Halo Wars 2

 Xbox One
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 79 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 79
  3. Negative: 0 out of 79
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  1. Ars Technica
    Feb 16, 2017
    Halo Wars 2's campaign is an exciting enough ride with a very plain final drop. Thankfully, there will be plenty of multiplayer modes to run with what the campaign teaches. Try it.
  2. Eurogamer
    Mar 7, 2017
    Halo Wars 2 does an incredible job of ensuring console players can enjoy the RTS genre and there's certainly a lot of content here, but it's difficult to get really excited about any of it. The campaign doesn't push any boundaries and the game's most exciting multiplayer mode, Blitz, is hampered by the feeling that players who spend more money are given an unfair advantage over their opponents. It's exciting to see another high-profile RTS game released, but this one doesn't do quite enough to move things forward.
  3. Glixel
    Feb 24, 2017
    I am, however, a Halo devotee going back to the Combat Evolved era, and can say with certainty that this is an accessible and worthy installment in that enduring saga. After a couple dozen hours spent playing, I'm already eager to revisit the campaign on a higher difficulty – and Blitz remains sheer, unabashed fun. Even 15 years later, Halo's still got tricks up its sleeve.
  5. Kotaku
    Feb 20, 2017
    If you want to play a Halo game with the simpler story, backs-to-the-wall tone and cinematic flair of Bungie’s good ol’ days go right ahead and play Halo Wars 2. Just don’t expect the quality of the game to match that of the cutscenes.
  6. Polygon
    Feb 16, 2017
    I couldn't tell you why, from a business perspective, Halo Wars 2 exists. It doesn’t seem like the kind of project that will yield blockbuster returns for anyone involved. It doesn’t move the RTS genre forward. But it does make for an accessible RTS that doesn’t feel stupid in the process, and it serves as a reminder of how well Halo’s world and fiction lends itself to spaces outside of the first person shooter, even if it can’t quite shake its franchise avoidance of meaningful denouement. [Provisional Score = 80]
  7. The Verge
    Mar 7, 2017
    RTS developers often talk about silhouettes — the unique visual profile of a unit or building — being important. Good silhouettes allow players to identify and assess the threat of an incoming force in just a few seconds, but the examples in Halo Wars 2 are difficult to read at that kind of pace.

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Best Xbox One Game of 2017
7
#7 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2017
1
#1 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 616 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 363 out of 616
  2. Mixed: 73 out of 616
  3. Negative: 180 out of 616
  1. ulisest
    Feb 17, 2017
    10
    Halo Wars 2 is an excellent and long overdue return for the console RTS, doing everything that can be expected of a sequel. Bigger, better andHalo Wars 2 is an excellent and long overdue return for the console RTS, doing everything that can be expected of a sequel. Bigger, better and fresher, the Blitz mode is a welcome addition to an already solid package, and while fans of the mainline Halo games may find the transition too hard to bear, this is a worthy addition to any Xbox One owner’s collection.… Full Review »
  2. Tilde_Gunderson
    Feb 17, 2017
    7
    Clean, functional, understandable, yet a bit basic.

    If you're a veteran Strategy player, you'll find Halo War 2 to be a little simpler than    Clean, functional, understandable, yet a bit basic.

    If you're a veteran Strategy player, you'll find Halo War 2 to be a little simpler than the average Strategy game, but it has found a way to work on the Xbox One.

    The game might wear me down a bit after a few more hours, but I'm enjoying it for the time being.    … Full Review »
  3. McGillotine
    Feb 17, 2017
    4
    Halo wars 2 is the proberbial "baby's first RTS" with hand holding mechanics and infruiating tutorials during the story (even if you said noHalo wars 2 is the proberbial "baby's first RTS" with hand holding mechanics and infruiating tutorials during the story (even if you said no to the tutotorial) that treat you as though you are too mentally challenged to actually be able to play the game. Now were the involvement of crystal dynamics from the first game gave people the impresion that this was going to be on par if not similar to the first halo wars game, make no mistake in understanding that this is a 343 industries game through and though with a plot that never really esculates, filled generic gameplay and plagued with bugs that become quite evident early in the game.

    From first installing Halo Wars 2 onto my console i was first hit up with a 6.8gb day one patch, which upon completion and pressing play i was once again hit with another 2.8gb patch taking rougly 3 hours to download completely despite the modest size of the game. Finally upon completion i loaded up the game and started the first mission, greated by a beautiful blur rendered cutscene of the spirit of fire as they awake from cyrostasis and choose to land upon the ark. After this cutscene however we are then introduced to the games visuals which in turn share a cartoonish vibe present spartan strike and assualt, and being a person who's not all too concerned about graphics, the game does end up looking rather cheap with in game unit models looking like they were pulled from a game made 15 years ago.

    Gameplay, in particular, the campaign features some of the most easy and exploitable maps/enemies imaginable with the ai controlled enemy spouting out the same enemy units time and time again until the game ends in which case it desides it wants to spawn an f u boss that serves no other purpose then to extend the length of the games reletively short and forgettable missions. The campaign is also furstating to the degree in which it will purposely drag out its own length with scripted events and a lock n certain units that make zerg rushing the only relable strategy. Skirimish and Blitz arent much better either with the only main difference being that the enemy can upgrade its units and that it can't pull some scripted event out of its own butt to stretch the match.

    Story on the other hand is better than Halo 5 and i dare say Halo 4 and personally that isnt saying much considering that the plot really has no defining moments and barely esculates at all with Atriox being hyped as the most intimidating villian in Halo history to ending up as a really forgettable character. The significant change in apperance and sound of the spirit of fire crew is also noticable with characters feeling foriegn to what they were in the original and sure there are moments where it seems like there one and the same again but ultimately differences in personality make them all too different.

    Ultimately Halo wars 2 isnt amazing or grand and represents the basic nature of RTS and plot telling structure in a paint by numbers game only redeemed by the inclusion of the original game in the ultimate edition.    … Full Review »
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