Halo: Spartan Assault Reviews
Spartan Assault ports many of Halo's best elements to the twin-stick shooter genre surprisingly well
Vanguard Games gives Halo fans something to cheer about in 'Halo: Spartan Assault,' distilling the essence of the first-person series into fun top-down shooter play.
Halo: Spartan Assault is a pretty fun twin-stick shooter that works even without its relationship to the core Halo franchise. Xbox One users should certainly try it out if they're fans of the genre, but first-person shooter fans might want to wait until Halo makes its proper debut on the Xbox One in the future.
A decent entry into the Halo franchise. It trades in the grand scope of the original games for some bite sized pieces of action that fit the mobile platform well. There are some control quirks which are annoying, but don’t go as far as ruining the experience. All in all, it’s well worth the $8.99 asking price.
These issues aside, Vanguard's created a decent blaster which offers a couple of moments of genuine bullet-dodging glory: Halo's touch-screen debut is good-looking, colourful, and fun. It's all rather bittersweet, really. If Spartan Assault was terrible, nobody would ever have to know about it, since the combination of release platforms makes it a bit of a curio from the off. In the end, it's actually pretty entertaining stuff. Here's hoping it eventually gets ported around a little.
It's by no means Windows 8's killer app, but provided you have access to a Windows 8 device, you could do much worse than Spartan Assault.
Spartan Assault is simple but entertaining.
Besides its impressive sound effects, everything about Spartan Assault felt like a rushed-over port and does not offer any type of depth or impressions to warrant its release as an Xbox One downloadable title. Nevertheless, it still felt like Halo, which means a lot to would-be buyers.
The choice to propose the exact same title on smartphones, tablets and PCs is welcome for those who own Microsoft's mobile devices but makes it difficult to judge in an absolute way a title such as Halo Spartan Assault. If on mobile it is quite complicated to find such a well-groomed twin stick shooter, with a hint of texture all in all adequate and the game mechanics gnawed but well adapted to the controls via touch screen; on PC the market has already offered much better in the past, such as titles like Renegade Ops that have been able to age such a classic genre, pushing the accelerator on the graphic impact and spectacularity.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A solid port of its mobile and PC counterparts, Halo: Spartan Assault is an enjoyable twin-stick shooter that provides little in the way of real longevity or value for money. Still, if you've nothing else left to play on Xbox One, you could do a lot worse.
Master Chief is on vacation, and with no intergalactic war to fight we'll have to settle for a simulation. Not a facsimile, nor a cheap knockoff, it isn't even something in the middle. It's something off to the side. Understanding that virtually any genre privy to guns and bad guys, that 'Halo' technically works as a twin-stick shooter isn't surprising. It's just there isn't much surprising beyond that either. It works, and those with a propensity for some laid-back, arcade-style gunplay will certainly be happy, if not happily overwhelmed, with the result. The best thing you can do is find a friend and go after the flood.
It’s not surprising that Spartan Strike is an incredibly fun game to play, and 343 Industries certainly has the experience under its belt to produce high-quality action games. Can it compare to the upcoming Halo 5? Of course not. Spartan Strike is an stylish little package, and is being sold for an amazing price. As such, 'true' Halo game or not, it is easily one of the best games to come out on the iPad this year.
It does some things very well, but drops some stitches. The single player is roughly entertaining, but isn't made for long play sessions: the missions are often very short and simple in form. The co-op makes up for a lot, only this mode has a big lack of content. This is a great pity, as it is precisely that multiplayer that brings out the fun. Halo: Spartan Assault doesn't impress as much as had been hoped for beforehand, but it's worth it. Even if you don't have anything with Halo.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Spartan Assault features flashes of frantic Halo brilliance, but skip the touch controls. Play with mouse + keyboard!
Microsoft's Windows 8-exclusive top-down shooter looks and sounds like a Halo game, but lacks the drama and spectacle of its Xbox cousins
Just remember before going in where this game originated, and set expectations accordingly.
Spartan Assault is a title that only halo fans won't want to miss. Vanguard Games offers us a rather classic twin stick shooter, for a direct and no-frills arcade experience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Halo: Spartan Assault transfers adequately from mobile platforms to the Xbox One, with microtransactions in tow.
I thought that Spartan Assault would be a great addition to the Halo universe while expanding the audience with a new genre. In the end the short campaign, lack of storyline, and ease of gameplay make this a tough sell. I enjoy dual stick shooters like this, so I did enjoy my time with the game. However, you might have to lower your expectations with your purchase.
At the end of the day Spartan Assault is not a bad game, but there are a few hiccups that hamper what could have been.