So if World War 2 isn't your thing then what war fits you? Well there
is Nam', that is if you want to play a game with no real conclusion.
Perhaps you'd like a throwback to those good ol' Civil War or
Revolutionary War days? Nothing says a good game like Nostalgia and
guns that can't hit the broad side of a barn. So what? What war is
left? How about a pseudo Cold-War? Instead of it being cold and boring,
ala a competition in who can spend the most money, the Soviet Union
decides to invade America. Sound interesting? How about if you add an
American Propagandist spin along with a lack of FPS game play mechanic?
In fact, it's an RTS.
While this review is a tad late, and I know World in Conflict came out
some time ago. That won't stop me from writing a review about it. In
case you, the reader, doesn't know, I am not the biggest RTS fan,
although I love and enjoyed Dawn of War along with Company of Heroes.
Company of Heroes always touted as having very intense game play. While
it was focused on smaller amounts of units it delivered epic explosions
and turning of the tides. World in Conflict out does CoH. Plain and
simple the battles are intense, full of explosions and one can't help
but want to put a carpet bomb on every suburb of America just to see it
explode. The point though is to save America, not to get distracted and
kill your grandma.
This game is beautiful, staying away from the stark color palette of
most War game is delivers the lush landscape of Pacific Coast, albeit
the country is being attacked, but pause the game and stare at the
trees and skyscrapers for a while, you won't be disappointed. With
plenty of attention to detail you won't be crying for any lack of
ambiguous features. If you've got the hardware you will get to see
Ground Deformation (which does effect game play), God Rays!, and
Volumetric clouds along with Volumetric lighting (which makes the god
rays.) So overall, if you've got the hardware for it, and I hope you
do, the amount of fidelity in this game will keep your eyes tearing as
you strain to see all the beauty within. Real quick note before I get
to game play, single player and multiplayer aspects of the game:
Graphics=Amazing for an RTS, Sound=Awesome, Voice Acting=Decent
(expanded on later). Then some quick notes as to bad sides of the game:
Slows down when the fray gets too intense (Nukes anyone?), may have one
or two crashes.
Aside from Company of Heroes, has one of the best Single-Player
experiences I have ever had the joy, scratch that. It is one of the few
that has caused me to think, "If I were odd I would so have an orgasm
over this." If I did that would disappoint my girlfriend so, I didn't.
The fact is that the story is engaging and actually brings it close to
home. Basically, America is attacked by the Soviet Union and you have
to repel them out of our country before that take our Jerbs! (Sorry for
the South Park reference.) So while Regan may not get to live his one
and true glory, "Gorbachev, tear down this wall," you will get to force
them out of your country. Although it has a more sinister side, you
plant an atomic bomb on your own country! Sorry, that was a spoiler,
I'll stop. Throughout the game you listen to military drama, which at
times to me seems juvenile. Perhaps people from the 80s shouldn't be
allowed to be in the military. Anyways, the story itself is engaging
and will keep you hooked until the games climax, which is, for lack of
a better word, EPIC! The learning curve is a bit high if you've never
played an RTS but for the most part the controls are the same.
Although, what they changed (camera control) is more intuitive than how
other RTS makers have done it.
Replayability? Yes? No? Maybe? Well yes, the multiplayer is ("is" was
the 666th word typed for this review.) fantastic. That is only true if
you actually have skill. If you're void of talent or a strategic mind
then it may be best to only play with friends (3 is a good comfort
zone) or have them join you on a server that way you're not a noob; Yes
this game has strategy, unlike Supreme Commander, Command and Conquer,
and even Company of Heroes where you can overpower the enemy by having
more or far superior troops, to win in World in Conflict you have to
use your TA and troops conservatively and strategically. So either
playing with friends or with friends on a server with people much
better than you is the only way to go. That is, unless you're that
person that decimated my squadron of Tanks. I mentioned TA. Tactical
Aid is a feature in this game that I can say is the definitive staple
mark. As you kill the enemy and capture areas you gain TA. You can
either build your own TA up or combine your teams and use it to call in
tanks, paratroopers, napalm, chemical explosions, carpet bombs,
artillery strikes, and NUKES! The Nukes are spectacular.
Now I feel my reviews aren't comprehensive, but I've tried to give you
an idea of the game through emotion. The game play is good, both single
player and multiplayer, although the multiplayer definitely has a huge
learning curve when compared to the single player portion of the game.
So if you're bored of your current games and want to check out a new
and fun RTS with some hilarious, yet decent voice acting, an intriguing
story, good graphics and overall good game play then go check out World
in Conflict.
