World in Conflict (PC)

...of background on the developers. World in Conflict has been crafted by Massive Entertainment, the creators of both Ground Control games which are, in my opinion at least, vying for the award of best strategy/tactics games with the Total War games. Therefore, when I found out that world in conflict was on the way, I became truly excited, which is rare in one so cynical!

I am relived to say that I have not been disappointed.
...
...the defence of Europe, and World War III begins.

Whilst the US is tied up fighting in Europe, the Soviet Union launches a surprise attack on the Western Seaboard, and invades Seattle using both airborne troop and merchant ships. This is where the action kicks off.

One of the first things you notice about the game are the graphics - they are amazing. But they have to be, as rather than making up new units and maps, everything ... more

Well, this is the game I have been waiting for. If you have ready any of my other reviews, you may spot a "slight" preference on what a strategic or tactical game should be. This, my reviewing chums, is it.

Firstly, a bit of background on the developers. World in Conflict has been crafted by Massive Entertainment, the creators of both Ground Control games which are, in my opinion at least, vying for the award of best strategy/tactics games with the Total War games. Therefore, when I found out that world in conflict was on the way, I became truly excited, which is rare in one so cynical!

I am relived to say that I have not been disappointed.

The game is set in the late 1980's, where the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact have invaded Western Europe in an effort to stave off economic ruin. NATO and the US rally to the defence of Europe, and World War III begins.

Whilst the US is tied up fighting in Europe, the Soviet Union launches a surprise attack on the Western Seaboard, and invades Seattle using both airborne troop and merchant ships. This is where the action kicks off.

One of the first things you notice about the game are the graphics - they are amazing. But they have to be, as rather than making up new units and maps, everything is real and recognisable from the units to the actual maps. From asking around, it seems that the developers have spent quite a lot of effort getting the Seattle area mapped out quite well.

The graphics also get better once battle is joined, as explosions generate smoke and debris, both of which are well modelled and realised. Everything even looks good on a slightly older PC (like mine!) and the frame rate remains nice and fast even with lots of action on screen.

I did, briefly, turn the detail settings up as high as possible, and now I want to upgrade, as I was really impressed by at the work that has been put in to the models and textures, and I would love to see it whizzing along at a decent rate.

It is not only the graphics that the developers have taken time over. The sound quality within the game is also excellent. The voice over for the cut scenes is provided by Alec Baldwin, making them much more emotive and involving that your average game. They are also a very effective way of filling the loading times and providing a good narrative bridge from one level to another.

The sound effects and dialogue within the game are also of a very high quality, with the rumble of tank engine and the roar of jets carrying out bombing runs making you feel like a real part of the action.

When you combine the excellent graphics with the sound, you get a great immersive experience.

However, all this is just window dressing and the real excellence actually comes from the game play itself.

As you would expect from a development studio with the pedigree of Massive, they have built on the successes of their earlier games and also learnt a few lessons along the way.

The game starts with a simple tutorial that quickly and efficiently teaches you the various controls and techniques used to play the game, from moving the camera to calling in support weapons. Although I am an experienced gamer, I found this very useful due to different way support and reinforcements are used.

The controls are pretty much as you would expect for a game of this genre, with the mouse controlling you troop, using left click to select and right click to move or attack. There are a few control panels scattered about the screen, where you can access specific unit controls, select reinforcements and call in support weapons.

The only deviation that I had problems getting my head round was the camera controls. For some reason, the default keys use the First Person Shooter set-up, with W, A, S and D moving the camera forwards, left, back and right respectively. As every other game of this genre I have ever played uses the arrow keys, sometime I forget and the camera does not move, but I am learning!

When selecting your forces, control is at unit level, as was the case in the original Ground Control, which I personally prefer. I find it cuts out any faffing around at the start and trying to hot key infantry together into sensible unit sizes.

The only downside with the way units are controlled is the way the special abilities are implemented. Each unit has an offensive and defensive ability, such as an APC having the ability to fire anti-tank missiles or produce a covering smoke screen. Whilst these are very good ideas, the fact that you have to tell each unit when to use these abilities means that you do have to micro manage a little more than I would like.

For both support weapons and reinforcements, you acquire points as you fight, and can call down anything if you can afford it. It seems that pretty much the full range of military support hardware is at your fingertips. Anything from artillery strikes to "tactical" nuclear strikes can be called in as the game progresses. Unlike the unit abilities, this is extremely well implemented, and you can keep the support menu open whilst you pour artillery fire down and call in air strikes to your heart's content. As I mentioned earlier, the way that these attacks have been realised graphically is truly amazing, with smoke and debris drifting and bouncing around the battlefield in a truly realistic fashion. So far, I have only seen a nuke in the graphics test, but that really is something to behold!!

Finally, and for me the most appealing pert of the game, you play the part of a soldier in a conflict, rather than the overall commander. This means that whilst you are concentrating on your own mission objectives, there are other friendly forces pursuing different objectives. This allows for a great deal of flexibility in the way missions are structured. In one of the early levels, you hold one flank, whilst a compute controlled friendly force holds the other. Once you have successfully repelled your attackers, you are given control of the support weapons and tasked with providing support top your hard pressed allies.

It is this kind of joined up approach that makes this game fun and varied, but also makes you feel like you are actually involved in a war and that your actions are actually making a difference.

All in all, this game is truly excellent, and I would have no reservation in recommending it to anyone. It is not perfect, but the few minor drawbacks are vastly out weighed by the positives, and a lot of developers could learn a great deal from this game. 

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