I haven't had a chance to watch the X06 briefing yet, so I'm sure I've missed a number of cool announcements, but the news that seems to have attracted the most attention from the community are (no surprise) the huge announcements surrounding the Halo franchise. Today, Microsoft announced two, yes two, new Halo titles that will be coming out for the Xbox 360 in the future (in addition to Halo 3). Details on the first project are sketchy at best. All we really know is that it is a "completely new and original chapter in the Halo universe." Interesting to note is that Peter Jackson will be involved in this project, but whether or not it relates to the upcoming Halo movie we do not know. Information on the second new Halo game is much more solid. It is titled Halo Wars, and is an RTS being developed by Ensemble Studios, known for the Age of Empires series.

 

I'll admit when I turned on my laptop today and went to bungie.net, I was surprised to see that the rumored Halo RTS is really happening. Surprised in a good way. The trailer got me even more excited, despite the fact that it is pre-rendered and does not show any real gameplay. However, a couple of concerns have crept into my mind:

 

1. Historically, RTS games on consoles do not work. If anyone can pull it off, it's Ensemble, and Bungie has said the controls work. But until I actually play the game, there will be that bit of skepticism in the back of my mind.

 

2. Halo Wars is not being developed by Bungie. Although Bungie is involved, it is to a limited extent. Basically, the game has been outsourced. Will Ensemble be able to keep with the canon of the story (better yet, is this game even considered canon?), and will they be able to uphold the integrity of the Halo Universe? The last thing I want to see is the story or continuity butchered. I have faith that Bungie will provide enough oversight to make sure everything fits, and since Ensemble is, like Bungie, owned by Microsoft, the studios have the ability to work very closely. Still, I can't help thinking about it.

 

Another (perhaps unusual) concern is the number of Halo-related announcements lately. We now have three Halo games to look forward to, a Halo film, at least three novels, and a comic book series. I never thought I would say it, but are we getting too much Halo? I love the franchise, and have been a fan from the beginning. I welcome new innovations and changes to the series, but I just hope that Bungie and their partners don't pump out so many things that the series becomes diluted. But again, as I said above, I have faith in Bungie. I'm sure they know what they're doing.

 

Now, I don't want to come off as completely negative. I'm far from it. Despite my uncertainties, I am really looking forward to Halo Wars. I am a fan of real time strategy games, and have always wondered what it would be like if Halo was an RTS (like it was originally supposed to be). Looks like we won't have to wait too long to find out!

 

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find out what other news came out of X06...