Halo Wars Multiplayer...

So I had originally thought that "Halo Wars" wasn't going to have much room to run after I got done with the single player campaign...boy was I wrong. The online multiplayer is VERY fun. It can be a bit frustrating at times, because there is one strategy that works pretty well when playing as the Covenant that really doesn't require any skill...or strategy...or anything. You basically just rush with your leader and kill all the other teams units. Then while your leader is laying waste to the base you just kill any units the other guy sends out all at the same time. It's a cheap tactic, and unfortunately it works really well in the game.

But if you're lucky enough to get into a game where some clown isn't doing that crap, it can be very fun. I've found that most of the time I either wipe out my opponent without much of a fight, or I get wiped out without much of a fight. I'm learning more every time I play though, so I think I'll get better.

The trick is the game uses a form of "paper, rock, scissors" as it's basis for units. For example, air beats ground, ground beats infantry, and infantry beats air. With this in mind, there is no single dominant unit. Build up an army of only tanks?? Get slaughtered by a bunch of aircraft. Build up nothing but aircraft?? Get torn to shreds by a bunch of foot soldiers. There are certain units that basically turn the triangle around. For example, a Wolverine is a ground unit that beats air. Normally air beats the ground units, but in this case the ground beats the air. The catch to this is that the infantry beat this ground unit very soundly.

The game gets even more fun when you're playing multiplayer with at least two people per side. A friend of mine, Norm, and I the other day teamed up and literally demolished our two opponents. Norm focussed on building a huge ground force, and I focussed on amassing a flying armada. When we were both done building units we swept in and destroyed one of our two opponents in literally minutes. After that fight was done we both replenished our units at our bases and then ran over the other guy. The entire match probably lasted about 25 minutes, but it was literally only about 7 minutes worth of battle.

I think this game might last me a good long time. It's fun, and it's different than what I'm used to, which makes it seem so much more fresh. It should last at least until the "Left 4 Dead" maps and updates come out in a few weeks.