The Cold War... It was SUPPOSED to end. Obviously, it didn't
World in Conflict is a game that sets itself apart from other games of the same genre. It takes the traditional RTS and it puts a nice spin on it to produce something that is both entertaining, and visually stunning.
World in Conflict plays like many other action-based RTS games out there. There is no dirt farming, and there is not base builing. All the player needs to do is order up their units, and they are airdropped in at a specified location. This is a nice dynamic because it keeps the player active. There is no monotonous base building or resource management to take the focus away from combat. Instead, your are often tossed into the fray very shortly after deploying your units on the battlefield. In fact, there will be precious few times where you can zoom the camera out and NOT see something exploding SOMEWHERE on the map. there's always action somewhere, and it's easy to get caught up in it. It's thrilling.
Another thing that makes World in Conflict great is the attnetion to detail that the developers went into while they were making the game. Units are very detailed (with the graphics turned up), and the environments are absolutely beautiful. The fact that pretty much everything is destructable is also a nice touch. It gives the player the chance to turn that beautiful beach that they may have happened to land on into a war-torn wasteland. It's always fun to zoom in on your units if you can find a lull in the fighting and just admire how well modelled they are. I also found it amusing that your units will speak to each other if you zoom in all the way and listen. The soldiers like to talk to each other.
I have yet to finish the campaign because I am kinda a spastic gamer. I tend to move from game to game without neccessarily finishing any, but as far as I can see, the campaign is very well put together. The cutscenes at the beginnings and ends of some of the missions are fun to watch, and they allow the player to empathasize with some of the characters; always a good thing. As far as the missions go, they are generally action-packed. Most of them are fairly easy, but there are a few that will have you reloading to try and plan you assault/defense a little better.
The units/tactics that the player is forced to employ in game are about as close to real-life as I have seen in an RTS in a very long time. Tank shells will blow up lighter vehicles in one or two hits, and tanks get shredded by AT missles fired by infantry and helicopters. The fact that the units have fairly realistic, "Lives," means that one must know the best way to use each unit type in order to use it effectively in game. You wouldn't send in an army of tanks to kill a swarm of helicopters would you? I thought not... The player is forced to use units tactically in order to accomplish anything, and it's nice to see that kind of depth. You won't see any successful (mindless) rushing here. If you did, I would be shocked.
Honestly, I could go on for hours about what makes this gmae great, but I suppose I will stop after praising one more aspect of the game; the multiplayer. The Multiplayer element of this game is BRILLIANT. Not only is it fun, but it forces players to use teamwork, and think a little before just rushing out to get killed. Players must support each other and come to each others' rescue if things get dicy. It's always fun to be the one to bail out a teammate with a well-placed cluster bomb or napalm strike.
Yes, I know I have nothing but praise for this game so far, but that does not mean I think it's perfect. Not everyone goes for the quasi-realistic action RTS thing like I do, and there are those out there who will argue that the game is too, "Simple," to be any good. To people like that, I will say this, "This game is easy to pick up, but it is difficult to master."
World in Conflict is definately worth checking out if you are into RTS games. It's one of the best I've played, and I think I have done a pretty good job of explaining why. Go and see for yourself!