Halo: Spartan Assault

Halo: Spartan Assault takes all of the explosive action of the mainstay FPS Halo franchise and slims it down into a sleek, addictive twin-stick shooting experience. Similar in style to other frenetic shooters like Dead Nation and Darksiders Genesis, Spartan Assault offers a fast-paced experience that’s hard to put down. Set after the events of Halo 3, players hop into the shoes of an elite Spartan soldier who must defend their base from a fierce alien attack. Featuring the same beloved weapons, characters, and enemies from the Halo universe, this entertaining adventure expertly gives players a new perspective on the unique sci-fi world. Using a variety of alien and human weapons, you'll blast through over 20 single-player missions on your quest to repel the Covenant alien race, offering hours of awesome action gaming.

Main Game Features

• Arcade-style twin-stick shooting set in the Halo universe
• Over two dozen action-packed missions
• Iconic weapons and enemies

Story

Halo: Spartan Assault is set far in the future, between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4. Following a seemingly endless war between humans and aliens, the two species have come together to form a truce.

Playing through various missions via a simulation pod, you'll battle through the experiences of the deadly Spartan soldiers Sarah Palmer and Spartan Davis. Stationed in a remote base on the planet Draetheus V, Sarah and her fellow soldiers must endure an attack from a fringe group of alien forces. Worried that the attacking aliens seek a harmful weapon, Sarah must uncover the truth behind their invasion or admit defeat. While somewhat predictable and mostly used as an avenue to create tons of enemy encounters, the story in Halo: Spartan Assault is interesting enough for fans and helps fill in the narrative gaps in the existing Halo lore.

Gameplay

There are six total chapters in Halo: Spartan Assault, each with a handful of levels to complete. When you first pick a mission, you'll get to choose your gear loadout, including a primary weapon, secondary weapon, spartan ability, and performance booster. You can swap your default loadout for other, more powerful weapons by spending credits or experience points. Each mission has a unique starting loadout, so you'll get a good chance to try out every weapon available in the game. You can also enable skull modifiers for a bigger challenge and better rewards.

Missions are usually straightforward and brief, challenging you with assaulting enemy bases, rescuing allied soldiers, defending objective points, and so forth. As you blast through alien soldiers, you'll rack up points and earn medals for impressive feats like double kills, grenade sprees, and more. Crisp, 3D graphics give levels a fun level of detail, making the action more exciting. Unfortunately, there are no checkpoints, so if you fail a mission you'll have to start all over again. At the end of each mission, you'll be awarded with a bronze, silver, or gold star depending on your final score. This provides the game with a great level of replayability, as the short length of the levels encourages quick attempts to improve your high score.

Conclusion

Fans of the Halo universe will undoubtedly get some excitement from this entertaining spin-off. The gameplay is fun and simple but still offers a good level of challenge, even if tough difficulty spikes make things frustrating at times. It's tons of fun to sit back, relax, and blast through hordes of Covenant baddies.

Pros

• Feels reminiscent of classic Halo titles
• Colorful and explosive action
• Fun loadout and gear system

Cons

• No checkpoints
• Unfair difficulty spikes
• Medicore plot