10 Things You Need To Know About Halo Wars 2

8. Innovative New 'Blitz' Mode Changes Everything

Scores of developers have implemented card-based game mechanics this decade - including 343 themselves in Halo 5 - and in Halo Wars 2, it's being used to best effect.

In an all-new mode called Blitz, you'll first pick or customise a deck of cards consisting of infantry, vehicles and power-ups, then 'play' it across an otherwise standard game, with a number of modifiers governing what you can and can't do.

Adding another layer of forethought to what's already present in standard RTS gameplay, how many cards you can play is governed by an energy meter which will replenish over time, but that can also be topped up by blasting apart specific crates on the battlefield.

Do you keep your ace-in-the-hole a secret until the end of a bout? Play it up front and hope you can maintain a lead for the duration? A measured approach will most likely pay as many dividends as going all out on the offence or defence, but either way, such a marriage of card battling and RTS gameplay has never been attempted before, and is already being received very well indeed.