Turns out my fears were unfounded – at least in terms of the basics. I expected an uphill battle doubly so because of playing it with a gamepad, rather than a mouse and keyboard. That was very much front of mind when I first booted up Halo Wars 2. Instead, I just ended up feeling like they weren't for me that despite being intrigued by them in concept, my more action-oriented gaming brain was just not suited to their more cerebral strategic challenge. Had I done so, I'd have felt more motivated to invest time into learning their intricacies. The other issue was that I just didn't find them particularly compelling to play.

I just found their learning curve a little on the steep side, and it didn't take long before frustration set in as I repeatedly lost game after game. It's not like I haven't ever played an RTS before: I tried giving the Command and Conquer series a whirl back in the 90s, and have also attempted to play Starcraft II on several occasions. Going into the game, I had few expectations, but did have one or two prejudices. Indeed, I feel it's a true test of something that Microsoft claims about this latest addition to the Halo universe – that it's a very accessible RTS designed to be easy to pick up and play for those new to the genre. Naturally, I don't think this renders my review pointless. I'm actually an RTS novice, and am evaluating this game very much from a beginner's perspective.

If you're looking for an expert RTS player's viewpoint on Halo Wars 2, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong review.

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