HW1 vs HW2

Games Halo Wars Series
1

Not quite the finished product yet with more content still to come but halo wars 2 is already rivalling its quality predecessor, but has it overcome it just yet? Of course, nostalgia and your ‘gut instinct’ play a role, but here goes (subjectively/ obvjectively) ranking the two in key areas:

UNIT BALANCE:
Sorry HW1 but, as much as I love you, unit balance was simply not a thing in the first game. By my guess there were 6 units competively viable in team games (1s was much better), 3 of which came from the main base- there was simply no need for a hall/ factory/ air pad, and a barracks only saw limited use on maps with hooks. By contrast, all unit producing buildings have a purpose and theres an array of troops that can be produced (and be effective) in the new game leading to contrasting army compositions being seen.
HW1-- 0:1 --HW2

MAPS:
This catagory is a bit of a steamroll. I can’t be alone in saying I have no affection for the new maps. Having played towards a thousand games I can barely remember their names- will we ever see a ‘docks’ or a ‘beasley’s plateau’ or a ‘frozen valley’ again? I doubt it.
HW1 --1:1 --HW2

LEADERS:
HW2 wins by number, and there are a few standout characters in colony and yap yap, but nothing will get close to that feeling of playing as the HW1 arbiter for me. Also there was better balance across the board with all leaders having their strengths and weaknesses in different playlists, whilst now it seems one or two leaders dominate across 1s 2s and 3s.
HW1 --2:1-- HW2

VOICE ACTING:
Since I couldn’t quite give HW2 a point for Yap yap THE DESTROYERRRRR last time I thought I’d through this out there. Point HW2 for those hilarious lines, really spices up the games.
HW1 --2:2-- HW2

CONNECTIVITY:
This one is more just a ‘minus one’ from HW2 for having a disconnection problem, and I also really dislike how the game continues when one person is lagging- just pause it for everyone so that one army doesnt get erradicated because it cant move.
HW1 --2:1 HW2

CAMPAIGN:
I have little interest in campaign on the whole, but props to HW2 for adding some variety to the missions- I really enjoyed the tower defence ones, and bonus points for bringing the flood back!
HW1 --2:2-- HW2

SMOOTHNESS IN GAME:
Unit pathfinding is much improved in HW2 and aesthetically the game looks and plays much better. Scroll speed is higher, the only issue is the ‘RT’ scroll unit selection function, which feels clunkier than HW1.
HW1 --2:3-- HW2

MUSIC:
Great scores for both of them, but I just find the older set catchier, especially the theme. I know this may be a controversial choice xD
HW1 --3:3-- HW2

MEDIA:
I love watching Halo wars videos, so yeah this is the deciding catagory. Very tough to call for me as I spent years watching Topher, Kihz, Marcostyle and more youtube videos, and I really liked how a large portion of the high level community posted, but I think BTC has just about single handedly outdone them with regular, quality, edited and funny videos, as well as hosting tournaments and really helping the community grow.

HW2 wins! (just).

Loads of categories could have gone the other way and on another day HW1 could win in a landslide but right now I’m calling it this way. Think I’ve missed out something or are outraged at some of the calls let me know!

2

I think the HW1 campaign is better because it had a wider variety of maps, the cutscenes were spread out much better and the Prophet of Regret and Ripa 'Moramee had a lot more screen time than Atriox.

HW1 had Forerunner and Flood units and buildings without having to pay extra money too.

3

> 2533275001759937;2:
> I think the HW1 campaign is better because it had a wider variety of maps, the cutscenes were spread out much better and the Prophet of Regret and Ripa 'Moramee had a lot more screen time than Atriox.
>
> HW1 had Forerunner and Flood units and buildings without having to pay extra money too.

True, the lack of cutscenes I did find a big disappointment, I guess I’m banking a lot on having the novelty of a covenant campaign section as well, could be completely awful of course though.

4

Oh music is definitely opinionated, I can’t say which is better because they are both a more difficult form of art than design, and because this is technically an off-road halo game, some score changes will be noticed, and arguments about “Not being halo” are justified, totally, but not mandatory.

I root the band that Halo Wars 2 is just a little better, but that’s just me, things like balance, sound, Cutscene story, to an extent; gameplay story, graphics and animation (They finally animated the hunters the right way!), writing for campaign and new agreeably spicy voice acting, and the fact that this game featured some substantial DLC on top of Blitz which was the tipping point of the deal breaker that this game officially has more to do and the fact that each new leader clearly had some passion and zeal gone into it making some wacky and very interesting heroes!

Halo Wars did a lot of things right though, such as map variation, and map variety!
I know those are both technically the same words, when I refer to things like Variation, I mean things that differ other maps apart from design, so that cool, capturable mega turret on that ice map, or the Sentinel forge on (Insert map name… Don’t judge me I haven’t played in a while!), or all the other ones. Halo Wars 1 already beats 2 in Design because of the fact that they had so many biomes to choose, we don’t even have a snow map (yet?).
That and the design could carry a lot of weight for a lot of people, and I can understand that, campaign was good too.

Above all of this, I hold Halo Wars 2 more than I do 1, but that’s just me, I guess I just really like what they’ve done with the game!

5

> 2533275001759937;2:
> I think the HW1 campaign is better because it had a wider variety of maps, the cutscenes were spread out much better and the Prophet of Regret and Ripa 'Moramee had a lot more screen time than Atriox.
>
> HW1 had Forerunner and Flood units and buildings without having to pay extra money too.

Wait, what?

I agree with everything else, but since when do you have to pay for forerunner?
Flood, yeah, obviously it’s dlc (even if had nothing to do with the story they were trying to tell) but Forerunners?

6

I think Halo Wars 1 had better maps because they were alot more varied visually. HW1 is set across multiple planets meaning we have a lot more variety of locations, theres human cities, frozen tundra, verdant fields and flood infested hellscapes.

HW2 is set on just the Ark which to be fair is HUGE and has varied geography but is unfortunately riddled with generic forerunner architecture. Not sure if this is heresy but the forerunner locations have lost their mystique now and I’m quite bored of seeing them. I much prefer human and covenant locations they are much more vibrant, less repetitive and just interesting to explore.

I would have liked more maps that would let you actually forget for a moment you are on a giant forerunner installation by surrounding you in more wild landscapes, there are some bits in the game like this already and I think they look so much better. Also maybe a map with a more dramatic Banished influence like say a quarry or excavation site they have made.

7

Enjoyed hw1 campaign way more then number 2

8

I loved almost everything equally for both with the exception of balance in HW1 and maps in HW2

I do love Sentry and Ashes in HW2

9

Halo wars 2 is a great game but they definately took a step backwards with the interface and gameplay. When you go to a pad and choose what building to build it’s almost as if the game is sluggish and is like “are you sure you want to build this building, here, on this, specific pad?!” Very annoying.

Also the buildings looks so much alike in hw2 vs HW1. Not much distinction between them. I believe they should at least number the bases like they did in halo wars 1. This way I know airpads are base 1 , garage is 2 etc. Makes life easier and me faster.

Last but not least is the most annoying aspect of this game to me. When you click your base or building or leader power, you shouldn’t have to click B to back out of every single menu. In HW1 you could simply press left on your D pad and move to the next base or task. It drives me insane to have to back out of every menu just to do my next task. If I want to go to a diff base I can press left or if my units need attention just press down . Seems to keep a better flow in the game for me.

10

> 2743710844422030;9:
> Halo wars 2 is a great game but they definately took a step backwards with the interface and gameplay. When you go to a pad and choose what building to build it’s almost as if the game is sluggish and is like “are you sure you want to build this building, here, on this, specific pad?!” Very annoying.
>
> Also the buildings looks so much alike in hw2 vs HW1. Not much distinction between them. I believe they should at least number the bases like they did in halo wars 1. This way I know airpads are base 1 , garage is 2 etc. Makes life easier and me faster.
>
> Last but not least is the most annoying aspect of this game to me. When you click your base or building or leader power, you shouldn’t have to click B to back out of every single menu. In HW1 you could simply press left on your D pad and move to the next base or task. It drives me insane to have to back out of every menu just to do my next task. If I want to go to a diff base I can press left or if my units need attention just press down . Seems to keep a better flow in the game for me.

Control is imperative, I can definitely agree with you, I’ve just gotten used to these controls, it’s like the control transition from Halo 3 to 4, it just stuck.
As to the building similarity issue, I have a simple solution to you!
Play Banished, hahaha!

You bring up some good points though.

11

Don’t know why you say HW 1 has no balance. Some of the leaders had better matchups than others (Anders, Brute) but they all had their strengths. They all have “checks and balances” if you will. The same can’t be said for Wars 2. For 5 and a half seasons, Isabel floundered at the edges of the game. Only until last patch did they make her viable. The fact that Wars 2 has so many leaders is no defense for that. If the devs decided to give us 16 leaders, they’d better be sure that they can balance 16 leaders.

There are certainly more than 6 viable units. UNSC have Warthogs, Gremlins, Elephant (yes it can be used competitively), Scorpion, Wolves, Hornets, Spartans, and Flamers. Covies have leaders, special units (all of them viable), Jackals, Hunters, Wraiths, Locusts, Banshees, and Vamps. That’s much more than 6.

The only thing wrong with HW 1 balance was Anders’ eco bonus and Vampires. Tone down Anders’ coupon hoarding skills and replace the Vamp with an anti-air Wraith or something and the game is balanced.

Halo Wars 2 balance cannot claim to be so simply fixed.

The HW 2 campaign was forgettable, it’s supposed “smoothness” is nonexistent, and voice acting really barely matters at all. If I were to rate the games, I’d give Halo Wars a 10/10 and Halo Wars 2 a 7/10.

12

> 2533274830489835;11:
> Don’t know why you say HW 1 has no balance. Some of the leaders had better matchups than others (Anders, Brute) but they all had their strengths. They all have “checks and balances” if you will. The same can’t be said for Wars 2. For 5 and a half seasons, Isabel floundered at the edges of the game. Only until last patch did they make her viable. The fact that Wars 2 has so many leaders is no defense for that. If the devs decided to give us 16 leaders, they’d better be sure that they can balance 16 leaders.
>
> There are certainly more than 6 viable units. UNSC have Warthogs, Gremlins, Elephant (yes it can be used competitively), Scorpion, Wolves, Hornets, Spartans, and Flamers. Covies have leaders, special units (all of them viable), Jackals, Hunters, Wraiths, Locusts, Banshees, and Vamps. That’s much more than 6.
>
> The only thing wrong with HW 1 balance was Anders’ eco bonus and Vampires. Tone down Anders’ coupon hoarding skills and replace the Vamp with an anti-air Wraith or something and the game is balanced.
>
> Halo Wars 2 balance cannot claim to be so simply fixed.
>
> The HW 2 campaign was forgettable, it’s supposed “smoothness” is nonexistent, and voice acting really barely matters at all. If I were to rate the games, I’d give Halo Wars a 10/10 and Halo Wars 2 a 7/10.

Points for respect! Cause neither of them are really perfect at what they do, and it all can’t come down to words when it isn’t an analysis.
I wouldn’t call Halo Wars 2’s campaign forgettable, but I wouldn’t call it absolutely perfect either, that doesn’t exclude Halo Wars 1 for being admittedly cheesy at points with it’s execution.
Game balance wise, I think they could have a balance without making the Vampires ground vehicles, it would just take some work that nobody’s paying it to at the moment. Nothing’s changing, and not that change is always inherently good, but something needed to be done about those big standouts like the Scorpions, or like you said, Vampires.
I really though they were going to maybe open that case back up when they released definitive edition, but I guess that was just an addition to sell the Ultimate Edition.
Very disappointing if you ask me, cause nobody plays it now, haha.

13

I’m just amazed how smooth the game play is of HW1 an Xbox 360 game. How you can bounce from base to base easily and click a pad to build on and the menu seemed to pop up , more accurate and without a sluggish feeling.

HW2 is very sluggish in the base building . Even when you attack an enemy unit it almost felt like I could click the unit in HW1 whereas HW2 it’s like ur cursor just hovers over the unit . Gameplay was just flawless in HW1 when it came to base building and menu.

14

> 2533274830489835;11:
> Don’t know why you say HW 1 has no balance. Some of the leaders had better matchups than others (Anders, Brute) but they all had their strengths. They all have “checks and balances” if you will. The same can’t be said for Wars 2. For 5 and a half seasons, Isabel floundered at the edges of the game. Only until last patch did they make her viable. The fact that Wars 2 has so many leaders is no defense for that. If the devs decided to give us 16 leaders, they’d better be sure that they can balance 16 leaders.
>
> There are certainly more than 6 viable units. UNSC have Warthogs, Gremlins, Elephant (yes it can be used competitively), Scorpion, Wolves, Hornets, Spartans, and Flamers. Covies have leaders, special units (all of them viable), Jackals, Hunters, Wraiths, Locusts, Banshees, and Vamps. That’s much more than 6.
>
> The only thing wrong with HW 1 balance was Anders’ eco bonus and Vampires. Tone down Anders’ coupon hoarding skills and replace the Vamp with an anti-air Wraith or something and the game is balanced.
>
> Halo Wars 2 balance cannot claim to be so simply fixed.
>
> The HW 2 campaign was forgettable, it’s supposed “smoothness” is nonexistent, and voice acting really barely matters at all. If I were to rate the games, I’d give Halo Wars a 10/10 and Halo Wars 2 a 7/10.

In team games at high level play you could only build warthogs or tanks as unsc, or sui grunts, brutes, banshees or vampires as covy- thats a fact. If you dont believe me watch high level team games on youtube- topher or kihz etc.- and tell me what units they build game in game out.

15

> 2533274916206345;14:
> > 2533274830489835;11:
> > In team games at high level play you could only build warthogs or tanks as unsc, or sui grunts, brutes, banshees or vampires as covy- thats a fact. If you dont believe me watch high level team games on youtube- topher or kihz etc.- and tell me what units they build game in game out.

RTSs are balanced around 1v1, and all of the units I listed are viable in 1v1. That’s a fact as well.

16

> 2533274916206345;14:
> > 2533274830489835;11:
> > Don’t know why you say HW 1 has no balance. Some of the leaders had better matchups than others (Anders, Brute) but they all had their strengths. They all have “checks and balances” if you will. The same can’t be said for Wars 2. For 5 and a half seasons, Isabel floundered at the edges of the game. Only until last patch did they make her viable. The fact that Wars 2 has so many leaders is no defense for that. If the devs decided to give us 16 leaders, they’d better be sure that they can balance 16 leaders.
> >
> > There are certainly more than 6 viable units. UNSC have Warthogs, Gremlins, Elephant (yes it can be used competitively), Scorpion, Wolves, Hornets, Spartans, and Flamers. Covies have leaders, special units (all of them viable), Jackals, Hunters, Wraiths, Locusts, Banshees, and Vamps. That’s much more than 6.
> >
> > The only thing wrong with HW 1 balance was Anders’ eco bonus and Vampires. Tone down Anders’ coupon hoarding skills and replace the Vamp with an anti-air Wraith or something and the game is balanced.
> >
> > Halo Wars 2 balance cannot claim to be so simply fixed.
> >
> > The HW 2 campaign was forgettable, it’s supposed “smoothness” is nonexistent, and voice acting really barely matters at all. If I were to rate the games, I’d give Halo Wars a 10/10 and Halo Wars 2 a 7/10.
>
> In team games at high level play you could only build warthogs or tanks as unsc, or sui grunts, brutes, banshees or vampires as covy- thats a fact. If you dont believe me watch high level team games on youtube- topher or kihz etc.- and tell me what units they build game in game out.

Cuz Limitz videos are better :slight_smile: he has wraiths and grunts etc

17

Breaks my heart when I look at the HW2 maps and Halo Wars 1 maps.