Well, the game took 2 days to download and a third to update (not sure why), but that’s neither here nor there. I just completed my first game of Halo Wars 2; I got my butt handed to me. I think it’s a pretty good game overall, but I do have some complaints. I enjoyed my first game though, and that’s what counts in a video game: fun.
Graphics
One weird thing is the graphics. I can’t decide if I like them or not. The models are better, but it’s like the textures are the same (or worse). The art style is really strange too. It’s almost cartoonish and it’s like the environment is from a different game than the units and buildings. The particle effects are great though, so good it makes the rest of the game look bad haha. I do like the graphics, they just need some sort of polishing though.
Base Building
I’m kind of disappointed Creative Assembly didn’t take this opportunity to improve on the base building system, but the Firebase is tried and true so I’m not too upset. It works pretty much the same way it did in the original Halo Wars, but it seems a little unresponsive (for lack of a better term). In fact the whole game seems a little buggy/unresponsive, but I’ll get to that later. It was a little jarring that the menus were switched up a little (like Marines being placed in the main base menu), but it just takes some getting used to. Overall they did a good job with this part.
Units
Units work pretty much the same in this game, but I don’t understand why we start off with so many. It takes the fun out of building your army. Also, when building units if you build too many you can’t undo the action like in the original Halo Wars. A sight annoyance. They are sometimes unresponsive as well; like not going somewhere when I tell them to go. I’m not a fan of how the ODSTs work either. I liked how I could place each individual squad in the original. Now they all fall in one place.
Controls
My biggest gripe with the game. LB used to be used to select all units, but it appears to have no function now. LT used to be for moving the camera more quickly, but now it activates the leader powers and that’s kind of strange. Also, pressing up on the D-pad used to call your leader powers, now it sets a rally point. What was wrong with clicking the stick for that? The paintbrush is kind of wack too, it goes from 0 to 100 real quick making it impossible to select smaller amounts of units in large groups. Also, unit powers (eg: grenades for marines) don’t seem to work. I never get the prompt to press Y to use them.
General Gameplay
Overall it is shaping up to be a great game, but what happened to the good old Halo Wars gamestyle? I don’t really care for Domination, it was way more fun in the original to go for the kill instead of capture points.
Captain Cutter
One thing I don’t understand is why Captain Cutter looks younger/different and has a different voice actor. Also, the Ark is in the background on the main menu so I’m very confused about the timeline of this game.
So I will most likely buy this game when it comes out. It is enjoyable, but it needs work. I’m glad they did this beta and I’m glad the release has been pushed to February 2017. It will give Creative Assembly time to put the much needed polishing and finishing touches on the game. Throw in a badass story and this game is gonna be great.