Poll: Why was Halo Wars considered a bad RTS?

[Netrigan]

Because it was a Halo game.

Seriously though, its the best console-RTS there is to be honest. Managed to make the controls not horrible, and was rather fun. Sure it wasn't that good when compared to RTS's on a PC, but its still the best console RTS there is. At least in terms of controls.

World's Tallest Midget.

I get what you're saying that it's the best RTS on a console, but that's not exactly praise for a fan of PC RTSs. Not a fan myself but unless the game adds some cool facet than it's asking for praise for what is considered sub-par by RTS standards.

I think it deserves praise solely for showing that you can have halfway-decent and easy-to-use RTS controles on a gamepad. Yes it needs some refinement, but its still pretty amazing they were able to make the controls not suck.

I think the concern ends up being that a sub-par system will replace a superior one to conform to the console market. The once PC dominated FPS market went this route and many PC fans still complain about the differences (it's a noticeable difference, but the console's love affair with melee combat added a different favor to the genre). The RPG genre is caught in between complex controls accessed through various menus (Dragon Age) and wafer-thin gameplay controls (Fable III)... not to knock either system, but fans of PC style RPGs are clearly concerned their genre will disappear.

Unless a developer can figure out a way to create a RTS that is brilliant *without* the qualifier "for a console", a console-based RTS is never going to get respect from RTS fans. It's simply too wide a divide in quality. "Halway-decent" controls is really faint praise in the grand scheme of things. Halo: Combat Evolve was arguably as good as a PC FPS (mind you, it's usually console fans making that argument, but it's, more or less, in the neighborhood of PC standards), but no one seems to be saying Halo Wars was anywhere close to a high-point in RTS history.

 

[cthulhumythos]

because you have no basis for what a good rts is UNTIL YOU PLAY AGE OF MYTHOLOGY

favorite rts ever

 

[Atmos Duality]

Because it's missing the "Strategy" part of the real time strategy.
It had as much strategy in it as an Episode of GI Joe, and even that might be pushing it.

 

[WildFire15]

I thought it was a decent enough game, especially for a console RTS, but I just didn't get much urge to play more then a couple missions when I rented it (mind you, I tend to drop the campaign and go to skirmishes quickly enough with any RTS)

 

[moose_man]

I'd imagine it was due to the lack of cursor support.

 

[Andrew_Waltfeld]

Halo wars wasn't too bad in my opinion, it set goal markers of "Let's not have our controls suck" and it scored it. They probably could have done more on the units etc, but otherwise, found it pretty enjoyable.

 

[Motiv_]

I'm going to try not to sound like a PC elitist here, but RTS works best on the PC. The end. No contest. I find Racing games and Fighting games easier and funner to play on consoles, but a console RTS that manages to be great will simply become "Average" by comparison.

Ignoring the obvious PC comparison, it was actually very well made. The controls worked about as best as a controller can, it was fairly balanced, and forgetting about the obvious flood cash in, the story was a nice change from the pure concentrated bile that usually constitutes a "Story" to the Halo games.

 

[BlastedTheWorm]

Halo Wars was an RTS? News to me.

I see the real and the time, sure, but not so much with the strategy - beyond 'pile army on here'.

It wasn't that bad as half the world says. It just wasn't really that strategic. Just save some =...money?...get a dozen tanks and flying tanks, destroy everything.

Funnily enough, this is how I play every RTS ever.

Come on, the entire Halo series is a rip off of Starcraft. At least go the whole way.

And the Starcraft series is an even bigger rip off of Warhammer 40,000. Go figure.

In fact, Halo's more of a rip off of Starship Troopers.

 

[Andrew_Waltfeld]

Come on, the entire Halo series is a rip off of Starcraft. At least go the whole way.

And the Starcraft series is an even bigger rip off of Warhammer 40,000. Go figure.

In fact, Halo's more of a rip off of Starship Troopers.

I have to agree, all the marines in star-craft are in power armor and convict's aren't they?

 

[Kakashi on crack]

-snip-

Play Goblin Commander or Star Wars Empire at War and you'll understand why Halo wars was a bad RTS.

 

[xam883]

I liked it because you could activate the arbiters special ability and have him jump on a vulture and start wailing on it. Also the controls were good,for a console anyway.And its always fun to see a group grunts get runover buy a warthog or blasted to the borders of the map buy a vulture.The cutsceans were also nice to look at to.

 

[PumpActionJesus]

because you have no basis for what a good rts is UNTIL YOU PLAY AGE OF MYTHOLOGY

Dudes got the idea

aom ftw

 

[Oktanas]

Because it's on a console. You can newer get pin point accuracy with analog. And it also sucked.
Just go and take a look at Yahtzee review about it.

 

[random_bars]

Because instead of trying to use the console control scheme to its advantage and take the RTS genre in a direction where precision control isn't necessary, it just stubbornly tried to emulate a PC RTS, but without the precise controls of a mouse there wasn't really much depth to it.

Something like Brutal Legend is a much better example of a console RTS because it instead accepts the console's control limitations and builds around them to the console's strengths - it removes the need to micromanage and instead gives the player a battleaxe and puts them right in the battle, with the strategy coming from where to direct your attention at any given time, which units to team-up with, and when to use your incredibly powerful, but slow-to-recharge, solos.

 

[katsabas]

Direct your questions to Yahtzee's review on the game. Sums pretty EVERYTHING up.

 

[Spoon E11]

Its because "true gamers"* say RTS are only for PC.

*or some other BS like that

It was a game that showed people consoles can do RTS's. Except that one was just too bland. It needed spicing up a little. But it worked as an RTS. In my books I liked it.