While the focus is on multiplayer, World in Conflict delivers on every field.
The basic catch behind World in Conflict is the complete lack of the traditional resource gathering which has been around ever since Dune 2. Each player has a specified amount of reinforcement points for buying units and you'll rarely find yourself controlling more than several units at time. If a unit is destroyed, the points replenish and you are back in business in matter of seconds. This might sound too forgiving at first but after playing the multiplayer for a while, you'll notice how crucial every moment is. If an area is left unprotected, it won't take long before it's already under enemy's control and gaining it back is easier said than done. Some old time PC gamers may loathe streamlining but no one can deny that it doesn't work here. The idea isn't unique as we've seen it in Massive's previous Ground Control games but World in Conflict has the best version of the system.
Massive aims World in Conflict to be the Counter-Strike of strategy games, and anyone can jump in and control the small amount of units without anything else important to worry about. There isn't much strategy involved, but tactics, feint, maneuvering, reconnaissance, defense and all-out aggression - and more important than any of them, teamwork. No matter how good a single person is, he can't win games without the help of his teammates. As a result, the game is easily accessible but hard to master.
The singleplayer campaign starts with a cutscene of Russia invading Seattle in 1989. With US forces fighting against Soviet Union in Europe, there aren't many to stand in their way. Cold War turned hot is a nice change from the usual World War 2, scifi and fantasy settings seen in so many strategy titles and unlike in them, you aren't a supreme commander behind everything but just a simple First Lieutenant doing his best to survive under Colonel Sawyer's stout command. As just one of the many pawns of war, you might be given a support mission while the computer controlled players do the dirty work. Your goal is never fully exterminating the enemy but holding them back until you receive the next order. If you have men to spare, you can try your luck with the secondary objectives such as escorting civilians to safety from a nearby shelter or destroying the enemy artillery to help your cause. Although often the primary objective like controlling a bridge or destroying a certain target will keep you fully occupied.
Quarrel between the officers in middle of a battle and humanlike mistakes really add to the experience. Only thing eating the survival immersion is the lack of user avatar on the battlefield. While the other officers actually feel like they exist, your own group can be completely destroyed and you as the group leader still survive. There are plenty of characters in the campaign and some of them go through many stages of character development during the plot, and you'll find yourself becoming fond of characters you hated before, once more of their history and motives are revealed through well executed flashbacks and somewhat clichéd cutscenes. Though not the whole campaign takes place on American soil. You'll get the chance to fight on the side of a stereotypical French officer and NATO forces in France and Lapland.
Even with the few flaws, overall production quality really shines through with Alec Baldwin's top notch narration during loading screens and even after the next mission has loaded, you tend listen to everything he has to say. Even if some of the voices aren't as good as Baldwin's, they deliver whole way through the game. As a nice touch, you can hear your units speaking in their native language when you zoom in close to them. Doesn't sound like much with United States or Soviet Union but it does make a difference with the multinational NATO.
As great as the singleplayer campaign is, it only works as a tutorial for the fantastic multiplayer. It's easy to imagine Battlefield 2 as WiC's biggest influence with striking resemblance everywhere. It's hard to blame Massive though, as Massgate is one of the best multiplayer services I've used in years. Everything from the slick UI to rankings and clan support work really well. WiC also offers a crystal clear VOIP but headset is not a necessity as another thing familiar from Battlefield, there are easy to use commands for interacting with other players. Anyone can easily jump in or out in middle of the round without any hard feelings. It can be frustrating at times to find yourself on the less coordinated side as the real fun and enjoyment comes from teamwork.
Teams consist of maximum eight players and every player chooses one of the four cIasses: air, armor, support and infantry. Each cIass has their weakness and you have to spend your reinforcement points wisely with your team to gain the perfect balance. And unlike usually in strategy games, you can only control several units at time. Infantry is vulnerable to all kinds of fire in the open but can cause massive damage to any opponent. Station few anti-tank squads in nearby buildings and you already have considerable threat against enemy tank forces. Hiding in forests helps too but hide for too long and there isn't much left of your men after a napalm strike has scorched the ground. Air uses helicopters to deal with enemy tanks, but is extremely vulnerable to support's anti-air vehicles. Support also has repair and transport vehicles plus artillery to create mayhem. Anyone can buy units outside their specialty, but it's rarely worth it for the significant extra fee. There are times to use the option though: one infantry squad alone can be enough to protect your precious artillery from scouts.
Capture objectives, kill opponents and help teammates, and you'll gain tactical aid points, which are used to call in paratroopers, radar scans and most importantly, bombs. Everything from the airstrikes to tactical nuclear weapons is absolutely stunning to look at. Explosions are definitely the high point of the graphics as they have never looked this good and you will always come back for more of the goodness. Tactical nuke is a real cherry on the top from amazing effects to the calm afterwards. You can zoom in to see even the smallest details on your troops and then zoom out for the impressive draw distance. There is such an amount of detail that sometimes you'll forget that you are playing a RTS. Everything from the trees to Christmas decorations is fully destructible and after few carpet bombs and a nuke, you won't recognize the battlefield anymore. It's important to use the environment to your advantage as all units have realistic line of sight and even bomb craters play a small role.
There isn't much music in the game but the little there is sets the mood perfectly and will keep you entertained while you browse Massgate and wait for the map to load. Bombs and weapons sound superb with the nuke taking the trophy again. Flying over the nuclear area after the explosion will chill down your spine. Unfortunately everything feels slighty unsatisfying after the pure awesomeness of the nuclear bomb.
Rather than reinventing the wheel, Massive Entertainment combines two old formulas and makes them better than ever before. The memorable singleplayer campaign takes about 10 hours to finish and anyone with time on their hands can spend countless hours playing the multiplayer. It's easy to recommend World in Conflict to anyone - especially with the low price tag. There aren't many games that can change your opinion of a certain genre but this is definitely one of the few.