The tactical miniatures game.
It must be tough being Mantic Games, always cursed to live under the shadow of Games Workshop. But they do invite comparisons by constantly following in their much bigger brother’s footsteps. Which is why it’s good to see them strike out on their own with Halo: Flashpoint.
Video gamers of a certain vintage (including me) will have spent many hours runnin’, gunning’ and drivin’ in the Halo universe, but it’s an interesting choice for a licence. How relevant is Halo now to younger gamers? Is there enough variety in that lore to support a tactical games system? Mantic are really pitching this game as perfect for all gamers from beginners to experienced, but is setting it in the Halo universe the best choice to bring their games to a new audience?
The main thing to realise here is that this isn’t a new system designed for Halo, it’s the Deadzone 3rd edition rules with a couple of simplifications and a set of different keywords. Now Deadzone has an excellent set of rules, don’t get me wrong – I love the cube-driven movement and range system – but this isn’t the revolutionary new game that Mantic are touting. Nor is the 48-page rulebook (with no reference sheets) particularly friendly to beginners.
And yet, all those initial concerns aside, the proof is in the gaming. Halo: Flashpoint promises to be a fun, quick, fast-playing tactical skirmish system, and certainly not every game needs scores of factions and books of background lore to be fun. There’s some extremely nice solid cardboard terrain included, the somewhat generic minis are fine and don’t require any construction, and – unprecedented for Mantic – there’s even a plastic insert (not that it needs one)! I’ll have much more to say about Halo: Flashpoint in my upcoming review, and look out for a battle report too. The Halo universe no longer thrills me much, but a good game does, and I’m hoping this one will give me that quick Deadzone fix (and inspire me to get its parent game to the table more).
In the meantime, here’s my rules & reference, which includes a detailed keywords and items list, along with shortened reference sheets so you can refer to that crucial info quickly during play.
