Soviets, Missles and Nukes, Oh My!
Soviet tanks rush through the empty plains before being blow apart by incoming missiles. Heavy attack helicopters shred a group of infantry before being blown out of the sky by anti-air guns. And a company of Soviet Spetsnaz are blown sky-high by a tactical nuke. Such is the intensity of World in Conflict.
Taking place in 1989, WIC follows an alternate timeline where the cold war didn’t end and instead Russia launches an all out assault of America. The story takes place from both the UN and US points of view and takes place in locations in America, Europe and Russia. The story is quite interesting and one which you will want to follow until the end. This is aided by surprisingly developed characters and some great voice acting.
The story is told through both painted stills much like Company of Heroes and in-game cut scenes, and god do they look fantastic. As long you have a good rig you’ll be able to appreciate the highly detailed graphics, excellent particle effects and some the most impressive special effects in recent memory. Units are also highly detailed and realistically get blown to bits. The lip-syncing and animation is top notch, and all of these things seem to come together to create one of the best looking games available on the PC.
Aiding in the immersion is excellent audio. Tactical briefing between missions is voiced by none other than Alec Baldwin, who provides a terrific commentary. The other voice acting is well done, though is outclassed by Baldwin’s performance. Sound effects are also great, from rockets with the satisfying sound of an explosion to building collapses in an intense sound of splintering support beams and shattering glass.
all of these things seem to come together to create one of the best looking games available on the PC
As we know, these wouldn’t matter without satisfying game play and that’s were WIC excels. The biggest difference between it and other RTS’s is its resource system. Resource gathering has been eliminated entirely, as you are given a set number of “command points” which you spend on units. Each unit has a set cost and once it is destroyed your points will be slowly returned to you. This eliminates some of the frustration in other RTS like Warcraft where the loss of units can have a drastic effect on your economy. Instead it allows you to experiment with different unit combinations as the most losses will set you back is having to wait 30 seconds before your points are returned to you. This also makes for more aggressive game play as taking casualties doesn’t set you back so much.
The other drastic game play change is its approach to combat. The game play relies heavily on teamwork, as you can only use certain types of units during each mission. It’s amazing how well the single player campaign teaches you the notion of teamwork. You work with a small amount of units on the battlefield, as you’re accompanied by groups of AI teammates. 
It’s not uncommon for your commander to tell you to take an objective, and after you take it to have an AI teammate defend it while you push deeper into the enemy lines. Though while you only control a small group of units and are usually only focused on a small section of the battle, the game is presented in such a way that it makes you feel like you’re part of something larger.
This change also makes for one of the best multiplayer experiences since Warcraft 3. As you’re only allowed to specialize in one type of command (infantry, armour, air & support) you really have to work with your team, as if you have a bunch of tanks but no anti-air you’re pretty much screwed. It’s surprising how well the single-player teaches you the teamwork required for multiplayer.
The other aspect that changes the game is tactical aid. Tactical aid allows you to call in all sorts of support from napalm to artillery strikes to a tactical nuke. This allows you to destroy units and buildings, burn forests that infantry can use for cover, and can take out that pesky artillery that’s shelling your front line.
It’s not often for a RTS to completely change the way you think about a genre, but WIC has so many new ideas and innovations that it’s hard not to love it. Gamers will love the well crafted story and single player campaign, though it is all second to the amazing multiplayer, which strategy junkies will no doubt love due to the unique way it presents teamwork. To say the least WIC is one of the best strategy games ever made, if not THE best ever.
The Bad: The changes might be a little much for veteran RTS players to wrap their heads around
Diamond Y Award