World in Conflict

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 19th September 2007
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It’s what you do with it that counts

For those of you who can’t be bothered to go back and read our previous preview of the game, I’ll say right now that although World in Conflict has an epic plot it isn’t really about epic battles.

Instead, the action is all about the small-scale and using small squads to accomplish the mission. Players start most missions with a clear directive from a superior officer and a small selection of troops and tanks and from there they have to move out, shipping in reinforcements as needed.

The key here is that the reinforcements have to be shipped in – unlike most RTS games, World in Conflict doesn’t feature any unit building at all and you won’t be doing the usual thing of building factories and churning out tanks by the fleet-load. Instead, players have to earn points in combat which can then be used to airdrop in more forces at pre-chosen landing zones.

It’s a nice twist on the usual setup and it feels nice and refreshing to see a container which has just been air-lifted in burst open as a heavy tank rolls out and begins shelling the enemy. To help stop players from abusing this system though, the game puts a delay on airdrops – one that works both ways.

World in Conflict Exactly How Awesome? World in Conflict Exactly How Awesome?
Click to enlarge

If you’re in the middle of a battle then you won’t always be able to rely on getting re-supplied in time as the airdrops will be delayed by about twenty seconds, nor will you be able to constantly ship in new units as the tide of the battle shifts thanks to another time penalty. It’s a simple touch and one which may annoy a lot of gamers at first, but the reality is that this system forces players to think ahead and to value each unit individually, reinforcing the game's focus on small squads and up-close action.

And value each unit you will, for sure, because each and every one of them has access to a few special powers. It may be something simple like telling your rifle infantry to sprint so that they can cover distances quickly and run from one building to another, using derelicts as fortifications.

On other units though things are a bit more involved, such as telling light tanks to deploy smoke screens to hide them from air attacks or telling helicopters to jettison burning fuel to throw off heat-guided missiles.

Reinforcements aren’t the only way that players can wage war though and if you find yourself in a bit of a pickle then you can always spend your hard-earned Tactical Points (TP) on special attacks. Tactical Points are earned by using your forces to their fullest and choosing sensible options. Using artillery against infantry, for example, is a poor way to win a war as the two unit types aren’t exactly equal. Smashing tanks with an artillery shell shows understanding of the battlefield though and is therefore rewarded with TPs.

World in Conflict Exactly How Awesome?
World in Conflict has a range of well-written characters, click to enlarge

Special attacks are quite varied, ranging from light airstrikes from passing bombers which are cheap but not very effective all the way up to full nuclear strikes and the use of napalm or germ warfare. Each one of the special attacks is beautiful to watch despite the unholy destruction they cause, with warheads trailing out of the sky realistically and leaving huge craters in the ground.

When we played the multiplayer beta a while back we were most impressed by the nuclear attack, especially on a dual screen setup where one monitor is given over to a top-down view of the whole battlefield.

With dual screens and a decent rig, the nuclear attack was truly awesome to behold – something unchanged on the full version. The huge mushroom cloud will still linger on the map for ages, buildings will still shatter and disintegrate with fantastically detailed physics and Tim will still jump out of his seat in excitement, hooting about he set the Russians ‘up the bomb’.

So, by now you’re starting to get an idea of what sets World in Conflict apart from other RTS games. We’ve outlined the cool way in which unit building and special attacks are worked cleverly into gameplay and we’ve outlined the awesome story in a spoiler-free fashion.

World in Conflict Exactly How Awesome? World in Conflict Exactly How Awesome?
Click to enlarge

Still, there are so many things we haven’t discussed yet like the awesome controls which let players create new squads and groups, navigate the battlefields on both a micro and macro level and the interesting way in which the environment can be used by game units.

That last point is perhaps a bit too fashionably phrased – it seems like every modern game boasts that the environment can be used as a weapon – but it’s true for World in Conflict, where infantry can be hidden under tree cover or in nearby buildings, while tanks use the smoke thrown up by destroyed buildings for cover.

The great thing is that each and every one of these things is executed perfectly, with nary a flaw to be found. In fact, the one and only concern that you should have is whether or not your PC can run the game in all its awesomeness. If not, then what can you expect to see in the game? Well, let’s see...

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