Sentinel Reviews

Halo Spartan Assault is a top down twin stick shooter available on the Xbox Marketplace.

The concept is a simple one. Play through various levels as the new generation of Spartan.  What the game boils down to is running through levels that are slightly too similar to each other and either kill everything or survive until a counter ticks over to zero.

The level design is good and there’s usually more than one way to tackle each mission. Vehicles play a small part in the game but the feel of Halo is nowhere to be found.  Ghosts and Wraiths are available in certain levels and while these are fun to play with the tedium and repetitive nature of the game soon killed my interest.

The game feels like an online flash game, the storyline and plot boils down to reading blocks of text at the start of the mission and frankly has little impact on the game as a whole.  The iconic weapons from the Halo games are featured but lack the personality and impact that the original weapons portrayed.

There is online co-op available and this is when the game becomes more than the sum of its parts.  Teamwork is essential in these levels and it makes the entire endeavour much more engaging. The online co-op sees you and your buddy plunged into fighting the flood. While the first couple of levels are a breeze the difficulty ramps up all the way to 11. It makes the game much more enjoyable, the waves of enemies never stop and the pressure is on until you achieve your objective.

My main issue with Halo: Spartan Assault is the lack of local multiplayer. I had hoped to be able to have a couch co-op with a friend, in fact it was the reason I got the damn thing in the first place. That aside Halo Spartan Assault is worth the price.

The single player is lacking in originality but it’s definitely worth giving the multiplayer a change.  All and all Halo Spartan Assault is a good arcade game, just don’t expect Halo.