Halo Wars: What’s Wrong with  Multiplayer?

Halo 3 this is not…

by TWODOGSz

©2008 Aaron Bertinetti:- NE (News Editor)

So the consensus here at OXCGN is that Halo Wars is pretty damn good. In fact Arthur declared greatness with a 9/10. But personally I’d declare something akin to goodness. It’s made RTS exciting and accessible on a console like never before and has the distinct and authentic smell of the ever-deepening Halo universe. To ensure you get a full background make sure you check out the Halo Wars: What’s wrong with Singleplayer as well, in order to get a full grasp of the story.

The problem for Halo Wars is that Bungie set such a high bar, not just for the industry at large, but most particularly for every Halo game to follow. And that’s predictably where Halo Wars falls short.

How can that be changed through DLC, updates and inevitable sequels?

Well I’ve already considered my personal misgivings with the single player experience, but read on for my critique of what’s wrong with the multiplayer experience and feel free to follow up with your own by commenting below.

Flood in multiplayer

First and foremost is the lack of a playable Flood faction. Now we know the Flood’s appearance before the events of Halo CE raised some people’s eyebrows, but with that out of the way we think it’s only fair we get to play as that which we’ve feared so much in previous games.

In later levels of the Halo Wars campaign it’s clear that the Flood have a structure and balance all of their own, which perhaps explains why a playable faction was excluded from an initial release intended largely to introduce RTS to a new audience.

But as players get better, experimentation dies and gospel strategies are established, Halo Wars, just like Halo 2 and 3 before it, will need some shaking up.

The best and easiest way to do this is to add a new faction. Not only would it be a challenge to master a new faction and (I assume) three leaders, but it would present an opportunity to substantially recast the balance and strategic thinking for the other factions.

Plus I have a hankering to storm human bases with a Flood “tank” unit when I feel like “reliving” Left 4 Dead. At worst, it would certainly be a welcome change for some here at OXCGN that have already retreated from the Warthog spamming and Falcon fleets of ranked matches.

Deeper custom games

One of the hall marks of Bungie’s work is the overwhelming variety in multiplayer modes and options. An ever evolving mix of adversarial and team based game types focused on objectives, deathmatches, or a combination of both.

Players can also change game settings affecting weapons, armour, speed, gravity, scoring, victory conditions, etc. The result has seen Halo 3 transcend the typical online FPS experience and become a platform of its own, offering an overwhelming range of multiplayer experiences that keep people coming back for more

In contrast Halo Wars provides two game types. Deathmatch and Skirmish. That’s it!

No other modes to speak of. There’s no raft of options to customise a game to a players desire or to keep game types fresh. Gamers should also be able to turn on skulls, tweak difficulties of individual AI opponents, and mess with the bonuses leaders receive. It’s perhaps more damning when considered from the perspective of the RTS genre, which has made customisable games its bread to the butter for over a decade.

But more than that, Halo Wars should implement what CoD4 has made so popular on consoles. Class based warfare.

The foundations are there in six uniquely defined leaders. With the addition of a couple of extra leader bonuses or six new abilities courtesy of three Flood leaders, there’d be more than enough for players to create their own distinct classes.

It would serve to further deepen the complexity of strategic thinking without complicating the core gameplay experience. It’d also mean I’d play a lot more Halo Wars to unlock new leader powers and see which combinations worked best against what.

The core structure is there so the solution to this is simple. Get an update out ASAP so gamers can have the same control over game rules and match types as RTS, FPS and Halo fans have become accustomed to… but this time all under the one hood.

Forge

Of all the innovations in Halo 3 it’s Forge that remains front and centre. It brought user map creation out of the complexity of desktops and put it in the hands of a mainstream console audience.

Forge is a large reason for the title’s longevity and an even greater reason for the game’s immense diversity of game modes and experiences that extend to genres such as racing, puzzle, sports and platforming.

And whilst limited, many (myself included) would argue that out of those limits far greater quality, creativity and playlist integration has emerged when compared to more expansive features seen in FPS rivals such as Far Cry 2.

I can accept and understand that Bungie may have been unwilling to share such a platform, it seems unacceptable that a modern day RTS wouldn’t even have the hint of a map editor.

I mean “where the bloody are you?”

Even if limited to the manipulation of the currently released maps, it would at least add to the diversity of online (and offline) battles. One of the constant threats to a modern title’s online lifespan is the lack of new content. One of the easiest solutions, albeit not a complete one, is to outsource it to the very gamers you’re trying to please.

Give gamers the ability to change map sizes, weather, terrain, topography, vegetation, structures and resources. We don’t need the complexity of Far Cry 2, but we’d like something deeper than Forge. And we’d love to see you “borrow” Far Cry’s in-game star rating system and Bungie’s upload/download platform for community maps.

Let us build shells of Forerunner cities, in the middle of jungles, defended by Elite armies. Let us create human colonies, in alien deserts, under assault by mighty Scarabs. And let us integrate our maps with Halo 3…

What?! Well maybe I’m dreaming but if players could choose smaller maps what’s to say they couldn’t conceivably be imported to Forge for those who feel like swapping the top view for first view. Even better, how bout speaking with Peter Molyneux about how he let players in Dungeon Keeper seamlessly jump from commander to soldier at the click of a button.

If somehow you worked that out, and admittedly you might need a sequel first, then not only would I be signing my buddies up as Spartans and Scorpions, but you’d have a hell of a lot more of that FPS audience becoming increasingly open to an RTS experience.

Persistent Online Mulitplayer

This last one is perhaps one wish too many, but if Ubisoft Shanghai (a studio with no RTS pedigree) can pull of a relatively enjoyable MMO-like persistent online war in Tom Clancy’s EndWar, there seems no reason that the Ensemble alumni at Robot Entertainment can’t.

Give us a world (or galaxy) to fight over; armies and battalions to manage and customise; clan support; customisable leaders; and with a hint of Diablo II – randomly generated maps. Implement my earlier suggestions and you could be well on your way to the MMO that Microsoft so desperately wants.

Do that and gamers may never stop playing.

If you needed help you could always hire me, but I already checked and sadly you’re not hiring…

So in the meantime I hope you take my suggestions to heart, for both single- and multi- player, and listen to our readers below who speak up.

Why?

Because Halo Wars is good… but it could be spectacular.

©2008 Aaron Bertinetti:- NE (News Editor)

You can revisit “What’s Wrong with Halo Wars: Singleplayer?” here.

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