Why End War feels like the end of what makes RTS gaming so much fun
There are some ground rules that developers need to remember before they ever transfer a console title to the PC:
1. Graphics should be better. Let's face it: PC video cards are old six months down the line. The PS3 and Xbox 360 are about three years old. That's why I doubt that Crysis can run in a PS3 or an Xbox 360 format.
Now back to End War. Only the vehicles and infantry look awesome. Forget the rest. World in Conflict's single-player campaign features a lot going on in the background, like civilians panicking, infantry parachuting from the skies and explosions everywhere. My point is, at least match a PC's capacity for stronger visuals.
2. Voice commands make the game a lot slower. How can one stand a chance against someone in a multiplayer game whose foreign language uses shorter words than English in issuing commands?
Look, I know that End War scores points as the first PC game which can be controlled through voice commands, but cajoling PC gamers to try an RTS game just because of such innovation, which in reality slows gameplay, means that voice controls are nothing more than a fad.
3. Camera movement should be fluid in an RTS PC game. It helps players create strategies on what to do next when they can see things from a different vantage points. End War's camera is stuck with the units one chooses.
4. It won't hurt to get the help of thousands of gamers out there to do beta testing of the game. True, it was already released in consoles. But the PC platform is unique. The speed at which one moves units around in a PC RTS game makes a huge difference in winning a game. Stardock had as much as 4 beta tests of Sins of the Solar Empire Entrenchment before they released the game on Feb. 25th. That is why there are very few complaints about it when it was finally released.
Bottom line is that the developers of End War are aware of all the above. Based on the reactions of many of us, it is pretty obvious that the devs were lazy about meeting the expectations of what a PC game title should be.