Halo’s little convertible puts the top down once moreWhat’s the story?
Remember Halo: Spartan Assault? The twin-stick shooter in which you play a tiny little tin-can man with the firepower to colourfully eviscerate an office block’s worth of bad aliens in mere moments? Well, now it’s got itself a sequel Spartan Strike, coming to Windows Phone and PC in December.
Why should I care?
Well, it’s another 30 missions of top down action, complete with the ability to drive Warthogs and the new Kestrel hovercraft thing. Plus, the game’s set during the events of Halo 2, but includes Halo 4’s Prometheans as enemies it’ll just be fun to see developer Vanguard Games trying to squirm out of that lore-hole.
What happens next?
We’ll see it hit an Xbox of some description. Spartan Assault eventually arrived on console a far better fit than fiddly touchscreen phones, in our opinion and then became a welcome Games With Gold reward. We’d be very surprised if Assault Strike didn't make a similar move early next year.
SIMULATE TO STIMULATE
There’s no precise word on why Prometheans are turning up in a Halo 2-set game, but Vanguard’s description of an “ONI simulation” could account for the unexpected cross breeding.
GROUND LEVEL
The last game was a little bland, settings wise, but what we’ve seen of Strike promises far more. Mountain forests, blasted cityscapes and oh-so purple Covenant architecture all feature.
PRICE TO PAY
Spartan Assault was prone to the odd bit of microtransaction-related irritation, but Strike thankfully does away with that side of things. No cheating here you’ll just need to get better.
RIDE AND SQUEAK
New to Strike is the trusty ol’ Warthog. The ubiquitous Jeep/turret comes with all the usual accoutrements not least its infamously slide-y handling, perfect for jackknifing into crowds.
GAME THE SYSTEM
Earning Achievements unlocks an exclusive emblem, nameplate and avatar in Halo: The Master Chief Collection here’s hoping that follows onto the inevitable Xbox One version, eh?
SEMI HAWK-OMATIC
Alongside the addition of the Warthog, there’s the Kestrel. A human equivalent to the Covenant’s Ghost, it’s a sort of floating metal manta ray with shotguns.
