The events of Halo: Spartan Assault are set between Halo 3 and Halo 4 and features a new cast of characters. The UNSC and Covenant had signed a ceasefire at the end of Halo 3, but when the Covenant betray the pact and attack a planet controlled by human forces, a new war begins that players will witness firsthand. The storyline switches between Commander Sarah Palmer onboard the UNSC Infinity and Spartan soldiers Palmer and Davis who are stationed on Draetheus V, where most of action takes place. The story is suitable for the series while managing to introduce a few new characters and give players reasons to continue fighting against a familiar enemy.
Halo: Spartan Assault presents the classic gaming universe in twin-stick shooter format for the first time ever. Players should know what to expect here with the left stick controlling movement and the right stick's only use being to aim and fire shots. In staying with the Halo franchise, players can also perform melee attacks or throw grenades to give players options in how to attack enemies up close or in groups. Halo: Spartan Assault doesn't do a lot to stand out from other games in the genre in this aspect, but the Halo themed weapons, environments and characters will be all fans of the series need to see in order to get excited for the new release.
Missions in the game have various objectives for players to complete while quickly progressing through stages without dying. Performing well enough in missions will earn higher ranks and net even more experience points. Experience points are used in the game to unlock new content and purchase weapons to use during missions. Normally, a player would enter a mission only armed with the classic Halo assault rifle and some grenades, but these purchase allow rocket launchers, sniper rifles and other Halo weaponry to be used in the game as well. Unfortunately, these purchases don't make the items permanently unlocked, and the prices are too steep to do very often, so players will need to complete the game several times to earn a lot of purchases or perform an even worse act in real life.
Dreaded microtransactions are still a large part of gameplay in Halo: Spartan Assault even on Xbox One. Purchasing additional weapons seems to be made expensive on purpose to encourage microtransactions that should not be a part of a $14.99 downloadable game. Most gamers would expect to have full access to an entire game when purchasing a game that is so expensive for the initial download. Microtransactions are the biggest fault in Halo: Spartan Assault, and the feature could give players quite a shock from a series that not so long ago was offering free map pack downloads for players over Xbox LIVE for Halo 2
Halo: Spartan Assault does come with some new features on Xbox One including Xbox SmartGlass compatibility and an all new set of cooperative missions available to play online. The missions include a variety of objectives, as players face off with horded of the deadly Flood. The missions are a lot of fun, but the lack of local multiplayer will be a bummer for some gamers, while others will complain about the shortage of missions that can all easily be completed within an hour of gameplay. Halo: Spartan Assault for Xbox One also includes the six additional missions of the Operation Hydra DLC, made previously available for Windows 8, for free.
Halo: Spartan Assault is decent looking which makes it hard to believe the game was previously available on mobile devices and looked nearly as good. The game has slightly better controls thanks to the twin stick controls which makes it easier to maneuver characters through tight terrain even if players may have to sacrifice a bit of shot accuracy in doing so. The game features a fitting soundtrack from composer Tom Salta that will also appease fans of the series. If it weren't for the worrisome microtransactions featured in the game, Halo: Spartan Assault may have passed been a slightly better experience for players.
Players still interested in the Windows 8 version of the game can still download the game and for eight dollars cheaper, though additional DLC still requires a purchase. The game is nearly as fun on PC with keyboard and mouse controls or on mobile devices, and of course, mobile offers the flexibility to play the game on the go. Players will also find access to all sorts of unlockables in the game including emblems that can be uploaded and used in Halo 4 player careers to make the game an even better purchase for Halo fans.
CLOSING COMMENTS
Halo: Spartan Assault is an okay game as a twin-stick shooter. Though there are countless other quality games in the genre ready for download at a lower price across multiple platforms, this is the first of its type made available for Xbox One. Xbox One only has a handful of games available for download, so Halo: Spartan Assault will likely be a a popular purchase for early adopters, and only those gamers with serious anti-microtransactions beliefs will regret the purchase. It's also worth noting that fans that have already purchased the game for Windows 8 before December 15, 2013 can actually download the game for the discounted price of $4.99 on Xbox One to make playing the game on the big screen an even better option.
Halo: Spartan Assault is now available for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows 8 devices and can be purchased for $14.99. Halo: Spartan Assault is rated T by the ESRB for Blood & Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Halo: Spartan Assault website.
Game Features:
- Online Multiplayer 1-2
- Top-Down Shooter Action
- Authentic Halo Weapons, Environments and Characters
- Xbox SmartGlass Support
- Achievement Support
Game Information:
Developer: 343 Industries
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Platforms: Xbox One (reviewed) Xbox 360 and Windows 8
Release Date: December 24, 2013
- Decent presentation and soundtrack
- Low price makes it a must-buy for die-hard Halo fans
- Microtransactions ruin everything good about the game