HALO: Ground Command – Hits the Tabletop This Summer
Spartan Games announces that Halo: Ground Command will be shipping in Summer 2016!
Take it away Spartan:
The first iteration of the game is set in the year is 2552, with humanity forced to the brink of extinction by the fanatical alliance of alien races known as the Covenant. These human forces have fallen back to the fortress world of Reach, prepared to give their lives to protect Earth and buy time for a desperate gambit that could change the outcome of the entire war. This last bastion of humanity will see countless bloody engagements take place, and you will now be able to command these ground forces in titanic conflicts.
Halo: Ground Command is a massed battle game using highly detailed 1:100th scale infantry, armoured and aerial models and has been developed in close cooperation with 343 Industries.
“We’re pretty stoked about the arrival of Halo: Ground Command and we can’t wait for players around the world to experience the fun we have been having as we created the models and core rules,” explains Spartan Neil Fawcett, Creative Director of Spartan Games. “Halo fans are used to seeing ground warfare from a first person perspective, but with this game we step back and embrace the whole battlefield where we see entire Battle Groups engaging with each other. Players can deploy units of Troopers, Grunts, Elites, ODST, Elite Rangers, Warthogs, Scorpions, Wraiths, Ghosts… the list goes on!”
Expansion plans for the game will see some of the most iconic vehicles from the Halo Universe realised in superb detail at 1:100th scale.
“UNSC Pelicans, Covenant Phantoms, anti-air variants of the Scorpion and Wraith tanks, Banshees, Falcons and even giant machines like the Covenant Scarab. At 1:100th scale we have been working with the actual video game assets to make our models as accurate as possible. They are still designed to be gamed with, but we are sure fans of Halo will see just how much attention to detail we’ve lavished on these models,”
explains Spartan Chris Peacey, Lead Designer for Spartan Games.
THE GAME ENGINE
In much the same way as our spaceship combat game, Halo: Fleet Battles, was created to allow Halo fans to readily embrace wargaming in the Halo Universe, so the ground game is built around smooth and intuitive game mechanics.
“This is a true wargame that brings together tanks, soldiers and flyers in a hobby format we are sure will see gamers create stunning battlefields upon which they can fight epic games using their stunning armies,” added Spartan Neil. “As we created the rules we made sure that the Halo canon was adhered to, generating those cinematic moments of excitement, and always looked to keep the gameplay fast, intuitive and bloody.”
A key part of the game play is the Reaction Engine, which means a unit is never safe from harm by an enemy unit. Players will need to keep their wits about them when deploying their forces and constant vigilance as a battle unfolds will be rewarded by victory!
Come and check out the Halo: Ground Command game and models which will be on display at the Salute 2016 wargames show in London. And keep an eye out for some exciting news about two of our coolest [and largest] Halo flying models: the UNSC Pelican Dropship and Covenant Phantom Dropship.
The initial release of Halo: Ground Command will see a 2-player Battle Box launched, along with the first upgrade boxes for the UNSC and Covenant.
~ I have a feeling this one may be big.
