Also available on Xbox 360, Windows phone, iOS, and Windows Like Halo Wars, Halo: Spartan Assault marks another genre shift for the series. This is a twin stick shooter; think Robotron but significantly more advanced. While this is definitely a side game and one that most Halo fans probably haven't even played, it does fit canon and fit neatly into the timeline and the lore. Halo: Spartan Assault takes place between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4. It follows a couple of Spartan-IVs - Spartan Palmer and Spartan Davis - who end up being the spearhead of the defense against a surprise attack by Covenant remnant forces on the UNSC colony of Draetheus V and its moon, X50. Technically, the player assumes the role of UNSC marine cadets who are reviewing combat simulations of this battle, but as far as the actual gameplay goes, you're either Spartan Palmer or Davis. The story is fairly forgettable, and the "plot twist" at the end is honestly kind of dumb in my opinion, but despite all that, the story is well told for what it is. The gameplay, as well, is also a lot of fun. It feels almost like it could have been made into an actual Halo arcade game with a little more effort and funding. My biggest complaint with the game is how the story is told; it's mostly done through a short intro video before each of the campaigns and through a couple of paragraphs of text that precede each level. It's not ideal - I'd have much preferred actual cut scenes to deliver the story - but that's a fairly minor complaint. For a relatively cheap game - it's only $5 - it looks surprisingly good. Granted, the far zoomed out camera makes the kind of fine details that are easy to nitpick in textures hard to see, but still, regardless of why, the game is quite pleasing to the eye. Controls are very smooth and intuitive, and while aiming can be a little tough to do precisely due to the nature of twin stick shooters, it's not a big hindrance at all to one's enjoyment. Halo: Spartan Assault is a lot of fun for a $5 budget spin-off. That said, it's still an obviously budget game. It's six campaigns are each five levels long, and each level averages somewhere between five and ten minutes assuming you don't die. This makes for a pretty fair length game for $5, but it's still a fairly short experience, and while the story is enjoyable, the method with which it's delivered makes it feel less engaging than what you'd get in a core Halo game's dialogue and cut scenes. As a total package, it definitely feels like a side game that wasn't given a big budget or a big team, but despite that, it's definitely a worthwhile play for Halo fans. My Rating - B |
I'm a teacher.And I like to play video games. I like to collect video games. I like to talk about video games, and I like to write about video games. During the day, I teach high school history; during the night, I spend my spare time gaming. Then I write about it. Archives
April 2024
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