Big difference between a bad score from Maxim (who the hell even knows they do game reviews? When did they start giving every sexy chick magazine reviewer cred?) and one from IGN or Gamespot. Also 6.5 seems to be a normal score for the range Halo Wars seems to be getting (there are two 7s and two 9s from other sources under Gamespots critics reviews. Surprise, Official Xbox magazine gives it a 9, didn't see that coming)
As to the video review Gamespot is right, it does look pretty meh overall. Of course I've spent at least 12 of the last 24 hours playing Dawn of War 2 so my expectations for RTS games are higher then normal.
Really though, if you want to play as space marines and have a decent PC Dawn of War 2 is VASTLY superior to any RTS that has come out since World in Conflict, its just awesome.
In Halo Wars defense though, Console RTS games pretty much always suck, even ports of good PC games like C&C 3 or That Lord of the Rings strategy series aren't nearly as good on consoles so a lot of the complaints in the review (awkward controls, limited choices, hard to make custom squads ect) can be levied against almost all 360 console games. They really just need to make mouse/keyboard an option like the PS3 does (and obviously the PC does).
Lets hope they make Halo Wars for the PC then I'll try it out, Bungee actually does have some serious RTS cred from their VERY awesome Myth games they made on the mac back in the late 90s. They were seriously awesome for the time (and one of the first base free veterancy RTS games I've played, they were also the first to have real arrow and grenade physics, was awesome). If Halo Wars was one tenth the game Myth 2 was it would be an instant classic, unfortunately it doesn't seem to have worked out that way.
PSN ID: ChosenOne feel free to add me
