Fans of the Halo universe can rejoice. While certain TV shows have been letting the side down a bit, it looks like the upcoming miniatures game is on the right path already.
Halo: Flashpoint, a new skirmish game from Mantic Games, has given us our first glimpse of the Spartan miniatures that will make up the available forces at launch. The miniatures will be produced at 32mm scale, making them slightly larger than the standard 28mm that most companies have been going with for years now.
Details are still somewhat thin, but we do know that the game will launch as a Spartan vs. Spartan skirmish game this August. Thanks to the details in a news post on Mantic’s own website, we can start to piece together some important parts of the Halo: Flashpoint puzzle.
Mantic Games, perhaps best known for producing the Kings of War and Walking Dead: All Out War games, has revealed that Halo: Flashpoint will be a game that rewards tactical thinking, bold playstyles, and creates “cinematic moments.” They also want it to be open and accessible to first-time wargames, clearly hoping that the Halo tie-in will cause a lot of folks who love the franchise to dive in and explore tabletop wargaming.
The minis will be preassembled, so no gluing awkward limbs together, and the boxset will also include some “pre-colored easy-assemble terrain.” The last part is surprisingly important, as it feels like terrain is the real sticking point when people are trying to jump into the hobby for the first time. Pre-colored terrain could be what helps a fully set up Flashpoint battlefield stand out, and turn people from curious explorers of a hobby into full-time plastic addicts. I also don’t want to make too many predictions here, but it feels like the price will end up being quite fair given Mantic tends to sit in the “quality products at a reasonable price” category of wargaming companies.
Since Halo: Flashpoint was first revealed, curious fans have wondered if it would go beyond the Spartan-on-Spartan action that was initially promised. It does seem like our antics will just be training for bigger threats ahead. According to Mantic, “Once you’ve both mastered your battle strategies, you’ll be prepared for the dangerous foes and fresh conflicts waiting just over the horizon.” So, for folks who were hoping for some Covenant miniatures at some point, it looks likely, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
I’ll keep you up to date with everything that happens around Halo: Flashpoint, because this one is almost certainly going into my ever-growing collection of skirmish games.
