Conflict Zone Preview

Because the real-time strategy genre is so competitive, developers are often looking for ways to set their games apart from the rest of the pack. French developer MASA hopes that its new real-time strategy game, Conflict Zone, will manage to turn some heads with its realistic setting, units, and unique resource system, all of which fit perfectly within the overall premise of the game. At the beginning of Conflict Zone, you can choose from one of two campaigns--one following the International Corps for Peace and the other focusing on the terrorist organization known simply as Ghost. Each of the two campaigns has a unique story, as well as a setting that takes place in different parts of the world. For example, the initial missions for the ICP start out in the Ukraine, where the Ghost terrorist organization has seized several small towns. Conversely, the Ghost campaign starts out in the Sahara Desert, where you must capture several valuable oil-producing areas.

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Missions for both the ICP and Ghost organizations begin with briefings from high-ranking individuals within each organization. The initial International Corps for Peace briefing shows that the game doesn't have an entirely serious tone, as you might expect from this type of game. The map screen behind the general changes to a scene depicting some cows on a pasture when all of a sudden, a shark fin travels through the grass. The camera angle then shifts to a side view, where a window into another room is visible. In keeping with the tone, the other room changes into a fish tank, a disco, and other odd scenes. The Ghost briefing isn't quite as over-the-top as the ICP briefing, but it still manages to maintain the same humorous theme by depicting a group of soldiers--disguised as camels--that manage to capture an enemy base.

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Once in the mission, you get a chance to become familiar with Conflict Zone's camera angles and controls. The default camera view is free roaming and lets you zoom in and out of the action with different keys and move across the landscape at ground level using the arrow keys. It takes some time to get used to the default camera view since you can't actually use the mouse to move across the terrain, but thankfully, there's also a classic-style real-time strategy view that places the camera directly above the action. However, this view still uses the keyboard to maneuver around the landscape. Controlling units can be done through the basic real-time strategy methods, where you can click on a single unit and give it orders--or give orders to an entire group by dragging the mouse over set of units you want to control. There's no limit to the number of units you can put into a group, so you can expect some pretty hectic and spectacular battles when you have an enormous group of units engaging the enemy organization.

Conflict Zone's interface is nonobtrusive, and rarely will you ever mistakenly click on the menu rather than an individual or group of units. The menu gives you the standard set of options for units and structures--you can order units to defend or attack or order different parts of your base to construct vehicles. While all of these features are fairly standard for a real-time strategy game, Conflict Zone's resource management takes a vastly different approach.