Mod Spotlight: Half-Life 2: Wars
By Kyle Mann | December 18, 2011 | Features | No comments | Share
Combining Half-Life and real-time strategy seems like a no-brainer, and the free modification Half-Life 2: Wars proves the worth of just such an approach. Though it’s far from the fine-tuned, carefully balanced precision of games like Starcraft, those with any sort of fondness for Valve’s sci-fi universe should give the game more than a passing glance.
Currently out in the form of a multiplayer beta with two playable sides, Half-Life 2: Wars draws on the fast-paced experiences of the Command & Conquer series for its gameplay. The mod has been in development since 2007, so as you’d expect it’s got a ton of features built in, though content is still a touch sparse. The first playable team, the Antlions, relies on quick Zerg-like units such as Antlion grunts and ranged units. Antlion guards can deal tons of damage and take even more, though they’re by no means invulnerable. Players using this side must gather larvae from nests scattered about the map in order to pay for units and upgrades. It’s a team with a straightforward strategy, and should be easy to pick up for any player.
The other side for the beta is the Combine, similarly simple but with a higher emphasis on structures and technology. The Earth-occupying Combine can construct turrets, health kiosks, shield generators, and more with their Stalker slaves. It’s an absolute joy to mass up a huge army of Combine soldiers and send them marching to their doom in formation. Half-Life 2 fans will love the wide range of units already implemented in the Beta (remember those white Elite soldiers?).
While the game only has Antlion vs. Antlion AI skirmishes right now, the mod team has included an excellent addition called “Overrun”, a gametype that tasks you with staving off endless swarms of the pesky Antlions as you desperately try to maintain your Combine defenses. It’s truly addicting and a really refreshing change of pace for the RTS genre. Waves 1-5 aren’t so bad, but get much further then that and the Antlion guards start their relentless assault.
Future plans for the mod call for a Resistance faction, which will finally allow players to control the scrappy rebels as they fight against man and beast alike. There are a decent number of maps, from wide-open deserts and sprawling sand dune to claustrophobic streets and corridors. It fits in with the Half-Life aesthetic Valve has already established perfectly, and creates a broad set of possible strategies to employ depending on the level’s layout and chokepoints.
In order to get in on the Half-Life 2: Wars brand of RTS action, you’ll need a copy of Episode 2 installed on your system (via Steam, of course). If you think a more strategic take on Valve’s world would be just the thing for you, go check out the free download on ModDB. Until next week, happy modding!
