Video games: 'Halo' goes to war

Easily the best thing about "Halo Wars" is the degree to which Ensemble Studios has translated the Xbox's most recognized shooter into a real-time strategy game for the Xbox 360.

"Halo Wars" steps backward to narrate the events that preceded the first "Halo" game, but it doesn't dare get fancy with the franchise. The same three factions you've fought as or against return in full, and the troops, vehicles and special facilities from those games are replicated here without exception. (Other staples, including the music, menu interface, mission scoring system and even the collectible hidden skulls that enable special cheats, are tucked inside, as well.)

On the other hand, if you don't care about "Halo" and want, as Ensemble promised, a PC-quality strategy game that's made for a controller, some measure of disappointment lies ahead.

Yes, "Halo Wars" streamlines the controls, making it effortless to manage units without performing the kind of acrobatics needed in EA's "Command and Conquer" games. But Ensemble's solution doesn't solve the problem so much as smooth it over. You can't, for instance, create pre-defined assortments of different units for easy reference later. "Halo Wars" automatically figures out this stuff as you send units to different sides of the map, but it's a level of handholding that experienced players will not appreciate.

Then again, the equally simple single-player missions in "Halo Wars" make nuanced micromanagement mostly unnecessary. Resources practically accumulate on their own, and if you build and maintain some relatively inexpensive turrets where the constricted base-building model allows them, you rarely need worry about defense, either.

Outside of a few exceptions, the missions place an excessive emphasis on offense: Build an overwhelming force, steam-roll forward, and you almost cannot lose.

The problems with the campaign -- which, despite a short length and the complete omission of Covenant-perspective missions, drags on due to repetition -- mean that, like most "Halo" games, "Halo Wars" is best recommended for its multiplayer features (two to six players, online/system link only).

"Halo Wars" lets you play as either the UNSC or the Covenant (although never the Flood) in its free-form skirmish mode, and the hands-off approach -- your base and battle strategy vs. theirs -- makes for less predictable outcomes.