World in Conflict

"Can you stem the red tide?"

What would have happened if the USSR actually invaded the American west coast and central Europe? Well, the year is 1989 and war is raging in Europe after the Soviets decided to attack the free world instead of collapsing silently. As an officer in the US army, your job is to help stem back the red tide in Europe but unfortunately the war starts to wash up too close to home and a desperate fight for survival begins.

World in Conflict is a real time strategy game which has many unique features which makes it stand out from the rest. First of all, it is common for RTSs to have a resource collection system to give the player resources to build units with. In World in Conflict, no such system exists. You are given a finite amount of reinforcement points which you spend on various tanks, helicopters, infantry, and artillery. World in Conflict also has a tactical aid system which allows the player to purchase support strikes (such as artillery barrages and napalm drops) with points gained from destroying enemies and achieving objectives. Even the method of moving the game camera is unique since you use the W,A,S,D controls instead of the common mouse controls.

The game was initially designed as a multiplayer game with the players fighting each other from the NATO, US, and Soviet viewpoints but the developers added a stand alone campaign to complement the multiplayer. The story for it is really good yet scattered. You complete one major aspect of the story and then it will suddenly shoot you back into a past event in the story to complete another aspect and back again to the present. This disjoints the story and it would have been much better if it was put into proper chronological order.

The other officers that serve with you are also memorable and unique giving the story a certain depth. Being awarded with medals for each mission objective completed also gives incentive for replay making the game a lasting experience. On a side note, Alec Baldwin also narrates the cutscenes.

Playing online is the main part of the game however. Each match will involve around 16 players with 8 people on the NATO/US side and 8 people on the USSR side. Each player will have the option of choosing their focus which involves the armor, support, infantry, and air choices. With each player focusing on a specific part, cooperation is essential to defeat the enemy since the armor player might need anti-air from the support player or the infantry player might need the air player to airdrop his troops. With this cooperation, the players will have to compete for the objective which is most often capturing command points.

Just looking at the game, you will be blown away by how detailed the environment looks and how rich the explosions and smoke are. The water effects are also amazing making it look like a shimmering pool of water. The music in the game is also decent but you don't hear it that often in the game making it nearly non-existent.

In a nutshell, this game is a unique strategy game experience for those who dislike the resource gathering aspect in almost all other RTSs or for those who enjoy alternate cold war scenarios. Just make sure your computer can run it though since it's really heavy on the presentation.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/08/08

Game Release: World in Conflict (US, 09/18/07)