Halo Wars 2 received generally positive reviews. Blur Studio's campaign cinematics were lauded for their outstanding animation quality. Reviewers thought the game was very approachable for beginners, but felt it needed more strategic depth to appeal to experienced RTS players. Nuisances in the keyboard and mouse controls left some critics disappointed, but enhancements made to the gamepad control scheme from Halo Wars were praised. The game was supported after release with additional content and features.
Gameplay
Halo Wars 2 is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game, in which players command armies from a bird's-eye view of the battlefield. The game may be played using a gamepad or using a mouse and keyboard. Like its predecessor Halo Wars, it features two playable factions: humanity's military arm, the United Nations Space Command, and an alien faction, the Banished. In most game modes, players establish a base of operations at a predetermined location. Barracks and vehicle depots can be constructed at bases to deploy infantry and vehicles. Supplies collected via supply pads or the battlefield are expended to deploy units and construct buildings. Some units and buildings require a second resource, power, which is produced using a generator or extractor building. Base buildings can be upgraded to grant passive bonuses and unlock access to higher-tier units.
The battlefield is initially shrouded by the fog of war, which is uncovered by moving units to clouded regions of the map. Units can be selected and commanded to engage in combat or interact with structures on the battlefield. Combat is balanced by a "rock–paper–scissors" counter-attack system, in which ground vehicles are generally effective in combat against infantry, infantry are effective against aircraft, and aircraft are effective against ground vehicles. Every unit has at least one special ability in addition to regular attacks. For example, Spartan supersoldiers are capable of hijacking vehicles and performing a smash attack after leaping into the air. Players can build additional bases once they have accumulated enough resources and gained control over areas of the map, allowing them to expand their army.
A campaign mode lets players take control of UNSC forces in battles against the Banished on an ancient alien structure. The main campaign consists of twelve missions that can be played alone or cooperatively. Each mission presents main objectives that involve capturing points, defending bases, or surviving waves of enemies, and often require players to lead Spartan units around the map. Campaign missions offer optional side objectives such as ensuring a certain unit survives over the course of the mission or destroying extra bases within a time limit. Animated cutscenes and dialogue precede each mission to provide context and integration with the game's story. A secondary campaign lets players control Banished forces in a battle against parasitic alien life forms known collectively as the Flood.
Outside the campaign, both the UNSC and the Banished are playable, each with a distinct set of units. Players choose a leader that is based on a prominent character and emphasizes a particular style of play. Leaders have unique abilities that can be upgraded and activated during a battle; using one requires supplies and triggers a cooldown period before it is available again. Healing groups of units, carpet bombing a targeted area, and deploying special troops are examples of some leader abilities. The game's multiplayer modes support online play with up to six players. Game modes include Skirmish, a cooperative or solo play mode against computer-controlled (AI) opponents; Deathmatch involves eliminating the opponent's army. Stronghold and Domination, modes centered around controlling territory on the map; and Blitz, a mode that combines elements from collectible card games with RTS gameplay by replacing base building with a card-and-deck mechanic for unit deployment. Decks are created from card packs earned through the campaign mode and daily challenges. Each card features a deployable unit and has an energy cost; deploying a more powerful unit uses more energy. Energy generates automatically throughout a match and more can be collected from pods dropped onto the map periodically. Blitz Firefight is a single-player and cooperative variant that pits players against waves of AI enemies.
Synopsis
Setting and characters
Halo Wars 2 takes place in the science fiction universe of the Halo series. The game is set in 2559, 28 years after the events of Halo Wars and shortly after the events of Halo 5: Guardians. Halo Wars closes with the crew of the human United Nations Space Command (UNSC) warship Spirit of Fire entering cryosleep and drifting in uncharted space. During the interim, the war between humanity and the alien alliance known as the Covenant has ended, and Spirit of Fire has been declared lost with all hands. While Spirit of Fire is adrift in space, the ship's artificial intelligence (AI) Serina (Courtenay Taylor) terminates herself before succumbing to rampancy, a terminal state. Captain James Cutter (Gideon Emery), Professor Anders (Faye Kingslee), and the rest of the crew wake from cryonic sleep at the Ark, a Forerunner installation capable of manufacturing large ringworlds known as Halos. Isabel (Erika Soto) is a UNSC logistics AI operating at a research facility on the Ark when an alien faction called the Banished invades. The Banished are led by the Brute warlord Atriox (John DiMaggio) and rose to power following the Covenant's demise. Serving under Atriox are the Brute general Decimus and the Elite Shipmaster Let 'Volir (Darin De Paul).
Main story
Arriving at the Ark, Spirit of Fire's crew receives a UNSC signal from the surface of the installation. Spartan Red Team—composed of supersoldiers Alice, Jerome, and Douglas—is deployed to investigate the signal. They recover Isabel from a UNSC base but are attacked by the Banished during exfiltration. Back on Spirit of Fire, Isabel reveals to Captain Cutter how Atriox and the Banished invaded the Ark. Despite Isabel believing resistance hopeless, Cutter declares his intent to confront the Banished. A strike team manages to set up a forward base and defeat Banished forces under the control of Decimus. In the wreckage of Decimus' base, Isabel discovers information about the Ark's Cartographer, a map of key systems and weapons.
The strike team secures the Cartographer, coming under attack by autonomous Forerunner machines known as Sentinels. Anders discovers that Atriox has hijacked the Ark's teleportation network, allowing him to transport troops across the whole structure. The UNSC forces defeat Decimus and disable the portal network. Spirit of Fire comes under attack from a Banished carrier ship. The attacking carrier is destroyed when Isabel and Jerome hijack its weapon systems to prompt the Sentinels stationed on the Ark to shatter it in two.
Anders suggests they create a Halo ring using the Ark's foundry to transport the crew away from the Ark and back into UNSC-controlled space. The new Halo is released but UNSC forces face resistance from the Banished. On the Ark, Alice and Douglas prevent Banished reinforcements, including Atriox, from getting to the Halo. Anders is escorted to the ring's control room where the firing system of the structure is deactivated and a signal beacon is set. Having defeated the Banished forces on the ring, ground forces return to Spirit of Fire but Anders and the Halo enter slipspace as they cannot halt the jump's countdown. Before the Halo jumps, Anders promises to get help from the UNSC as soon as possible. Cutter and Atriox prepare for their next engagement. In a post-credits scene, Anders' Halo drops out of slipspace prematurely, only to encounter a Forerunner Guardian.
