During Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” a man by the name of Giles Corey has been accused of witchcraft and is in the process of being interrogated through peine forte et dure, a process whereby the interrogator continues to bear down excruciating weight and pressure on the victim until they either confess or perish. Near his limit of this punishment, Giles Corey refused to give in to the horror of this agonizing death. When a plea was demanded by his accusers, his answer resonated in their ears with bold resolve:

“More weight.”

In many ways, this is the story of Ensemble. The real-time strategy studio is now gone, its final legacy being the Halo Wars title which sprung from a levy of excessive pressure both by their requirement to fill Bungie’s shoes and a marketing-spawned frustrations within a hardcore fan base. Much like a crucible which through fire removes impurities, making its source metal the stronger for it, the employees of Ensemble should walk proud — Halo Wars, even with its flaws, can easily be considered a triumph.

The gameplay has been repeatedly lauded, the cinematics are head and shoulders above most (if not all) in the industry and the story digs deeper into peripheral fiction than any other Halo title before it, for which it deserves much credit. Halo Wars, despite a handful of snags here and there, is a worthy transition of the franchise into the uncharted territory of a new developer and a new genre. While this doesn’t guarantee that every property offered in the wake of Bungie’s trilogy will be of the same quality or meet the standards its fans have set, Halo Wars indeed rises to the challenge, somewhat defiant and bold, unflinching in the face of far more weight than it deserved.

With the Mythic Maps, Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST all part of 2009, the Halo property seems poised and ready, its jaw set toward the future. For Halo fans everywhere, there is no better omen than this.

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