Spotlight On: Elements of War - First Look

Elements of War, a free-to-play, online real-time strategy game from developer Lesta Studio, places you in the not-too-distant future of 2022, where humankind has succeeded in weaponizing Mother Nature. The United States, ever on the forefront of weapons development, is now in ruins after accidentally deploying a man-made hyper cyclone in the heart of its own country. Whoops. We recently had a chance to see Elements and witness the destructive power for ourselves.

Following its latest climatological blunder, the once-proud American government is in shambles. It now falls to the United States Army to take control of the situation and reestablish national order. However, the Ravens, a rogue faction of the US military, have already beaten them to the punch and secured most of America's military installations for its own nefarious plans. As the Patriots, you will have to traverse the ruined heartland of America and do battle with the forces of man and nature to rescue a country on the brink of destruction.

This campaign will take you through 12 unique missions and place you in command of 40 different unit types. These units range from the conventional tanks and soldiers, to the exotic weather-controlling weapons of the future. Each unit will also feature its own special ability--be it a new mode or a unique attack. For example, the shotgun infantry squad can fire armor-piercing rounds that are highly effective against vehicles, in addition to its normal attack. While these special abilities are generally more powerful, they come at the cost of a long cooldown timer to prevent their abuse.

When conventional bullets and tank shells just won't cut it, the new weather-controlling units are there to pick up the slack. There are few obstacles indeed that can stand against the Aurora A1-TR and its ability to fire off a localized tornado. If you find yourself overrun with close-combat troopers, an artificial earthquake courtesy of the Tartarus can stop them dead in their tracks. However, not all natural occurrences are under your control. In the skies above, the hyper cyclone still rages, producing random weather occurrences that are dynamically generated on the field.

During your trek across the continent you will not be responsible for any base building. Instead, as you battle the enemy you will earn tactical points. These points can be cashed in to call down reinforcements at any time during a mission. Your new troops will arrive via airdrop at a predesignated landing zone before moving out to join the rest of your forces. Commanding your army will feel instantly familiar to those even slightly familiar with the genre. In the heat of combat, the action can be paused so you can queue up waypoints for your units to move through, issue specific attack commands, or manage your units' special abilities.

During one mission, our Patriots were assigned to recapture an experimental research facility from--you guessed it--the Ravens. Housed within this facility was a prototype helicopter, codenamed "fireball," that could generate fireballs that do high damage to enemy infantry. With a sizable armored division of tanks, APCs, and one trusty repair vehicle, we tore through a suburban neighborhood littered with enemy infantry before arriving at our destination. Our tank's special anti-vehicle missiles made quick work of the enemies' light armor; however, their numerous rocket launcher infantry squads proved to be a constant nuisance. After calling down some additional infantry of our own, and a jeep or two to get them in the fight, we succeeded in securing the base and the fireball.

From what we've seen, Elements of War is taking a minimalist approach to the real-time strategy genre and is sticking close to its established conventions. The way you move units around the battlefield, barricade yourself within buildings, and move behind objects to give cover will all be familiar ground for experienced players. Once you complete the game's campaign, which should take around 20 hours, you're finished. A multiplayer mode, or even the ability to skirmish with the AI, is regrettably absent. Elements of War launches this March.