Halo Wars 2 is the upcoming sequel to the 2009 real-time strategy game, a joint production of 343 Industries, the Microsoft team behind the Halo series, and Creative Assembly, the developers behind the RTS series Total War. Here is an exclusive look at the images and video from the San Diego Comic Con panel, and interviews with the game’s creators.

At the panel, Microsoft unveiled the story behind Halo Wars 2. The crew of the ship Spirit of Fire wakes up after cryogenically sleeping for 28 years. They find themselves at a Forerunner installation called The Ark, fighting a group of covenant called the Banished, led by brute general Atriox.

For Halo Wars 2, the developers wanted a worthy antagonist. Atriox is not only a strong enemy, he is an intelligent and tactical one. As we see in the latest video documentary for the game, he ambushes three Spartans and defeats them singlehandedly.

“A good villain needs to scare the heroes. If the good guys aren’t scared a little bit, you are not going to spend any time on the edge of your seat, wondering if they are going to make it. And that’s what really makes a really engaging and gripping story,” Kevin Grace, Creative Director at Creative Assembly, told Geek and Sundry.

Read the full article at Geek & Sundry.