The final game from developer Ensemble Studios is still getting the support it deserves, and rightfully so, as the title seems to have not only gone down a treat with Xbox 360 RTS fans but has converted a substantial of the Halo crowd and introduced them to a more accessible console strategy game. There's not another developer that springs to mind, that with the backing of a solid franchise, have successfully converted gamers from one genre to another like Ensemble have done.

Halo Wars' first of presumably more downloadable content packs has landed on the Marketplace, and can be yours to the tune of 800MSP. At first glance, three new multiplayer game modes for this cost comes across as a bit steep... whilst pondering those thoughts, it then immediately seems even steeper as the content is downloaded within a matter of seconds. As initially thinking something was wrong, as other than downloading themes and gamer pictures; this is one of the quickest 800MSP downloads ever, and it's no wonder as the content weighs in at just a mere 2.12MB in file size.

Launching into the game slightly puzzled, to delve into the three new game modes that are on offer in this Strategic Options add-on. The content certainly brings a change of pace within the new modes, of which can naturally also be played skirmish style against the CPU, as well as of course on Xbox Live with variations for party options in matchmaking.

Keep Away

The new game modes that this Strategic Options add-on introduces naturally follows the familiar Halo formula, but tweaked ever so slightly for strategic play. Keep Away is no different, essentially it is simply Capture-the-Flag, and as one might expect it takes three captures to secure your victory. Although the CTF aspect is slightly different from what Halo fans might expect, whilst the flag spawns randomly on the map, and there is naturally a chase to get to it before the other team, there is nowhere to take and score the flag. Instead, this CTF variant turns into a cat and mouse like game, the victory comes in holding onto the flag for a couple of minutes. So for example, depending on what side your playing as, you could send a Warthog out to rush and pick up the flag, returning back to your base and holding onto the flag whilst you continue to build yourself a small army. Although that doesn't really translate into a good time, another effective means to victory is to spread out your army in the centre area of the map and drive the flag carrying Warthog around as you proceed to get chased down by your enemies forces. If you end up on the other side of the fence, then it's a good idea to quickly build some units and get them on the chase, and perhaps sneakily getting your leader and some heavier units going around the outside and taking out the enemy base.

Tug of War

This game mode is all about your quick building skills and managing your resources effectively. Technically you could win the match without even attacking, although this might take a while. Tug of War, is just as the name suggests, there's a bar on your HUD and at one side is a sad face and the other, a smiley face. Focusing on building up your base, reactors and units pulls the associated points towards your smiley face. The goal is to continue to build and get all associated points moved upto that smiley face to secure the victory, each unit has a value associated with this tug of war bar, so focusing your attacks on high valued enemy units gets things going quickly in your favour, as opposed to focusing your attacks on smaller cannon-fodder like enemies.

Reinforcements

In the new Reinforcements mode, you guessed it, you receive reinforcements at regular intervals. Units are supplied every few minutes, the amount and quality of units received depends on your reactors and resources gained during the course of battle. This is probably the more entertaining of the three new game modes on offer, as it proves unpredictable and you've no idea what you're going to receive, the same can also be said for your enemy across the map. You could end up with, depending on your team, a couple of Grunts or a bunch of useful Banshees or even a very handy Scarab. One things for certain, it won't be long before all parties involved have enough units to fill out the screen with one massive and epic battle.

Overall:

Chances are, there's a majority of gamers out there, (Bungie-esque Halo shooting fans in particular) that interested in yet another Halo game picked up Halo Wars and ran through the campaign, without so much as giving the multiplayer a good look-in. This content is not for them, it is however of great interest to the avid Halo Wars community, them being the gamers that continuously play this game online in some rather epic and lengthy online battles.

For the cost, it would have been nice to have seen a little something extra, a new vehicle or two, or map perhaps to go along with the three game modes? Regardless of actual content value, and mentioning no names, we've certainly been left feeling a little stung before as regards to other games, too. Much like with other multiplayer oriented titles, the content's actual value comes down to how much you play the game. If you're the gamer who's regularly earning your stripes online, then you'll no doubt see the value in the Strategic Options add-on, as with all the other game modes that you've previously exhausted, you now have three new options to team up and decimate your enemies in online.