Solid single-player campaign, but multi-player is where World in Conflict really shines.
The campaign tells the tale of the invasion through the eyes of a young U.S. Army Lieutenant. The story line is fairly straight-forward and plausible, and while the writing and dialogue are fairly decent, neither they nor the voice-acting do much more than set the stage for each mission.
The game play is what really makes World in Conflict stand out from other games in the genre. Breaking away from the nearly exhausted formula or base building and resource gathering, WiC focuses solely on combat. You are provided with a certain number of points with which to requisition units, and once you run out of points, you cannot purchase any more units until you lose one. While this limits the number of units you can have in play at any one time, it forces you to think tactically, instead of just throwing your soldiers in to a meat grinder.
Much like a real battle, the players on the field aren't the only ones who can affect the outcome. As you kill enemy units and meet objectives, you obtain Tactical Aid points. Once you accumulate enough TA, you can call in support from off the map. The options available vary by mission and range from a mortar strike to a close air support strike, or, for those really desperate situations, a tactical nuclear missile.
The campaign is 14 missions long, with each mission lasting from 25 minutes to an hour, depending on how you play it. However, once you finish the single-player mode, you will be prepared to start playing against others in multi-player.
On-line game play will put you together on teams of up to 8 players. You will have 4 options as to what kind of force you are going to use: Air, Armor, Infantry, and Support. Each type allows you to access the units that fall within it at the standard price, but you can still purchase units from outside your category at an increased point value, while others may be unavailable. Which role you choose also affects how much different kinds of Tactical Aid cost to deploy.
There are three modes of on-line game play: Domination, Assault, and Tug of War. Domination is a capture and hold style of game play, where taking certain strategic points on the map will increase your sides control of the battlefield. Assault works in a linear fashion. The attacking side must capture each point in succession (i.e. the second point must be captured before the third point can be captured). After 10 minutes, the attackers and defenders switch roles, and the new attackers launch a counter-attack on the new defender's recently conquered points. Finally, Tug of War pits the two armies against each other on the front lines, with each team trying to push the other back by capturing the contested front, before fortifying it and moving on to a front line deeper in their opponents territory.
The multi-player games are quick, lasting no more than 20 minutes, and there are plenty of maps to play on. The last strong point for the on-line play is the stat tracking. As you play, you will be awarded medals and promoted based on your performance.
All in all, World in Conflict is a great game that brings a refreshing new style of play to the RTS genre.