‘Halo: Spartan Assault’ a fun, but brief, ride (review)

Given the dearth of quality titles available for Xbox One right now, any enjoyable video game is a welcome addition to the lineup.
But while “Halo: Spartan Assault” is a competent third-person shooter and does an impressive job of staying true to series’ atmosphere, it lacks enough replay value to be a wholly satisfying adventure.
“Spartan Assault” has been available to Windows users since July, but it’s new to Xbox One with a $14.99 price tag and will also release this month for Xbox 360. The top-down shoot-’em-up serves as a training simulator for the United Nations Space Command, allowing players to reenact a series of battles against Covenant forces.
There are 30 simulations in all, lasting roughly three or four minutes apiece. These bite-sized missions boast varying objectives, each telling a small part of the story about the Spartans turning back an unexpected alien invasion. The action is controlled chaos, as the Marines frantically attempt to survive in the face of overwhelming odds.
In one moment, you’re escorting a group of tanks across enemy lines. In the next, you’re laying down cover fire while civilians scramble to an evacuation airship.
Developer 343 Industries does a phenomenal job of making “Spartan Assault” feel like a part of the Halo universe. You’ll find loads of familiar weapons, vehicles and enemy types. Despite the far-off camera angle, splattering the opposition across the windshield of a speeding Ghost is every bit as enjoyable as you remember.
343 also deserves praise for building an impressive amount of variety on top of a simple premise. Each mission starts players with a unique loadout, making good use of the series’ diverse arsenal. Players can also equip ability-restricting skulls if they crave even more difficulty.
The better you perform during a mission, the more experience points you earn. In turn, those experience points can be used to purchase one-time weapon, shield and boost upgrades to help max out your score on those tricky levels.
Of course, 343 is happy to let you spend real money if you prefer — yet another in the new generation’s dubious trend of milking every last dollar out of free-spending players. However, it could be worse. Experience points accrue quickly enough that you’re not missing out if you refuse to plunk down the extra cash.
Though small, each map feels unique. Due to varying terrain and changing objectives, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself relying on mission-specific loadouts, and even swapping gear mid-level to gain a tactical advantage.
The graphics don’t by any means strain the Xbox One’s capabilities, but the on-screen action is sharp and colorful. Everything from guns to unit types is easily identifiable to Halo fans, and vehicle and weapon sound effects match their counterparts from the first-person games.
It all comes together to create a convincing, authentic Halo experience. Even the between-mission text provides interesting background on the strategies employed by UNSC and Covenant troops.
But while “Spartan Assault” is fun while it lasts, it doesn’t last long. Once you’ve beaten a mission, and perhaps given it a second run for a higher score, there’s no motivation to go back. You can surge through the entire campaign in a few hours, and by then the levels have long since begun to feel repetitive.
One way to spice up the action is to play cooperatively online with a friend. It’s a head-scratching shame there’s no option for local co-op, as the maps and objectives seem well suited for teaming up with a buddy on the same screen.
“Halo: Spartan Assault” is an enjoyable ride and an interesting trip back to the Halo franchise. If you’re starving for new titles on Xbox One, you could do a lot worse. Just be aware that the fun is fleeting.
 Final score: 6.5 out of 10
This post was written by Ross Edwards for Digital First Media. Reprinted with permission.