Halo Wars 2
The first Halo Wars game managed to streamline the structure and gameplay of a real-time strategy game and had a control scheme that felt great, making it one of the few games in the genre that felt at home on console. The sequel, released in February, added enough new content over its Xbox 360 predecessor that it is one of the best options for newcomers to the genre and veterans that want a console RTS experience.
The interface is clear and easy to navigate, the online multiplayer offering is substantial, and the single-player campaign is varied, offering you many different ways to play. Blitz mode is the best addition, however. In Blitz, you don’t construct bases, instead you’re given a deck of cards that lets you summon new units onto the battlefield or use powers from your current hand. It is a fast paced and thrilling take on classic real-time strategy that works excellently on console. A remaster of the original game was also released alongside the sequel, meaning you can return to it if you enjoyed this year’s game. Halo Wars 2 is arguably the best RTS available on console and is certainly one of the Xbox One’s best exclusives of the year so far.
Thimbleweed Park
Thimbleweed Park is a point-and-click adventure game that captures everything that made the classics so compelling. It tells the story of two washed up detectives investigating a body found in the river just outside of the town of Thimbleweed Park, a decaying place that very few people care about. You switch between five playable characters while uncovering the dark, satirical, and bizarre world history of the town.
Every element of it is full of personality. The writing and characters are funny and memorable, the setting is unique, and the puzzles are incredibly well designed and never feel unfair. The pixelated art style adds another layer to the nostalgia running through it. You would be forgiven for mistaking it for a LucasArts adventure game from the 1980s and it deserves to take its place alongside them in your collection. It may also be coming to PlayStation 4 at some point, but for now, it is a Xbox One console exclusive.
Everspace
Everspace was in early access for a few months before making its full release earlier this year. It is a 3D rogue-like shooter that is presented like a third-person space flight game. As you explore the expanse of outer space, you come across enemies and backtrack, just as you would in any rogue-like, yet the tight flight-sim controls make it feel like a game from an entirely different genre. You’ll inevitably die, but you’ll get the chance to use your experience and skills to improvise and meet the characters that add the next piece of the puzzle in the compelling story.
Controlling your spaceship feels wonderful and the world you’re given to explore is beautiful and well designed, giving you a huge number of things to see and frequent moments of wonder. It is a deep and unique experience that should be played by any fan of rogue-likes or space sims because it combines the strengths of the two genres excellently.
Phantom Dust Remastered
Phantom Dust is an action strategy game, with card game elements, that came to the Xbox in the West in early 2005. Taking place in a post-apocalyptic Earth and as an unnamed character, you must explore the few human outposts that remain, with inhabitants who have suffered a form of amnesia, to uncover what has happened to the planet and why the inhabitants are as they are.
It is a classic title in the Xbox library that many current Xbox fans may have missed a decade ago. The remaster gives the game a slight lick of polish to modernize the graphics but it has largely stayed the same. At the time the graphics were universally praised and it still looks excellent alongside the beautiful games of 2017. Â It is a great choice for strategy game fans due to the fun combat and those that enjoy card integration will love that it makes the gameplay deeper and it is a great exclusive that is now available on Microsoft’s modern console.
Published: Jul 6, 2017 10:00 am