It was quite surprising to see that Halo was headed to the IOS space, in particular with both Spartan side games being put into one package. First off we have Spartan Assault which I've played on far too many devices at this point. This was the original spin-off over the top spartan shooting game made. It seems that stemming from this we'll see yearly releases of this sort with Spartan Strike below being the second edition. Each of these games is split into a number of chapter with smaller levels in-between. At this point Assault has a total of six chapters to it with six missions in each section. The general style of play is that these are training missions for future spartans and you're really just hopping into a point in history. So really anything can go for these mini Halo experiences. This one largely followers Sarah Palmer which was featured in Halo 4 and not a spartan I really liked at all. You hop into key moments in time in order to study the strategies. There's minor vehicle control available though this is mostly with tanks and not a huge base of play. Most of the time combat is handled by the lone spartan facing many covenant troops. Each chapter also gives a rating at the end done in stars based on your points which will in turn hand out credits. These credits are featured in both games and allow you to buy things before levels like better guns or bonuses for the level ahead. There's a good chunk of gameplay here, definitely a great Halo experience for mobile devices.
Building on the wide spread roll-out of Spartan Assault, Strike gives us a different scenario and more of the twin stick shooter. This time around the story is based on the Prometheans with the Covenant taking a smaller role. It also felt like a much stronger experience than the original as it was basically just a scaled down version of the regular Halo entries. We also see a deeper focus on story and actually assisting in filling the gaps between main Halo entries. The cutscenes were fantastic once more, as they're across both of these games. These are interjected after the completion of chapters. In Spartan Strike we're given five chapters though they made a very poor decision to make the final chapter something you unlock for gaining gold on all other chapters. It also began to feel like quite a grind in the later levels quite dampening the really well done first half of the game. I also really enjoyed the inclusion of new vehicles including the Warthog which is always a blast to drive! Together these two games are quite the package, especially if you crave Halo on the go or are even playing these on other platforms. Great package with many hours of gameplay between the two.
Review Done on Halo: Spartan Bundle for IOS
Review Code Provided by Microsoft
