Halo Wars

Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game in the Halo Universe that was published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2009. It begins in the year 2531, 21 years prior to Halo: Combat Evolved, during the Covenant eradication of the Outer Colonies in the Human-Covenant war.

Development
The game was developed by Ensemble Studios and is an Xbox 360 exclusive. Halo Wars has four modes: single-player Campaign, two-player cooperative Campaign, Skirmish, and multiplayer.

Releases and support
Downloadable content and support was being provided by Robot Entertainment, a studio founded by many ex-Ensemble Studios employees after its closing. On February 28, 2010, Halo Wars and HaloWars.com support was transferred to Halo Waypoint. On December 15, 2010, forums officially moved from HaloWars.com to HaloWaypoint.com.

Halo Wars: Definitive Edition, a port of Halo Wars, was released for Windows 10 and Xbox One on February 17, 2017 as a part of the Ultimate Edition of Halo Wars 2, although those who had already pre-ordered it were granted early access to Halo Wars: Definitive Edition on December 20, 2016. All the DLC that was offered for Halo Wars (including the Limited Edition exclusive Honor Guard Wraith and Fireball Warthog) is included in this port.

Plot
The game is set in the year 2531. It focuses around the Marine forces of the Spirit of Fire as they engage Covenant ground forces after the discovery of an ancient artifact during a journey to the partially glassed Harvest.

The story begins with Captain Cutter recounting the UNSC's early battles on Harvest through pre-rendered CGI scenes. Cutter then deploys UNSC forces to the planet's surface to reinforce Sergeant Forge at Alpha Base. While Sergeant Forge is patrolling the northern regions, Alpha Base is attacked and destroyed by the Covenant, with survivors fleeing to the surrounding the areas. Rounding up these survivors, Forge then leads them in an assault to remove the Covenant presence and return Alpha Base to operational status.Halo Wars, Alpha Base During a patrol, Forge discovers a Forerunner relic occupied by Covenant forces. He then leads an assault to remove the Covenant so that Professor Anders may examine it. Upon contact from Anders, the relic points to another UEG colony world, Arcadia, which holds "something of great interest to the Covenant." The examination is cut short when a Covenant counter-attack cuts them off from Alpha Base and pins them at the site.Halo Wars, Relic Approach The Spirit of Fire deploys Grizzly tanks to cut through the Covenant and link up with Forge and his Marines, escorting them back out through the relic while forces from Alpha Base held off the Covenant. Professor Anders then convinces Captain Cutter to travel to Arcadia using information gathered from the Harvest relic.

Gameplay
The gameplay received the rating of "T" for Teen with content descriptors for "Mild Blood", "Mild Language" and "Violence".