WiC isn't the first real-time tactics game out there, but it might be the best.
World in Conflict puts you into a bizarro/alternate 1989 world, in which the Soviet Union decides to try to take over the world instead of capitulating. Your character is Lt. Parker, a West Point graduate who is thrown into the mix in the US vs. USSR war that ensues. Throughout the game, you are given instruction and orders from a hard-nosed, battle-tested Colonel by the name of Jeremiah Sawyer. The presentation in WiC is first-rate. Several popular 1980's songs grace the soundtrack, including Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," which is highly appropriate in a game dealing with this subject matter.
The game's most important and engaging asset is it's pace. You are thrown into missions that progress at a brisk, but realistic speed. The game is almost always engaging, and demands your attention. There is no resource-hunting here.. just strategy and combat. You have a top-down map of the battlefield at your disposal, which allows you to spot your waypoints and objectives in relation to your units. You are able to call in many different types of units, including several types of tanks, helicopters, repair vehicles, infantry, demolitions experts, and others. The types (and number) of forces at your disposal changes for each mission. You have a certain number of "reinforcement points" to work with at any given time, and they take time to regenerate once you lose a unit. This system encourages you to be cautious with your units, while still allowing you to rebuild your forces should a Russian artillery strike take out half your company.
Missions range from a simple "secure these 3 positions" type scenario, to more complex missions involving search and rescue of captured troops behind enemy lines. Your forces will fight in Europe, Russia, and even on US soil. The developers and story writers spared nothing for this game. There is even a nuclear detonation, rendered by the game engine, that plays a major role in the storyline.
The characters in WiC are a large part of the game. Colonel Sawyer also commands 2 captains, whose forces often fight alongside yours. In a mission, you might be ordered to approach and take a town from the south end, while the other commanders have their own orders (and units) who have their own separate tasks. This makes for a very realistic wartime feel, and ensures that the battlefields are always full of great-looking explosions, sometimes miles away. Fire support is available to you as well, which plays a large role in achieving victory in many missions. You are able to call in several different types of artillery strikes, bunker-busters, napalm, daisy-cutters, and even "the big one" during one particular mission.
Graphically, WiC is outstanding for a RTS/RTT (real-time tactics) game. The terrain and unit detail is top-notch for a game of this scope, and the destruction and explosion effects are equally impressive. The game has native DirectX9 support, but also supports a DX10 layer. The voice-over work is excellent (particularly Col. Sawyer), and Alec Baldwin does a fine job of narrating the situational updates that you receive between missions. Superb battlefield sound effects and and outstanding musical score lend to the authenticity of the experience.
Unless you have a fairly high-end machine (even in 2010), you may find yourself turning a few settings down in order to maintain a stable base framerate. The game looks fantastic at even 2/3rds detail settings, so don't worry yourself too much if you have a slightly older system. The first PC that I ran this game on was a 2.6ghz Athlon 64 x2 w/2GB of RAM with an Nvidia 8800gts 512mb, and it gave me a very playable experience at roughly 3/4's detail settings at 1680x1050 resolution. The game can be fully "maxed-out" at 1080p on a Phenom II X4 w/4GB of RAM with a GTX 460 graphics card. The game comes with a built-in "worst-case scenario"- type benchmark feature, which helps to find your optimal settings.
Landmarks such as the Space Needle and Kingdome in Seattle are recreated with fidelity. Units on the battlefield have an impressive level of detail when you zoom in up close. Not quite on the level of Crysis, mind you.. but this is a game of a very different genre. When a building is hit with artillery, you will see it crumble realistically before your eyes. Smoke effects are very authentic, trees burn and are left bare from napalm strikes, and the ground is left scorched and scarred from various types of fire support ordinance. The game spares no detail in making you feel that you are truly in the midst of an intense and devastating conflict.
I'm giving World in Conflict a 9 out of 10. One area for improvement that I would point out has to do with the limitations on your available types of reinforcement units in certain missions. It would be nice if you could use any type of unit for any mission, but you simply can't. Perhaps this limitation adds to the realism of scarcity of resources in war. Some gamers may be a bit put-off by the semi-linear missions in the game. Your character is generally given very specific orders and objectives to accomplish, and they don't offer you much freedom in some cases. While the battlefield is large, and the scope of the game great.. it would be nice to be able to use your own units a bit more freely. These are very minor concerns, however. World in Conflict makes you feel that you are where the game says you are, and WHEN the game says you are. The game is extremely fun and addictive, and that's what counts. After all, everybody wants to rule the world.