Tom Clancy's EndWar (PS3) is a GOOD strategy game and really worth playing if you enjoy conquest and world domination!
At the start of the game you get to pick USA, Russia, or Europe and then after selecting your faction you'll be treated to a prelude (where they actually go over the events that bring you to World War III) I'll say it is a nice bit because it's more like a tutorial to get you used to either the voice commands (which you can do if you own a headset) or just a regular controller to input the commands going that route instead.
After the prelude you are in World War III and start off having certain territories under your command. I chose the USA (Red, White, and Blue baby!) and was given info by General Mitchell who will let you know what to expect in the upcoming battle and brief you afterwards. Another cool thing is the clips you are treated to during the battle phase. It's not a motion clip more like a static clip accompanied by a newscaster letting you know exactly what is going on in the world.
You choose which regiment you want to go with. You can go airborne, mechanized, etc (there is a third one that eludes me I think?) I chose the 23rd Mechanized "Hell In A Helmet" and there are other squads that have a snazzy call sign to them as well. This one fit me perfectly;)
So, now I'm rolling. As the USA you'll be defending the home front in some missions or you can choose to attack certain locations in Eastern and Western Europe (it could be the European Federation or Russia in possession of certain territory) everything happens in turns. You pick a place you want to defend or attack (sometimes the defending can happen automatically if you choose to attack instead so you don't have to be in two or three places at once) and that for me was a problem.
I say that because I didn't have any control over the outcome! General Mitchell either delivered good news (we did well in such in such) or bad news (we got kicked around on the battlefield today) after you get back to the turn screen and why the game didn't give me an option to dictate how many troops or what type of troops to defend a territory of mine while I attack a territory of the enemies? it's like a crapshoot. You can always regain control but, I should have an option to make sure I have a fighting chance before losing ANY territory regardless of importance.
I chose to attack when the moment presented itself but, I stayed on defense as well. It was a good strategy because by defending you DO dictate how things will go because you are ACTUALLY in the battle. You have riflemen, tanks, helicopters, engineers, anti-aircraft tanks, transports, etc.. you can choose to bring into battle. The rifelmen, tanks and other units receive promotions and can level up. NOW things get interesting! not only do you get awards or medals after a battle (yes the game has trophy support) you can UPGRADE units as well. You're able to power up their attack, defense, use special abilities (like storm buliding commands for the riflemen) as you collect points after battles. I believe the tougher the battle or how well you do determines how much/less you get. You get an A, B, or C ranking. I haven't scored any lower than a C so I have no idea if there is a D or F.
The thing that impresses me the most is how EASY it is to change from one unit to the next. If Stormrise has "whip control" and from the reviews that game received it was an epic fail they should have used "hot swapping" controls. Just pick a unit and hit SQUARE and you'll be able to see the unit on the move, in position, or in battle at any time. You never really feel overwhelmed and when you find an enemy on the field of play you can send mulitiple units (the most I had was 13) to attack whatever hostile is on the map. Send two units to one hostile and three units to another you can mix and match. Me I used the "all together now" which for me is using ALL my units to attack one unit and move on to the next hostile. Sometimes there will be an override and the units under your command will attack the closest hostile rather than attack the ones you assign them. Makes sense since the hostile is practically on top of that unit.
Another thing I liked is when the soldiers get close to securing an uplink (a place where you can call in airstrikes, use electronic warfare by scrambling circuits of the enemy, or my favorite a satellite you can use to bomb the enemy from SPACE!) if the computer falls behind it will deploy a nuke and bomb the heck out of your units. In a way it evens things out and doesn't diminish your force too badly. Besides, you can always call reienforcements (up to a certain number of times) to fill the gaps in your force. Never did I lose the momentum due to this NUKE being dropped (otherwise known as Defcon) and the cutscene showing the troops entering the uplink and securing is pretty cool too!
I do wish China, Japan, and other nations were able to get in on the act! three factions isn't very many to choose from but, from what I gathered all the factions and their units pretty much control the same. Still, the choice would have been nice. Also, a little letdown with the length of the game. I few play throughs and took maybe 21 turns total and I was done. Mind you when I say turns I mean I fought 21 battles, attacking (the only way to gain ground and territory) defending (which nets you nice points and keep your territory safe) but, I'd still like the option to keep going! I wanted to take over everything but, the game decides you have taken enough of the map to warrant a victory. Fine! whatever! lol;)
If you like RTS games you can't go wrong for $20.00 (yes, it's nice and cheap now) and with the voice command you'll really feel like an armchair general shouting commands to your troops like "Unit 1 attack Hostile 3" you'll hear your troops kinda talking trash and saying things, like after I commanded my troops to secure an uplink "no problem on our way now" "moving now you got it!" or after an enemy something to the effect of no sweat we got em now. The clips of dialogue keep the battle interesting.
Also worth a mention as well- (SOURCE:Wikipedia.org)
Conquest: These battles are the most straight forward and basic of all mission types. You start with three units and have access to reserves which can be called in and off map support. The aim of this mission type is to gain control over half of the uplinks for a five minute period, or destroy all enemies. When over half the uplinks are controlled, DEFCON one initiates and access to WMDs is granted.
Assault: These battles are a straight fight to the death, no taking uplinks, no destroying buildings, the only way to win this battle is to wipe out every last enemy unit.
Raid: These battles are like conquest mode, but you have to sabotage the enemy by destroying half of the key buildings within ten minutes or defend against the enemy for ten minutes, rather than taking uplinks or defeating all enemy forces.
Siege: These battles are exclusive to capital cities and require you to capture or defend a critical uplink identified by being larger than all other uplinks. The attacker must secure the uplink before reinforcements arrive in ten minutes, making the task a lot harder. The defender will be given eight units and must hold on to the uplink for ten minutes time, at which point a large force recon team deploys. Until the timer runs out, the defenders must do without any off-map support, including reinforcements and evacuation choppers, forcing units to fight to the last man. Off-map supports, including WMDs and reinforcements, are half the CP cost.
In all mission types, the player can win by annihilating the enemy force. Also, WMDs can be used.
In conclusion it is a GOOD game and I expect ALOT more out of the sequel. This game has alot of untapped potential. Below, I shall list a SPOILER and it contains my end-of-the-game-results (or what you did for the total campaign) I'll say this: I look forward to a Tom Clancy's EndWar II.
*SPOILER ALERT:BEGIN*
Maneuverability-finished in 21 turns
Lethality-51 hostiles killed
Survivability-5 units lost
Greatest Battle-Battle Of Paris
Commander Rating-75%
Role Of Honor-Spectre Rank 6 ***
Battalion Rank-10 **
*SPOILER ALERT:END*