Microsoft on Tuesday announced plans to bring the Halo franchise to all Windows 8 devices next month. The new game is called Halo: Spartan Assault and is said to take place between Halo 3 and Halo 4 with top-down style gameplay akin to games like Asteroids.
Spartan Assault is a single-player game that includes 25 all-new missions. Despite the single-player model, gamers are invited to compete against friends using the leader board and participate in weekly challenges. We are told that there are more than 40 in-game achievements to be had and gamers can even earn experience points, emblems and new achievements for Halo 4.
The title will be available for desktop / notebook systems running Windows 8 as well as Windows Phone 8 handsets. Naturally, the game will support touchscreen and keyboard / mouse controls. What's more, Microsoft said they plan to add support for wired versions of the Xbox 360 controller for PCs and tablets shortly after launch via a software update.
As one might expect from a top-down mobile-supported title, the game looks to have a heavy arcade feel to it. That's not necessarily a bad thing - just more of an observation really. What remains to be seen, however, is whether or not the game will be solid enough to keep the franchise moving forward or if it's simply being pushed out to keep the Halo faithful happy until the next major release.
The game will debut in July for an estimated retail price of $6.99, Microsoft said.