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World In Conflict (PC)

• Developer:
• Publisher: Sierra
• Genre: Strategy
• Official Website: http://www.sierra.com
• Score: 5 of 5: Purchase

Put 2007 down in the books as the year of the gaming homage. This past spring gave us the chance to finally play on that ominously cool thermonuclear war map from the movie, "Wargames", via the indie game title, DefCon (by Introversion Software) and now World in Conflict, developed by Massive Entertainment, transports gamers back in time to when the Cold War was still hot. You'll lead US forces in a desperate bid to repel a Soviet-led invasion of America (Seattle specifically) in a nod to the cult classic 1984 movie, "Red Dawn". If World in Conflict is any indication, there's nothing quite like a blast from the past.

World in Conflict is best described as an action-movie style RTS with spectacular special effects, bombastic plot events, and fast-paced, hectic combat. Memorizing build orders and developing a thriving economy are a thing of the past. The only two resources, if they can be called that, are Reinforcement Points and Tactical Aid points. You automatically earn Reinforcement Points slowly over time and this number is capped - once you reach your maximum points (usually enough for a decent-sized strike-force), you'll earn no new points until a unit dies and the points regenerate into your pool. This makes combat much more about how you use your units tactically, than how fast you can build the best economy. Tactical Aid points, on the other hand, are netted by capturing command points (similar to the Battlefield series' flag-captures) or destroying enemy units, and they provide you with extremely powerful yet temporary special attack or support abilities ranging from things as basic as a heavy artillery strike or laser-guided bomb to that grand-daddy of all game-gasms, the Thermonuclear blast (which has to be seen to be believed, it's just THAT awesome).

The single-player campaign contains remarkably good voice-acting, for the most part, though a few characters will get on your nerves from time to time and the constant manic war environment can actually lead to a sort of cyber battle fatigue over time. Missions are reasonably challenging but the AI, as is frequently the case, doesn't do a whole lot more than just pour the troops at you in waves and experienced RTS veterans may find it pretty simple once they get the hang of everything.

You might think that the main hook of World in Conflict is that there isn't any economy and the focus is on the fighting, but in reality it's how the fantastic graphics and great sound bring the war right into your room. Explosions are mesmerizing spectacles of thundering doom and even small effects like smoke trails are stunningly well-rendered. While it doesn't offer quite the depth of Company of Heroes' physics engine, things, such as gas stations, apartment buildings and abandoned cars can blow up or start on fire lending a healthy dose of verisimilitude to gameplay. With each arty strike you'll cringe and when one of your tanks bites the big one, you'll recoil from the screen as it's blown to pieces.

Perhaps World in Conflict's biggest strength lies in its fast-paced co-operative multiplayer matches. Using the online Massgate service, multiplayer supports up to 16 players in a single match, split into two teams. Because you work within a team environment for multiplayer (though 1v1 or Free-for-all matches are available too), you need to choose one of four specific roles to focus on during the battle: Support (which focuses on healing units, off-map arty strikes and reconnaissance abilities), Armor (tanks and vehicles, as you might have guessed), Infantry (the guys on the ground, getting it done), and finally, Air (primarily attack and support helicopters). You're allowed to purchase units from the other groups but at a much-higher cost, making them less desirable economically. Battles revolve around which side can best coordinate their units and special abilities to capture command points or to push a front-line (in Tug-of-War mode) forward across the map. It sounds rather strange but it's really best described, again, in terms of a class-based shooter like Battlefield or Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, where each person can select a very specific role in order to support the war effort. Regardless of how you choose to describe it, it's insanely enjoyable and adds even more layers of frosting to what is already a delicious package.

Massive Entertainment's past Ground Control series were heading this way, eventually, but it's a complete and total surprise that they arrived here with so much panache. The only minor quibbles with the game - its bland single-player campaign AI and perhaps too few variety of units - are heavily out-weighed here by everything else that World in Conflict has done superbly. Instead of relying on the same trite formulas, World in Conflict struck out in search of fresh gameplay and the proof of success is in the stunningly enjoyable results. You may never look at a Real-Time Strategy game the same way again.

Nov 8, 2007 | 9 comments
Tony DuLac