Ensemble's Canceled Project was WoW-Wannabe Halo MMO
Posted 09/23/08 at 11:43:41 PM | by Nathan Grayson
Stop us if you've heard this story before: A semi-small dev team, formed in the mid-90's, lovingly crafts two 2D RTSes before upgrading right into the third dimension. The next RTS in their flagship series isn't quite as well-received as the previous two, but still flies off the shelves and perches itself on top of the sales charts. So what do they do next? Why, craft an MMO with the assistance of an extremely lucrative license! Got any guesses as to who we might be talking about?
That's right, Ensemble Studios.
Yes, Blizzard and Ensemble, after a quick make-up job, could probably star in The Parent Trap: Gamer's Edition (A Brett Ratner Film), but cribbed answers from each other's track records are only the beginning.
As early as 2006, Ensemble began work on a Halo MMO. Here, however, we're willing to wager that any similarities to Blizzard's MMO-opus are more than mere coincidence. Sadly, we'll never know what Ensemble had planned for this decidedly PC-oriented jaunt through Halo's universe, because it's been decomposing in Ensemble's recycle bin for nearly a year, according to a thorough analysis by Gamasutra.
A blog by the name of "Gone Is Gone" also lent its shovel to the dig, and unearthed a full Flickr gallery's worth of screenshots and concept art from the deceased title. Take a look.
So, if the game hadn't gotten the axe, would you have abandoned the Alliance and/or Horde for the Master Chief's legions?
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WoBungie?
Submitted by AntiHero on Mon, 2008-09-29 15:30
First i'm hearing of this and i for one think it's a bad idea. Halo isn't mmo material, one mmo with guns as a main weapon (Anarchy online i think was the title) sucked. Masterchief can't cast fireball or frost nova... First halo game was the only sensible one in the franchise. 2 was boring and buggy, shottiest game i've ever wasted money on. I was the ONLY person at my local eb to return the legendary edition 3 hours after purchasing because in the second mission i found that the models didn't load for a second, and then the textures didn't load till the video was half over. My friend had the same problem on his version, so i got 79 dollars back. With the many complaints about halo 2, why would they make an mmo? Literally everyone i've heard say halo 2 was the best game ever was under the age of 15. What 15 year old pays for an MMO? (which means monthly installments) I'm glad it didn't come out. It would be the center for morons to argue about who's better at Xbox Live like it was a crucial part of humanity's existance.
The real tragedy
Submitted by fake gordon mah ung on Thu, 2008-09-25 06:39
The real tragedy here is not that console-toting toddlers will not have a Halo-themed MMO in which to verbally assault each other. Losing one of the great producers of RTS is a blow to the PC gaming community. I cut my strategy teeth on AOK and will truly miss this franchise.
I'm glad they stuck a fork in this one...
Submitted by BrookV on Wed, 2008-09-24 08:08
I didn't find Halos story very deep at all. I remember sinking $50 into that stinker on the first xbox because of the hype. I think that was the LAST time I bought a game on hype alone!
Pretty graphics, but no substance and no good story. Good call, killing this stinker before it became an mmo money pit.
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