBT: The M808 Scorpion is the basic Human tank that can be upgraded to the "Grizzly" variant
  • Upgrade 1: The Scorpion gains the "canister shell" Y-ability.
  • Upgrade 2: The Scorpion has a faster turret rotation speed.
  • Grizzly variant: An upgrade of the Scorpion, it packs two cannons and a Machine Gun. This upgrade is only available when the player chooses Sergeant Forge as his or her hero unit in skirmish mode or multiplayer.

• Behemoth-class Troop Transport (Elephant): The Elephant, as it is more commonly known, can carry squads into combat and can fulfill the role of a barracks in the field, along with having the ability to be upgraded with a Cannon (though only if deployed), Twin Engines to upgrade speed, and Ceramic armor to allow the Elephant to take more damage. During the campaign, it is used to tow an FTL Drive up a mountain to the Apex. During multiplayer and skirmish, it is Captain Cutter's unique unit. Note that the dialogue of the Elephant is drastically reduced after the Defense Turret upgrade.

• Gremlin: A combat support vehicle, the Gremlin is Professor Anders's unique unit. It attacks with an EMP cannon that disables vehicles or non-infantry units temporarily. It can be upgraded to fire farther and hit harder and to make the EMP blast chain through multiple vehicles. The Gremlin has absolutely no combat efficiency against air units.[10]

• Rhino: The Rhino is a heavy tracked unit that has a greater defense but lower attack than the Scorpion. The Rhino is armed with a heavy prototype plasma cannon stolen from the Covenant that lobs giant plasma bolts. The Rhino is only in the campaign and not available in skirmish. Another ground unit incapable of eliminating air units.

• Wolverine: The Wolverine is a specialized anti-aircraft vehicle that uses guided missiles to shoot down enemy aircraft, such as Banshees or Vampires. While powerful in this aspect, it is especially weak against infantry and anti-armor vehicles, and must be heavily protected.

• Cobra: The Cobra is a heavy anti-armor vehicle armed with a pair of rail cannons which can easily tear apart enemy armor. It can be outfitted with stronger armor when locked down and its rail cannons can be upgraded to penetrate multiple enemies. It's special ability allows it to lock down for greater range, at the expense of zero mobility. Cobras cannot attack aerial units.

• Cyclops Exoskeleton: The Cyclops is a re-appropriated support exoskeleton that can crush ground enemies in close combat, often finishing off infantry with impressive fatality moves. Can also repair damaged vehicles and buildings if the player upgrades it once. A second upgrade of the unit improves speed. (Unique to Sergeant Forge)

Aerial

• D77-TC Pelican Dropship: The Pelican is a UNSC ability that is called from the Spirit of Fire menu. The pickup area is selected, then the drop-off area. The Pelican can transport multiple units at one time. It can even take 2 Scorpions at once with a second Pelican airlifting the third. If it is destroyed, all units being carried by it are lost as well.

• Shortsword-class Bomber: Shortsword bombers perform low-altitude bombing runs for support on the battlefield.

• Hornet: The Hornet is a light gunship that can carry two passengers to provide support and fire on enemy ground and air targets. If upgraded once ("Wingman" upgrade) two Marines equipped with rocket launchers ride on the Hornet for increased damage. A second upgrade ("Chaff Pods") allows for better avoidance of missile attacks.
  • Hawk: The Hawk is a further upgraded version of the hornet that is equipped with a mounted laser for extra damage. (Unique to Professor Anders)

• Vulture: The Vulture is a large gunship that can deliver heavy amounts of fire against all ground targets. It can be upgraded once to double the number of rockets in its special attack "barrage". It is the UNSC "Uber-unit", and though it is nowhere near the Scarab's strength and resilience, it makes up for this deficit by being less than a third of the cost of a Scarab in both population and supplies.

• Albatross: The Albatross is used to ferry supplies from the Spirit of Fire to ground-side facilities.

• Pod: This dropship, larger than both the Pelican and Albatross, delivers extremely large objects, such as portions of Firebases, to ground positions.

Buildings

• Firebase/Station/Fortress: Provides the basic base of the UNSC with optional "add on" buildings that can increase its usefulness. May be upgraded to a station then a fortress (Captain Cutter can drop in already upgraded stations and starts with a Fortress).
  • UNSC Reactor: The reactor provides power for a UNSC base to run on. Can be upgraded once to double energy output.
  • UNSC Air Pad: This provides UNSC air units along with upgrades for them.
  • Vehicle Depot: A vehicle depot provides heavier vehicles for the UNSC to use and upgrade.
  • Field Armory: A combination of machine shop and laboratory that provides high-tech upgrades for the UNSC.
  • UNSC Barracks: The barracks can provide a number of infantry types for combat and to upgrade.
  • UNSC Supply Pad: Supply Pads are used to get supplies from the Spirit of Fire via Albatross dropships. Can also be upgraded to Heavy Supply Pad.
  • Base Turret: Initially armed with an M202 XP Machine Gun which may be replaced by an M41 LAAG. The turret may be outfitted with a rail cannon for use against vehicles, a flame mortar for use against infantry, or a missile launcher for use against aircraft. Only available on "Station/Fortress" Command bases.

Human Leader Powers

• Transport: Call a Pelican down to transport selected units (Maximum of 3 vehicles and a number of infantry) to a selected area of the map.

• Disruption Bomb: A bomb that deactivates any leader powers and prevents others being activated in a short radius during the effect.

• Heal and Repair: Heals all units and repairs all structures in a selected area.

• MAC Blast: Calls down a MAC blast from Spirt of Fire's onboard MAC. Upgrades allow for more shots before the power has to recharge. (Unique to Captain Cutter)

• ODST Drop: ODST pods, individually aimed by the user, are called down at 100 resources each. The Pods will spawn a whole ODST squad. Note that it is much faster to drop them from their pods than producing them in a Barracks or via the Elephant, but beware if your reactors are destroyed or a bonus reactor garrison squad is killed. (Unique to Captain Cutter; only available after the ODST upgrade has been researched)

• Cryo Bomb: The Cryo Bomb freezes any units and buildings within the blast radius. Units are unable to move when frozen and buildings halt all activity. When frozen, air units have a chance of falling to the ground, shattering instantly. The more the Cryo Bomb is upgraded, the freeze time and the chance make air units fall increases. Note that this also has an effect on your team. (Unique to Professor Anders)

• Carpet Bomb Calls in a bomber to wipe out a large area. Effective against mass infantry or ground vehicles. The more times it is upgraded, the stronger and larger the carpet bomb is. (Unique to Sergeant Forge)

Covenant

The Brute Army Commander in Halo Wars

Concept art for the Elite grasping two Energy Swords.

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A Covenant Scarab destroys various UNSC vehicles.

Infantry

• Unggoy (Grunts): Fight in lances consisting of a Sangheili Minor or Major (or, depending on the player's selected leader, a Brute Minor or Major) and several Grunts. They have the secondary ability to throw Plasma Grenades and can be upgraded with Needlers, additional members, and a Deacon to boost combat capabilities, through spirituality.
  • Suicide Unggoy (Suicide Grunts): Will berserk and blow themselves up on command. Leader-specific unit of the Arbiter. The explosion is very effective against buildings. They can be upgraded to receive more speed in suicide mode as well as to amplify damage to their suicide attack through the use of deadly adherents.
  • Bomber Unggoy: A grunt that carries an explosive that can eliminate an entire infantry squad. They only appear in campaign.

• Sangheili (Elites): In addition to leading Unggoy lances, Elites serve many other roles, such as drivers of vehicles and pilots of aircraft.
  • Honor Guard Elite: Honor Guards serve as powerful anti-infantry units, or more rather, a close combat substitute for Jackals. They can be upgraded with energy shields and active camouflage and are the leader-specific unit of the Prophet of Regret.
  • Arbiter: An antagonist in the campaign and a leader unit in multiplayer. The Arbiter starts with dual energy swords and rage special attack that drains resources but makes the Arbiter go on a "killing spree". The Arbiter will face extreme difficulty against sentinels, even in rage mode. Counter this weakness with any unit that can attack air units or with the Arbiter "Fiendish Return" upgrade.
  • Needler Elites: A pair of Elites that wield Needlers. They cannot be trained in skirmish mode even if a Covenant leader is played, and are exclusive to campaign mode.

• Mgalekgolo (Hunters): Hunters are heavily armored and armed with fuel rod-launching Assault Cannons, like they are in Halo: Combat Evolved. They are the Covenant's primary anti-vehicle infantry. When upgraded, they can receive their traditional shield, a "Spirit Bond" to increase damage given that both of the initial Hunters are alive (this means resurrected Hunters do not receive the Spirit Bond upgrade), and later they can fire a more powerful beam from their cannons.

• Kig-Yar (Jackals): Jackals fight in pairs in Halo Wars and provide decent defense against Marines armed with conventional weapons but little defense against grenades, explosives or vehicles. They are originally armed with Carbines without shields but can be upgraded to incorporate Point Defense Gauntlets, Beam Rifles, and eventually stronger gauntlets in the later stages of the Covenant tech tree.

• Jiralhanae (Brutes): In battle the Brutes wield Brute Shots, which are devastating against infantry and effective against light vehicles. Due to their limited battlefield use prior to the events of Halo 2, they are apparently leader-specific units belonging to the unknown Chieftain. They can be upgraded to have Jump packs and more powerful brute shots. The "Electric Shot" upgrade appears to only stun ground vehicles and Turrets.
  • Jiralhanae Chieftain. The only usable Brute Chieftain is the same Chieftain that can be selected as a leader, making him a "hero" unit for the faction like the Arbiter.

• San 'Shyuum (Prophets): Prophets fight from their Gravity Thrones and can attack enemy infantry with their destructive plasma weapons. The only usable in-game Prophet is the Prophet of Regret, who can only be used if he is chosen as a "leader" before the start of the game. The Prophet's Plasma Cannons can be upgraded to Fuel Rod Cannons for increased damage. His second upgrade adds a pair of Offensive Protectors to protect him and his final upgrade gives him full flight capabilities. His leader power is called "Cleansing," where an energy projector's beam is called down from an orbiting warship to quickly incinerate anything beneath it.
  • Protectors - a pair of Sentinel-like Protectors guard the Prophet of Regret after the player researches Ancestral Perversion.

• Huragok (Engineers): Sent into combat zones to repair damaged vehicles and structures, as well as squads of infantry. The upgrade, State of Grace, will increase its repair rate while the upgrade, Harmonious Digestion, will increase its speed. An Engineer may repair other Engineers, but not itself.

Weapons

• Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword (Energy Sword)
• Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer (Gravity Hammer), only ever held by the Brute Chieftain.
• Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol (Plasma Pistol)
• Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle (Plasma Rifle)
• Type-25 Grenade Launcher (Brute Shot)
• Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher (Needler), received by upgrading Grunts.
• Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon (Fuel Rod Gun)
• Type-50 Sniper Rifle System (Beam Rifle), received by upgrading Jackals.
• Type-51 Carbine (Covenant Carbine)

Vehicles

• Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform (Scarab): The Scarab is a super-unit that can destroy infantry, ground vehicles, and aircraft with ease. The Scarab is extremely resilient to most weapons fire. Both the Halo 2 and Halo 3 versions have been seen, though the Halo 2 era Scarab has not appeared in more recent Halo Wars videos and demos. Spartans are unable to hijack Scarabs, with the exception of one campaign level in which the Covenant abandon a scarab and you have a choice to get it. The Scarab is unique in its ability to traverse what is considered "rough terrain". In other words, the Scarab can climb over cliffs, mountains, and some structures because of its size and structuring. This makes it the only playable ground unit in the game able to do so (Flood infection forms can also do this but they are not playable).

The Scarab walker in Multiplayer. Note that you can build two in one battle and as many as four in a deathmatch.

• Super Scarab: Seen in the 7th campaign level and is larger and more powerful than a normal scarab. It's legs aren't built yet.
• Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Ghost): The Ghost is a light attack vehicle that excels against infantry but not other vehicles. Can be upgraded to have a ramming boost ability, similar to the Warthog's Ram ability. Can also be upgraded to strafe as to avoid incoming grenades and rockets and to have a light energy shield.

• Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle (Chopper): The Chopper is a scout-class vehicle available only to the Brute Chieftain leader. The Chopper starts without any guns and is only able to ram hostile ground targets. The Chopper can then be upgraded to include dual cannons on the sides of the Chopper to give the Chopper combat capability and additional ramming targes to increase ramming damage and decrease feedback damage (the damage the Chopper takes after ramming). The autocannons can also be upgraded to equip stabilizers, improving autocannon accuracy and damage.

• Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage: The Wraith is the main battle tank of the Covenant and is armed with a plasma mortar and a plasma turret capable of decimating enemy infantry and vehicles. It can also be upgraded to allow for the "Scorch" special ability, as well as to have an energy shield. The mortar can also be upgraded to receive a large overall damage boost.
  • Honor Guard Wraith: This unique looking type of Wraith is only available by activating a skull exclusive to the special edition.

• Locust: A smaller counterpart to the Covenant Scarab which is described as a "building-killer". When upgraded with the overdrive ability, the Locust can drain its shields for extra power by using the secondary attack button. Another upgrade for the Locust allows its shield to regenerate faster, which can be bolstered by the "Forerunner Shield" upgrade to compound the recharge speed.

Aircraft

• Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft, otherwise known as the Banshee: The Banshee can attack infantry, tanks and other air vehicles due to its twin Plasma Cannons and single Fuel Rod Cannon. With upgrades, Banshees' rate of fire on their Plasma Cannons is increased and Banshees can attempt to crash into enemy units or buildings when they are shot down, causing extra damage.

• DX-class Dropship Spirit: The Spirit is the rival to the UNSC Pelican, capable of carrying vehicles and infantry in addition to giving them fire support. The screen for the Spirit of Fire is not available for the covenant and therefore these cannot be called upon to transport troops or vehicles in skirmish or multiplayer, nor is the "Covenant Carrier"

• Vampire: A Covenant flying vehicle; a potent craft fitted to fight against hostile air vehicles. It can be upgraded to have a stasis beam that drains enemy aircraft health and replenishes its own. It should be accompanied by Banshees to defend from ground units.

• Engineer: a combat support unit that can heal any type of ally. It can be upgraded to increased to State of Grace which increases healing speed. The second upgrade is Harmonious Digestion which increeses the speed of the engineer.

Buildings

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Glassing in Halo Wars.

• Outpost/Keep/Citadel: Provides the basic base of the Covenant with optional 'add on' buildings that can increase its usefulness. Outpost can be upgraded to Keep and then to a Citadel.
  • Shield Generator: Provides shield protection for the whole Citadel. It is possible to have multiple shield generators, thus improving the Citadel's shielding.
  • Warehouse: The warehouse is how the Covenant receive supplies. Gravity lifts bring supplies down and workers move them to their proper area. The warehouse can be upgraded to a blessed warehouse receive supplies more often.
  • Plasma Turret: The main defenses of a Covenant base, the Turret first starts with Plasma Turrets, but can be upgraded with a Plasma Mortar, Fuel Rod Cannon, or a Heavy Needler.
  • Temple: A Covenant research building, the upgrades are very expensive but are very effective and powerful.
  • Summit: The roost of the Covenant air force, the Summit builds Banshees, Vampires and Engineers.
  • Hall: The home of Covenant soldiers, Grunt lances, Jackal pairs and Hunter pairs are trained here. The building also researches minor upgrades for Covenant infantry.
  • Factory: The manufacturing plant of the Covenant, the Factory builds Ghost scouts, Wraith tanks and Locust walkers.

• Anti-Vehicle Barrier: Same device used to block tunnels on the level Tsavo Highway in Halo 3, most likely used for defense. To be used, infantry needs to go on it like a Lookout Tower. This is only available in Campaign. .

• Type-26 ASG (Shade): The Halo: Combat Evolved variant of the Shade is featured as a defensive Structure. This is only available in Campaign.

• Deployable Lookout Tower: Can be used to garrison infantry units from both players (in co-op), increasing their combat capabilities.

• Mega Turret: A massive turret featured in campaign where the Mega Turret looks like a upgraded version for the Heavy Turret. It's power is very high and it is advisable to take it out with the MAC Blast. It also feature as a neutral garrisonable structure on Tundra. Here it fires in barrages and takes time to recharge. It is indestructible (but as always, the garrisoned troops can be killed).

• Gravity Lift: Each Covenant base has a Gravity Lift right outside. Gravity Lifts let the Covenant's players to do "Hot Dropping" which allows to send any units (except the Scarab) directly to their Leader's location.

Ship Support

• Glassing: This appears to be used as a Covenant super weapon. The glassing ship can fire this from orbit to destroy ground positions and units. Can be upgraded for an even more devastating effect. This is named the "Cleansing Beam" in the game and is the Prophet of Regret's leader power.

Rebels

• Insurrectionists: Can be found occupying secondary base sites, and the area around any Forerunner structures that give bonuses, supply elevators, etc.

• Rebel Sniper: Counter-infantry units armed with sniper rifles.

• Rebel Warthog: Repurposed UNSC Warthog with a Gauss cannon and Insurrectionist paint job. (Only confirmed in concept art, cut in final game)

• Rebel EMP: Insurrectionist wielding an EMP weapon similar to the Gremlin's main weapon. (Only confirmed in concept art, cut in final game)

• Rebel Base: A haphazardly constructed base surrounded by concertina wire and guarded by turrets, built on thriving UNSC worlds.

• Rebel Turret: Turrets that protect the Rebel Bases, identical to the Turrets used by the UNSC but much bigger.

• Rebel Watchtower: A tower that alerts Infantry to the attacking faction of the Rebel base.

Forerunner

• Sentinels

• Super Sentinel: Can slow down enemy units and have a more powerful sentinel beam than the standard Sentinels.

• Protector: Able to be "attached" to units, providing either a rechargeable energy shield, replenishing health, or a pulse laser weapon depending on the type of Protector. The "Ancestral Perversion" upgrade gives the Prophet of Regret two of these on any map.

• Sentinel Shop: Produces Sentinels for the player who stands near it. Only found on the multiplayer level Repository.

• Forerunner Supply Elevator: Produces supplies when infantry are garrisoned inside it. Equivalent to an additional Supply Pad or Warehouse. Means you can build one less Supply Pad/Warehouse.

• Forerunner Spire of Healing: Heals any friendly units nearby for the player who controls it.

• Forerunner Teleporter: Instantly sends units to another teleporter location. In most maps, these are just one way.

• Forerunner Bonus Reactor: Increases tech level of any player that controls it. This will mean you can have an extra slot on open in a base for other usage.

• Forerunner Lifesupport Pod: Increases the max population for any player who controls it.

• Forerunner Fort: Outpost guarded by automated systems, including beam turrets and a shield wall. Retracts in on itself after sustaining enough damage.

• Forerunner Socket Hook: Gives you two building pads separate from a base. Only found in multiplayer or skirmish on the maps Beasley's Plateau and Terminal Moraine.

• Protector Plant: Produces three types of Protectors for the player who stands near it. Only found on the multiplayer level Labyrinth.

• Energy Wall: Generates an impassable energy wall when garrisoned with troops. Only found on the multiplayer maps Fort Deen and Tundra.

• Relic: Releases flood upon an enemy when infantry are garrisoned inside it. Only found on the multiplayer level Release.

The Flood

Flood biomass and tentacles ensnare an Elephant, with Flood Infection Forms and Combat Forms in the background.

“There is quite a bit of concern regarding how we’re going to fit the Flood into our game and keep it in canon which surprised me, but I promised them all that the Halo 1 canon is intact and that they would have to wait and see how we integrate the Flood.”

— Graeme Devine

The Flood are a faction within the game, though the player is unable to use them. The Flood gain units by taking over Human and Covenant troops.

A Flood Spawning Grounds under siege by Covenant Locusts

Flood Infection Forms, Combat Forms, Carrier Forms and what look remotely like Gravemind tentacles are the Flood's main attack force. In the February issue of GamePro it is confirmed that there will be new Flood forms in Halo Wars. New ones tend to include a new form which appears to be a flood-infected Engineer, named the 'Bomber Form'. It appears to drop acid on units and buildings and when killed drops infection forms. The reason the Flood cannot be controlled by the player is due to balance issues, as they would have to be balanced out against the 2 playable factions. In the multiplayer map Release, they are a hostile force to both sides of the battle and can be exploited by the players as a blessing or a curse.

In respect to keeping the appearance of the Flood in canon with the rest of the series, the game has the Spirit of Fire traveling back to Earth at speeds slower than light after its mission had ended, making it impossible for them to report the existence of the Flood. However, this raises further controversy over the presence of the Spartans on board the Spirit of Fire.

Ground Forms

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A Flood Infection Form is seen on the bottom left.

• Infection Forms have the ability to crawl over walls, increasing its potent abilities, and is able to reach ground no other forces can reach. When any infantry encounter Infection forms, they are soon attacked and infected. This applies to all combat infantry in game, including both Grunts and Jackals, turning them into Combat Forms and making use their weapons.

• Combat Forms: The standard fighting force of the Flood. There are 5 additional types of Combat forms: Human, Elite, Brute, Jackal and Grunt forms in-game. Note when the infected units turn into the corresponding combat form, that units rank (if any) also goes with the combat form, making it more deadly.

• Infected Marines: Marines or ODSTs that have been infected by the flood. They come in squads of four (or, in one mission, six) when they spawn on campaign and skirmish maps, or individually when they were formerly owned by a player and then infected. They always wield Assault rifles and Shotguns despite previous equipment.

• Infected Flamethrowers: Flamethrower marines that were once owned by a player and then infected. They always wield flamethrowers, as with living UNSC flamethrower marines.

• Infected Elites: Elites that were infected by the flood. They come in pairs and use a melee attack instead of weaponry when they spawn in campaign, or individually when they were formerly owned by a player and then infected. Besides the unarmed ones in campaign, they always wield Plasma rifles, as with living Covenant Elites. (Infected honor guard elites are yet to be comfirmed)

• Infected Brutes: Brutes that were infected by the flood. They come in pairs when they spawn in campaign, or individually when they were formerly owned by a player and then infected. They always wield brute shots, as with living Covenant brutes.

• Infected Grunts: Grunts that were once owned by a player and then infected. They always wield plasma pistols despite their previous weaponry.

• Infected Jackals: Jackals that have been infected by the flood. They come in pairs when they spawn on skirmish maps, or individually when they were owned by a player and then infected. They always wield Covenant carbines and Defense gauntlets (that can be overloaded) despite previous weaponary, but have been encountered with beam rifles sometimes.

• Carrier Forms: A suicidal unit that explodes and delivers its payload of Infection Forms directly into enemy lines.

• Flood Growth Pods now function as a double-edged sword: shooting them will sometimes releases precious resources for weapon and vehicle upgrades. At other times, however, they will release either a swarm of Infection Forms or a cloud of Flood spores, both of which can destroy infantry squads in seconds. They appear as either large flood "eggs" the size of small vehicles, or as multiple of the Halo 3 variety growing on tall stalks.

• Flood Thrasher Forms: Large, about the size of an elephant. Essentially an anti-vehicle flood form, although easily killed.

• Flood spore clouds: A green mist that if units are in for too long, they are killed and infected.

Air Forms

• Flood Swarms: The first-ever-seen flying incarnation of the Flood, described by developers as "infected buzzards crossed with evil bats". These creatures travel in large airborne packs, and can emit dart-like projectiles to puncture enemies.

• Flood Bomber Forms: Large, bloated, airborne Flood forms. They attack by dropping Flood Growth Pods full of Infection Forms onto enemies.

Building Forms

• Flood Barracks: Organic structures that ceaselessly churn out a variety of attackers. They can't be destroyed by "conventional" weaponry, but players can damage them enough to force them into a withered, dormant state. The effect is only temporary, and given enough time, the Barracks will recover and begin producing more Flood forms.

• Flood Root: This form appears to be a defensive unit that "whips" or grabs units that get close to it.

• Colony Form: A large structure found in heavily infested areas. Used as a "base" by the Flood.

• Proto-Gravemind: This appears to be the main Flood's base's building. It seems to be connected to the Colony Forms, as whenever they take damage, the Proto-Gravemind takes damage too.

• Flood Nest: A small organic building, shaped like a jellyfish which creates Infection Forms and Carrier Forms.

• Flood Launcher: Stationary tower-like forms that fire globs from their tops at enemies. These glob-like clouds have the ability to turn infantry units into infected forms. This makes them dangerous to approach. It appears Spartans are immune to the clouds.

• Flood Den: A medium-sized building form which Flood Swarms and Flood Thrasher Forms come out of.

• Flood Vent: Large vents covered in Flood biomass which create Flood Bomber Forms.

• Flood Colony: A Flood building. Regenerates only in the Campaign mode, otherwise opens up new base slots when killed.

Civilian

Civilians are only encountered on Mission 4: Arcadia City, where the Spirit of Fire and Spartan Red Team helps them board Cargo ships for evacuation from the city. They function as normal infantry units, with 5 people per "squad" and a health bar that can be healed from a Repair Beam.

Arcadian Police. They come armed with M6D pistols, but do little damage and are easily killed.

Known Civilians

Adam - Adam is a male civilian, possibly a child due to the fact of a mother heard asking where her son Adam is near a terminal. He is only seen when you activate a control panel that opens up a door to a tower. He runs out and goes toward Cargo ship 2. If you can manage to escort him to the ship without him dying, you will unlock "The Real Winner" achievement. But the one thing that makes it difficult is that if he gets shot once, he dies.

Ambient Life

Thorn Beast seen in the middle of a battle.

Ambient life forms were planned to be encountered during gameplay. They may have been found on the battlefield, and might react to the actions of the player's forces (such as firing a weapon, flying around or near them, etc.). Examples include the Space Owl, the Harvest Whale, the Arctic Beast, Ice Hound and some sort of eel-snake creature that has yet to be named.

Unfortunately, these creatures have been cut from the game, as the only ambient life visible on any campaign or multiplayer maps are birds who do not visibly react to actions taken by the player.

Ambient life is just some of the content cut from Halo Wars, others include a map editor. There is ambient life in Ensemble's other games, such as the Age of Empires series.

Game Concepts

Technology Advancement

Throughout the campaign and in Skirmishes, the player must advance their technology in order to increase their army's power. When technology is increased, more units, upgrades, and buildings become available. For instance, infantry units can receive additional members or stronger weaponry. Field Armories or Temples (and the upgrades within them) can become available with increased technology as well.

The tech tree is different for the two playable factions. When playing as the UNSC, the player advances by building and upgrading reactors. The Covenant moves through the tech-tree in Ages by purchasing upgrades at the leader temple. Players can also advance by capturing Forerunner Bonus Reactors .

When a Reactor is built or an Age is researched, OR a Forerunner Bonus Reactor is claimed, the tech number on the top right of the screen goes up. If, say, a reactor is destroyed, the number goes down. Different buildings, units, and upgrades require higher numbers for use.

Veterancy Points

Veterancy points increases a unit's statistics, such as attack, attack speed, defense, etc. This number can be calculated by counting how many stars a unit has above their health bar. This is the number of veterancy points said unit has. The stars or "Veterancy Points" are acquired only after a unit or a group of units have defeated enemy structures, units, vehicles, etc.. ex: a Spartan is sent to take out a rebel base. If the Spartan is successful after destroying the base he will have gained at least 1 Veterancy point thus increasing his stats, the same goes for the additional units that caused "damage" to the structure currently under attack. They are also gained by upgrading the unit. A unit has a maximum of 5 stars.

On a side note, a Spartan-Commandeered vehicle has a maximum of 15 "Veterancy Points".

This maximum can only be acquired in 2 different scenarios. 1) when a Fully upgraded Spartan (meaning - Chain gun, Neural Implant, and Spartan Laser) is added to a fully upgraded Vehicle with it's complete set of veterancy points, this will give you a total of 12 Veterancy points. Finally, the remaining 3 are gained by that specific Spartan-commandeered unit in battle, destroys Buildings, units, etc.. Or 2) A Spartan commandeers a vehicle and is then sent out into numerous battles thus allowing the vehicle to acquire the remaining veterancy points, while both the vehicle and the spartan are upgraded. Finally, if counting stars is somewhat of a hassle then Halo Wars features a tiny shield with the total number of upgrades plus veterancy count inside. When a Spartan jacks a vehicle he may also receive veterancy points.

Leader Abilities

Certain characters belonging to both the Covenant and the UNSC have been confirmed to be "leader factions", which are sub-factions with unique units and bonuses. All of the Covenant leaders appear on the battlefield and have unique in-game abilities. The UNSC leaders on the other hand do not appear on the battlefield but instead have economic bonuses and "super units" (upgrades of normal units). Currently known leaders are Captain James Cutter, Sergeant John Forge, Professor Ellen Anders, an Arbiter, an unknown Brute Army Commander and the Prophet of Regret. Each leader has a number of unique features, for the UNSC it's "super units", economic bonuses, unique units (Cutter's Elephant, Forge's Cyclops and Anders' Gremlin.) and leader powers (ODST Drop/MAC Blast, Carpet bomb and Cryo bomb, respectively to leaders stated previously) that can be called from the Spirit of Fire. The Covenant on the other hand have a unique unit (two for the brute leader) and a "hero unit" (their leader) with their leader power attached to the "hero unit". The Prophet of Regret's ability is to glass enemy forces (known as the "Cleansing Beam" in Halo Wars), which causes significant damage to both structures and units, however it also drains resources while active. His unique units are Sangheili Honor Guards. The Arbiter can go into a rage mode and wield two energy swords and can upgrade to infinitely cloak himself, but at the cost of draining resources for every second these modes are active. The Arbiter will also have the ability to train Suicidal Grunts. The Brute Chieftain can use his Gravity Hammer to create a vortex which sucks in infantry, then the player can press the A button to create a massive explosion. The Brute Chieftain's unique units are a pair of Brute Shot wielding Brutes (which can be upgraded to have jump packs) and the Chopper.

Although Covenant leaders are limited to one at a time, they are the strongest units in the entire game (apart from Scarabs). They can also empower surrounding units.

Achievements

There are 50 achievements available in Halo Wars, adding up to a total of 1,000 Gamerscore.

Skulls

Each level in Halo Wars has an optional objective where you are asked to kill a certain number of a certain unit type, such as killing 100 Grunts in the first mission, Alpha Base. Once this objective has been completed, the skull location will flash on the mini-maps for a couple of seconds, so it's important to watch the map as you complete the objective. To simplify this, the objective will have a counter that pops up every time you kill a unit of the designated unit type. For example, the HUD will show "56/100 Grunts Killed", when you have killed 56 grunts for that objective.

Black Boxes

Black boxes are a new feature in the game. Black Boxes are collectibles in the Halo Wars campaign that when collected, they add new events in the Halo Wars Timeline. They look like black boxes with yellow stripes on them and can be picked up by any unit. When you collect one you can just resign straight away and you will still have it. The timeline covers many of the important events from the games and the novels.

Halo Wars Multiplayer

Covenant forces engage humans on the level Chasms.

Just like Halo 2 & Halo 3, Halo Wars has strong characteristics of online gaming. Halo Wars' live gaming characteristics include Direct voice communication & Online leader boards. Unlike any of the other Halo games, now your vehicles' and troops' armor will change to the teams color so you can get red Hunters, purple Grunts, etc. There's no specific information regarding player ranking but players will be able to achieve the ranks of Recruit, Lieutenant, Major and General. As of now, multiplayer is said to be up to 6 players at a time in a match. Two player online Co-op for the campaign story will also be in the game.

Maps

Each multiplayer map apparently takes place on a different "world", each with its own musical theme and playlist. The Halo Rings won't be in the story, but may be included in future maps for multiplayer.

• Beasley Plateau - A multiplayer map set on a dense jungle plateau.

• Chasm - A multiplayer map set on a frozen region of Harvest.

• Blood Gulch - A multiplayer map based off designs from Blood Gulch, the Halo: Combat Evolved map.

• Release - A multiplayer map set on a Flood-dominated environment.

• Fort Deen - A multiplayer map set on Fort Deen, UNSC military base.

• Tundra - A multiplayer map set on a icy area and has a mega turret in the center with Covenant Energy Barriers surrounding it.

• Pirth Outskirts - A multiplayer map set on the outskirts of, where else, Pirth.

• Crevice- A multiplayer map set on a Flood-dominated environment.

• The Docks - A multiplayer map set in the city of Arcadia.

• Labyrinth - A multiplayer map set on a open, bridge-like map in a forest environment.

• Repository - A multiplayer map with a Sentinel factory in the middle.

• Terminal Moraine - A multiplayer map set on in an icy environment with two timed Forerunner bridges that provide access to tactically important locations.

• Frozen Valley - A multiplayer map set in a large, open area of snow with a Forerunner Spire of Healing in the center.

• Exile - A multiplayer map set on a Flood-dominated environment.

Skirmish Mode

Halo Wars features a "Skirmish Mode", where the player can battle on multiplayer maps against an AI opponent in 1V1, 2V2 and 3V3 modes. There will be 14 skirmish and multiplayer maps at launch.

Editors of OXMs January 2009 Halo Wars article played on a multiplayer map called "Blood Gulch". It was stated that it is not the same map as that in Halo: Combat Evolved, but some elements have clearly been used in the design for the map.

It is also known that you have to win a Skirmish match on every playable map and with all the different leaders in order to achieve the Playin' the Field and the Gallivant around the Galaxy achievements.

It is possible to side the Covenant with the UNSC in Skirmish mode.

There are two modes in Skirmish, Standard and Deathmatch.

In Deathmatch, you start with 15,000 resources and and a tech level of 4 for the UNSC, and 3 for the Covenant. All your units, buildings and leader abilities are already fully upgraded. Your population starts as 15 and you gain 10 population for taking over a base up to 99. When you loose a base the population limit goes down by 10.

In Standard mode you start off with 0 tech level and 800 resources. All units must be upgraded including turrets and leader abilities. The population limit starts at 30 for the UNSC and 40 for the Covenant.

Soundtrack

The music for Halo Wars was composed by Ensemble Studios in-house composer Stephen Rippy, with additional music by his long time collaborator and game Audio Lead Kevin McMullan. It was recorded in Prague, Czech Republic by 45 members of the FILMHarmonic Orchestra and a 21 voice choir at CNSO Studio No. 1. The score was released as a single CD package with a bonus DVD containing additional tracks, 5.1 surround sound mixes of some cues and a behind the scenes video showing the recording sessions of the Halo Wars main theme and various trailers for the game. It was also put up for retail as a digital download over iTunes and Sumthing Digital. The response to the score was almost universally enthusiastic, with most critics praising Stephen Rippy's taking the series into new stylistic territory while still paying homage to and reworking classic themes and ideas.

The official track list is as follows:

1. Spirit of Fire
2. Bad Here Day
3. Perspective
4. Money Or Meteors
5. Flollo
6. Just Ad Nauseam
7. Unusually Quiet
8. Flip And Sizzle
9. Put The Lady Down
10. Six-Armed Robbing Suit
11. Action Figure Hands
12. Status Quo Show
13. Part Of The Plan
14. Work Burns And Runaway Grunts
15. Freaked Out
16. Rescued Or Not
17. Best Guess At Best
18. One Problem At A Time
19. De Facto The Matter
20. Part Of The Problem
21. Fingerprints Are Broken
22. Out Of There Alive
23. Through Your Hoops
24. Under Your Hurdles
25. Insignificantia (All Sloppy/No Joe)

Marketing Promotions and Release

Alpha Test

A screenshot taken of an Alpha playtester in Sway.

An Alpha test was done for Halo Wars, concluding during May, 2008. The test was open only to several thousand Microsoft employees, including Bungie Studios, in order to locate any bugs or glitches, and to test its performance over Xbox Live. It consisted of a brief "tutorial" and multiplayer, and was "limited to a specific set of units." It is unknown how long the Alpha test was conducted, or when it began.

During the Alpha test, anti-air units were glitching so that their effectiveness was lessened, and Scorpion tanks and aircraft were extremely powerful. Aircraft strength was lessened to prevent players from sending in air-strikes against the enemy Command Center and crippling them too easily, ruining many a protocol player's chances of victory. This actually isn't an element of the game, but in fact a "balance issue".

Trailers

E3 2008 Trailer

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A screenshot from the trailer.

File:Halo Wars unlucky marine.JPG

A Marine about to be killed by a Covenant Elite.

Main article: Five Long Years Cinematic

Five Long Years is a Halo Wars cinematic preview released on the July 14th of 2008 depicting the five year long struggle to reclaim Harvest from the Covenant, as well as being the first cutscene for the game. The trailer can be downloaded from the Halo Wars official website or here.

Field Trip To Harvest

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A Zealot Field Master taking orders from an Arbiter on Harvest.

Field Trip To Harvest is a cinematic preview that was released to the public on October 3rd, 2008 showing the UNSC's retaking of the planet Harvest and the Covenant's finding of a Forerunner structure. Also, in the conversation between a Zealot and the Arbiter, there is mention of "the Infection". This was speculated to be an introduction to the Flood in Halo Wars before the release of the game, but because no Flood were encountered on Harvest, it is almost certainly just a name for the Humans on Harvest.

The Call To Battle

The Call to Battle is a collection of already known cinematics, but it also shows some campaign maps. You can also see that you can make a lot more units than in the demo.

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Unknown Trailer Video

On February 8th, 2009, the Taiwanese Xbox Live website released a four minute-long trailer which contained spoilers detailing the later story of Halo Wars. It was soon taken down, and other sites which put it up, including halo.bungie.org, removed it at the request of Microsoft Game Studios. However, several sites still have the video. The music from the trailer has been confirmed to be "Optimus vs. Megatron", a song from the Transformers movie. It can be watched here: Halo Wars Spoiler Trailer

Another site it can be watched is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyUnMnpIy8o&feature=channel_page http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/JyUnMnpIy8o/default.jpg

ViDocs

Halo Wars ViDoc #1 - Halo Times Ten

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On January 23rd, 2009 the first ViDoc of Halo Wars has been released on Xbox LIVE marketplace, it tells how a different perspective can change the gameplay and the announcement of the demo planned on February the 5th. Note that the Spirit of Fire is at the Planet Arcadia in the Procyon system, proving that Harvest is not the only world visited in the game.

Halo Wars ViDoc #2 - Expanding The Arsenal

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On February the 3rd, 2009 the second ViDoc was released, it tells about Spartans and hero unit abilities. Some new cinematic scenes appear in the ViDoc. Again, this ViDoc announces the demo on February the 5th.

Halo Wars ViDoc #3 - Strategy on Xbox

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On February 12th, 2009 the third ViDoc was released, it tells about the controls featured and what expectation there are of the game. As well as the previous ViDoc, this one features cinematic scenes. Note that at a certain point in the video, there are exactly three Brute Chieftains, one Arbiter and six Elite Honor Guards fighting against a UNSC army. This would mean that all three Covenant leaders would have had to of been selected to get all these things at once. And it is strange that there are so many Brute Chieftains when it has been thought that you could only select one in a battle, this could mean that there is the main Chieftain, and the more lesser unnamed Brute commanders, or that the image seen is from a multiplayer match where multiple players are playing as the Brute led covenant faction. However this is unlikely, because there is an Arbiter and six Honor Guard Elites being shown. And it has been thought that you can only have 3 players on one team (A.I. or non A.I.).

Halo Wars ViDoc #4 - Jaws of Victory

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On February 19th, 2009 the fourth ViDoc was released, it tells people about tactics, multiplayer and developers tactics. Unlike the others, this ViDoc shows already known cinematic scenes, however an intro to a mission is shown in which human civilians can be seen.

Demo

Main article: Halo Wars Demo

On February 5th, a demo for Halo Wars was released on Xbox Live for the first time for Gold Xbox Live Subscribers. The demo was made available to non-Gold subscribers on February 12th. The demo also set a record for most downloaded demo in one day.

It has been confirmed that the player can play the first two levels of the campaign, as well as play skirmish mode on the map Chasm, where the player can play against an AI opponent. The demo's skirmish mode can be played as the Covenant or the UNSC. The Covenant leader character in the demo is the Prophet of Regret, and the UNSC leader character is Captain Cutter. The demo's campaign mode allows the player to attempt to repossess Alpha Base with Sergeant Forge as their first unit, gathering stranded Marines and Warthogs along the way, which will in turn help the player retake Alpha Base from the Covenant. The second mission deals with the UNSC's attempt at gaining access to the relic before the Covenant destroy it to keep it out of UNSC hands. The demo also contains an optional tutorial for both advanced and beginner players.

Downloadable Content

Although not much is known about the content, it has been confirmed that Ensemble Studios had already finished DLC for Halo Wars long before the actual game was finished.

It was officially mentioned on the Halo Wars Official Community Site that there will be a Title Update to fix bugs and balance out some gameplay issues. Examples are: Slowing down the Prophet of Regret's speed on land, adding the "Flaming Warthog" and "Honor Guard Wraith" in Matchmaking, and increasing the Vampire's attack power by 15% more with each upgrade.

Currently, the next Halo Wars DLC is known to include three new gametypes:

• Keepaway Mode: This is the Halo Wars adaptation of "Capture the Flag." Teams battle it out to capture a free-roaming Forerunner Sentinel to score points before the other team. Capture three to five sentinels to claim victory.

• Tug of War Mode: This mode is all about having a stronger army than your opponent. Defeating enemies is essential, but success is determined by a combination of the army, buildings, and resources left standing in the end.

• Reinforcement Mode: All active battle units are provided in successive waves. Adapt to their tactics and use the ever-changing set of units to outwit and outlast the enemy.

Strategic Options also adds four new Achievements worth a total of 100 points:

One and Done: Score the winning point in a game of Keepaway against Legendary A.I.'s.

Pull Hard, Pull Deep: Win and never trail in a Tug of War game.

Freak on a Streak: Gain at least 15 population from a single wave in a Reinforcement game.

Living Loving Bug: Obtain a Scarab during a Reinforcement game.

Cut Content

The asteroid that never was...

Five units, the UNSC Cougar, UNSC Fox Cannon, Covenant Air Artillery, Covenant Gorgon and the UNSC Leviathan were under development early in the game along with the ability to actually construct individual buildings (something that was seen in the 2007 build of the game). The developers later announced that these units been cut, as they had decided to focus on more recognizable Halo units and simpler gameplay.

Before Ensemble conceived the idea for The Apex the storyline was supposed to feature a Covenant mining asteroid that was located at a Forerunner ore refining mechanism. This concept tries to show the scale of the large Forerunner machinery in place, machines that are still operational (although now controlled by the Covenant). In the end the mining aspect of the story was removed from the game.

Trivia

• March 3, the release date for Halo Wars in the United States, is also the date that the Human-Covenant War ended.
• Halo Wars is the first game to officially feature the Huragok without the use of mods.
• Marines can shoot a Grunt's Methane tank, causing the Grunt to explode. In addition, each individual Marine will have his own separate reaction to background stimulation in an attempt by Ensemble to add a "Human element" to the game.
• Orders can be given for troops to take cover and/or take shelter in buildings.
• Halo Wars is the first Halo game to portray Elites dual wielding Energy Swords without a mod or image manipulation.
• The Doritos snack food held a sweepstakes where the winner got a voice role in the game.
• Halo Wars didn't start as a Halo game at all. Six months were spent developing a control scheme for a viable RTS for the Xbox 360, which was later pitched to Microsoft, asking to use the Halo IP, to which Microsoft agreed.
• There are Skulls in the campaign like in Halo 2 and Halo 3, which add replay value. They may increase or decrease the score, and there is an achievement for getting Gold on a mission with the three "Rebel" skulls which make gameplay harder when turned on.
• Halo Wars is the first Halo game to include Grunts and Jackals as species being used as Combat Forms. It is possible this was a mistake on Ensemble Studio' part, for it had been established in existing canon that they are used as Carrier Forms or biomass for the Flood. It is possible that these are freshly infected units prior to being fully converted into incubators for Infection Forms.
• During the introductory level in the E3 demonstration video, UNSC Marines can be seen doing push-ups behind the barracks, being drilled by a Drill Instructor. This has been dropped from the final version.
• Many new UNSC units were seen on G4's hands-on coverage of Halo Wars on July 14th.
• An article released by ShackNews states that Halo Wars is Ensemble's last game, and that they are laying off any personnel not essential to the game's completion. In fact, the supposed layoffs were confirmed merely as a rumor, and that while Ensemble was indeed shutting down after the shipment of Halo Wars, layoffs had not begun. However, some of Ensemble's employees had started the company Robot Entertainment and offered the executives at Ensemble a job there.
• The Halo Wars: Official Strategy Guide was released on the 3rd of March, the exact same date as the NA (North American) release of Halo Wars.
• The demo has been downloaded over 2 million times in the week following its debut, setting a "day one record" in its initial release.
• On February 28 Gamestop hosted a Halo Wars tournament. First place winners received a Collectors Edition copy of Halo Wars and a Halo Wars T-Shirt, while second place received only a Halo Wars T-Shirt.
• During battle, Spartans can sometimes be heard to shout "For Samuel!" This is a reference to the first Spartan to perish by Covenant hands.
• Grunts have a diverse audio file, in an attempt by Ensemble to make them humorous characters.
• The Limited Collectors Edition of Halo Wars includes the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack, a pack that is now available on the Xbox 360 Marketplace but will also be available when Halo 3: ODST is released.
• The "Rally Point" flag features Halo 3's Legendary difficulty icon.
• A month after the game's release, Halo Wars has 130 years worth of game time recorded.
• On the cover of Halo Wars, the Spartan's helmet visors reflect the Arbiter and part of the honor stave on cover of the Limited Collector's Edition of Halo Wars.
• The armor worn by the Spartans is entirely different in appearance from the armor seen on the TCP cover, and resembles the Halo 3 permutation of the Mk V helmet on the default Mk VI body.
• The Warthogs that are first made from the factories are civilian warthogs, this is the first game the civilian hog can be used without glitching or modding. Many also believe THE HOG from the Halo 2 billboard in New Mombasa is featured in the first level of the game but oddly enough it changes to green after the marines get into the vehicle and gains a turret without upgrading, this change in color, however, is simply to tell players that they cannot control the vehicle just yet, this method is used many times throughout the game.
• Halo Wars is the only game to feature more than one type of human pistol.
• On the "Rally Point" flag it has the Legendary difficulty icon.

Gallery

Halo Wars - Collectors Edition (Box Art).png

The cover for the limited edition of Halo Wars.

An early cutscene from Halo Wars.

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An Elite holding a dead Marine.

Multiplayer Screenshot, revealing that Scarabs would be usable in multi-player. Sadly, the Super Scarab pictured is unusable in the final product of the game.

A trio of defending Wolverines.

A battle against a Scarab.

Concept art of a battle to claim a Forerunner structure.

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Kig-Yar, as they appear in Halo Wars.

Links

Internal

• Circle Menu
• Halo: Contact Harvest
• Halo Wars Announcement Trailer
• Halo Wars: Limited Edition

External

• Official website
• Halo Wars announcement
• Halo Wars Fansite
• Halo Wars E3 Trailer
• Extended Halo Wars E3 montage
• Heavengames.com
• Halo Wars Profile Page
• Halo Wars GC 2008: Halo Wars Hands-on