Ensemble talks Halo Wars multiplayer

by Richard Mitchell { Apr 10th 2008 at 4:00PM }

Halo.fr recently sat down with Graeme Devine of Ensemble Studios regarding Halo Wars. Of particular interest in the (interestingly translated) interview is further talk about how long multiplayer games should last. While it was reported earlier this year that Ensemble expects a typical match to last from 15-30 minutes -- RTS fanatics know that this is pretty short for the genre -- Devine notes that games can feasibly range from 10 to 45 minutes with the average landing at around 20 minutes. Probably the other most noticeable tidbit was Devine's response regarding local multiplayer. When asked about whether or not local mutliplayer was an option, Devine responded, "You can play against the AI in skirmish mode. That's a large component of the game." Reading between the lines, it sounds like competitive local multiplayer is out, but cooperative multiplayer is in. There are a few other interesting subjects covered in the interview like the fact that Ensemble will be including Easter eggs in the game for Halo fans, and it's worth a read. Follow the "read" link and give it a once over.

[Via HaloWars.com]

Tags: ensemble-studios, halo, halo-wars, microsoft-game-studios

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

PeterF @ Apr 10th 2008 4:36PM

When does the PC version come out?

Richard Mitchell @ Apr 10th 2008 4:51PM

Never, if you believe Microsoft.

http://xbox.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/rumors-of-halo-wars-pc-now-officially-squashed/

JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 10th 2008 5:09PM

That kind of stuff was said about GoW.

DarkNightRJ @ Apr 10th 2008 7:55PM

That kind of stuff was said about every Xbox/Xbox360 exclusive that has been moved to the PC.

ZenGaijin @ Apr 10th 2008 4:53PM

Halo + RTS = still RTS

JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 10th 2008 5:03PM

Halo + RTS + A platform where RTS' doesn't belong=A Good Halo RTS with horrible controls, thus MEDIOCRE!

Homer 918 @ Apr 10th 2008 4:54PM

I see what you mean by interestingly translated...

Gemini Ace @ Apr 10th 2008 5:43PM

Is it any big surprise that we won't get local multiplayer? That leaves you with playing split screen, which is hardly ideal for a strategy game like this.

Barron @ Apr 10th 2008 7:21PM

"Which would be the playable races in the final game? Is there any chance that the flood could be a race present in the game? Would they be playable?

We’ve only talked about the UNSC being playable."

Only UNSC, that is gay.

Trekster_Gamer @ Apr 10th 2008 7:35PM

I just wish they would make a wireless Mouse Keyboard for RTS games, don't they get it, that is the BEST way bar none to play a RTS game.

I also wish games could be played free in multiplayer. The 360 is the best system out there but FREE is better for gaming!

Anticrawl @ Apr 11th 2008 12:49AM

Ensemble + RTS = Win

Hopefully this game can make that theoretical equation law and prove RTS's can be done on any system.

T3chnic133 @ Apr 11th 2008 8:34AM

Has anyone thought about packaging in the chat pad with the game and using it the same way you would a keyboard?

Donny @ Apr 11th 2008 7:58PM

Wow, people really have to play more RTS's. 15-30 minutes is not short for an RTS! lol I have played Warcraft 3 for years and have only played around 5 matches that came close to an hour. The rest are right in that 15-30 minute sweet spot. Any real RTS fan could tell you that it is perfect, and the normal length.

Also, they never said you can't play as anything other than UNSC. All they said is that they have not announced any others. There may or may not be the ability to play as Covenant.