http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=140&article=60381
Q: Most strategy games that appear on the Xbox 360 start in the PC realm and then get reworked for the console. Since "Halo Wars" will be exclusive to the Xbox 360, what difference did that make in development?
A: Building "Halo Wars" from the ground up as an Xbox 360 game let us strip the game down to the essentials of strategy gaming. We wanted "Halo Wars" to be an adrenaline-packed slugfest where you’re simultaneously trying to out-maneuver your enemy on the battlefield while thinking ahead to how you’ll outwit him strategically. But it had to be simple. We wanted a shorter game than on the PC, too. Those necessities forced us to challenge what we had done with our past games. The result is just as deep as "Age of Empires," but it’s simpler and easier to play. Plus, there’s a LOT more explosions.
Q: What differences will the player notice?
A: I think the biggest single difference between "Halo Wars" and other strategy games is the overall polish and presentation. The game is very easy to pick up and play, but it also does a great job teaching you how to play. By the time you’ve played for 30 minutes, you’re training advanced units, tossing grenades, and calling down strategic air strikes. There’s a lot that you can choose to do, but it all stays very manageable. That’s important because we want people to focus on having fun, not just how to have fun.
Q: What’s the coolest thing about "Halo Wars"?
A: I’ll cheat and answer with two things.
From a story standpoint, it’s just a flat-out blast to go back and tell the "origin story" for "Halo." Those origin stories are always the best parts of any superhero tale. "Halo" is no exception. We all know how Master Chief ‘finished the fight’ in "Halo 3," but "Halo Wars" gets to go back to a time when there were lots of Spartan super-soldiers running around. That’s something every "Halo" fan has been dying to play.
Gameplay-wise, I really love the special unit abilities. Each unit can do something special that changes gameplay. Marines can toss grenades, Scorpion tanks have this cool canister shell ability that decimates Marines, etc. Those are really cool, but my favorite ability is on the Spartan. He can hijack an enemy vehicle and take it over. In addition to creating a virtually unstoppable vehicle, this just looks 100 percent bad ass.
