I completed the game yesterday... Few ups and downs here and there. Overall, a great game. But, if you'd know me just a little. You'd know why I wrote "No Love for Hype Rule" with the World in Conflict Review. For my personal enjoyment of doing my thing, and adding more... you can call it "censored flavor" to the dull thing we call "Reviewing".
While... It's all opinion, and not with the conclusion wether you should get the game or not. It's putting the bad and negatives stand forwards, and wave the goodies bye bye. Oh yeah, keep in mind... No. Positivity.
Okay, there's positivity... But the general meaning of this blog, and most reviews I will do and did... It's to tell all the negatives, and just skip on all the positives we all seem to know about anyway.
World in Conflict.
I'm not the biggest RTS fan in the world. Liked Command and Conquer every now and then. But I do have a passion for war. Especially, Russians. Like the United States, they have the power and will to create their own nation, and defeat anyone with a different perspective on it.
The so called "Western versus Eastern" conflict. I can type this review in Russian, if you'd like... Вы не любите оно? Не что сука. Anyway, to cut to the chase... The game's good. I'd say if you're in for massive destruction, the downfall of the United States and getting half an orgasm if you'd manage to put Seattle up in flames... It's a must buy.
But, you're here for the flawless bashing, right? Well, let's get on with it.
Story: Right, since I've seen quite a few of Mr. Tom Clancy's films. I noticed something, the storyline follows the same linear path as Tom Clancy's "The Sum of all Fears" did. It was a one way path, you can sum up in steps:
1: An US city gets pwn'd.
2: People die.
3: RUSSIA DID IT! RUSSIA DID IT!
4: ...It was the USSR.
5: They still killed our Burger King, in Seattle!
6: Retreat.
7: Nuke ourselfs.
8: Retreat some more.
9: Go back.
10: Re-visit all locations like Devil May Cry 4.
11: Bomb the hell out of Ruskies.
The storyline has some back story to it. The USSR, who are the bad guys... Are invading Western Europe for more country to snatch. Whatever reason they need to take France, Spain, Swiss, Austria, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland... It's obvious that the Russians are displayed as typical powergreedy dumbasses with the love for territorial gains.
And there's still no reason why those stubborn idiots managed to start a third world war. In 1989. When everyone had the hair the length of your average Comfort Inn rug. Like I have right now.
All in all, the US sees an oppertunity to shoot and kill. And when there's the oppertunity to blow the hell out of someone. The US Army is there like a bunch of horny puppies riding the M18 missiles.
The storyline's quite good, has nice sequences from mission to mission. But what really started to piss me off after some time was this(technically not a spoiler, so shush!):
"RETREAT!" (mission 01)
"RETREAT!" (mission 02)
"RETREAT!" (mission 03)
"REEETREEAAATTTTT!" (mission 04)
"RETREAT MORONS! THERE'S A NUKE INCOMIN'!" (mission 05)
That keeps... on... going... Until, that is. You get a bit of prologue during the story too. Europe. You'll fight as the NATO. Which don't yell commands such as "retreat", but talk to me as if they are offering me a baugette and then slap me in the face with it.
Gameplay: It's unlike any other RTS. I find it strange that Sierra Entertainment and Massive allowed theirselfs to screw with the RTS fomula. It's got rid of the economy system. No base building. Just simple "Get some units and go boom!". But, how they managed to make it even better without it all - I don't know, I'm just happy that it's working out.
There's not much difference in gameplay tough. You'll either hold a point, capture and hold a point or hold a point and go for the next point. You can call in several different types of strikes, from simple Light Artilery, to Nukes. With the same points you're able of dropping some extra vehicles if you're out of Reinfocement Points.
Online... There's four sides you can choose:
- Vehicles: Basicly... Drive, boom and respawn.
- Air: Fly... Boom-boom-boom and get owned in two shots.
- Infantry: Run and get gassed like God himself let loose a big one. (Yay for Toxic Gas Strikes!)
- Support: Sit your lazy ass back and deliver booms at a distance.
All in all, it lacks a helluvalot of variety. The game does a good job at keeping it entertaining, tough.
Characters: The US Army has one dude called "Mike Bannon". If I ever had the oppertunity to slap that S.O.B, I would've. He's the biggest coward I've ever seen in a game. But that's for a reason. During the European prologue you can see why he's a chicken**** and why he and Corporal Sawyer have issues.
Those issues are "If you screw up this time, Bannon...", repeated ten times during every mission.
But, Bannon makes up for the fact that he's a coward, annoying and a jackass during the mission in Cascade Falls. Then you'll actually feel bad for being such an ass to him.
The French, oohhhh.... Christ. Their accents wants you to take off their baretts and slap them with 'em. They are so fake and cheesy that you'll grind your teeth.
There's these two dudes I want to talk about for a while. They have no names, they only appear in cutscenes are they are something that makes you wonder how actual soldiers are doing out in the field. You see 'em everytime during a cutscene.
The first time they are seen they are sitting and taking cover behind a barrier, indentifying theirselfs as Washington National Guard to Bannon. The second time, one is showing off a Portable CD Player to the other, and complaining that it hasn't got batteries.
The entire time you see 'em, it's about that CD Player he's taking along for his daughter. And the quest to find batteries for the thing. And the last cutscene you'll see in the game, which will also have them two. It's one of the best.
Sound: Overall superb. The sound of two tactical nukes dropping in and slaying enemies and friendlies is like Frank Sinatra singing in private just for you. The characters have great dialogue.
Oh, and there's a few great eightees songs in the game.
Graphics: They really knew how to bring in details. All vehicles look incredibly detailed, even upclose. Choppers actually have two men sitting in their seats. All explosions leave permanent craters. After you dropped a nuke, radiation effects will cause the camera to get a little bit of static interference on it. All objects on a map can be destroyed. Etc. Etc.
The only downer is that nukes, Daisy Cutter Bombs and Carpet Bombings don't leave big craters. Even a nuke won't make much of a hole. But, the effects are awesome nevertheless.
And, there's actual 3D cutscenes that play in the game world. Something I never expected in a RTS game.
Conclusion: I have to admit it... The game's worthy of it's 9.5. Not even enough bad stuff to make this blog worth reading, huh? All in all, I'd give it a 9.5 aswell.
Actually, I adore the game for the wrong reason. Everytime I play the New York map, I take down the goddamn Statue of Liberty. And I get Tactical Aid Points for it!! And when on Seattle, I get points for slaughtering the plate on a disk. Y'know, the Space Needle.
How patriotic can I be, huh?
Oh and on a side note... This is one of the most epic in game scenes I've seen in my life. It's the intro cutscene to the "Liberty Lost" mission, Also the second trailer. Nevertheless, that trailer was awesome. And made a good use out of prerendered material by putting into the game itself:
[video=6177526]