X06: Halo RTS explodes

September 27th, 2006, 22:14 Posted By: wraggster

Microsoft has announced an all-new Xbox 360 RTS game set in the Halo universe from Ensemble Studios, the makers of Age of Empires.

Halo Wars will be built exclusively from the ground-up for the Xbox 360, and puts you in command of human UNSC armies as they deploy for mankind's first deadly encounter with the enemy Covenant forces.

In an update on its website, Bungie had the following to say about Halo Wars:

"Bungie has been working with Ensemble primarily in the area of the game's fiction to help inspire the story and ensure continuity with the existing Halo Universe. Aside from that, Ensemble is applying their skills to deliver a great Halo experience in a whole new genre, which is ironically where Halo began in the first place. If you've seen some of the very early Halo videos out there, you might recall that before it ever became an FPS, it was in fact designed as an RTS (building off of Bungie's experience with the Myth franchise). Now, many years later, Ensemble is able to take the franchise full circle and bring it back to the place where it all began."

The post continues: "Ensemble brought their prototype to Bungie quite a while back, to show the guys that an RTS could not only work on the 360, but kick ass too. Frankly, Ensemble is one of very few folks on Earth that we would trust with our baby, and that trust is doubled thanks to the excellence of the Age of Empires franchise."

Ensemble's Chris Rippy commented: "The Halo Wars team is made up of a bunch of guys that are all very passionate Halo fans. When we sat down to start thinking about our next project, we thought bringing the Halo universe into the RTS world would be a perfect a fit, and would make an amazing game. We couldn't be more excited about Halo Wars, and can't wait for everyone to try it out!"

Halo Wars seems to be the first of many RTS games heading for Microsoft's console, with EA's Battle for Middile-Earth II already out on the system and other notable RTS developers expressing interest in the console.

Screens Here

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