Gather - Defend - Attack ? Is that wat RTS is all about ? Forget it .. this is: World in Conflict ~
Firstly I have to mention the gameplay. It is fast, exciting and to the point. There are 14 campaigns in total. Each campaign comes up with a set of objectives that appear progressively in the game. The map is expansive, beautiful and terrain graphics are splendid. Since most of the story takes place in the American soil and some in european countryside, the buildings represent the colonies accurately. Seattle and NY are so well depicted that the wars seem more natural.
The camera is a genuine breakthrough in this title. You can rotate it in any direction which means it is not the stereotype top to bottom zoom effect that you find in most RTS games. The view of the map is awesome and the camera is smooth allowing you to place it strategically to gain a vision advantage in the battlefield.
Some say the story is a bit farfetched, but I feel it is excellent. We play games to escape from reality, not to feel reality. The story presents a perfect balance between fantasy and real life, in the sense it is not too distance and a possibility of it becoming a reality exsisted during the cold war days. The voice make overs are brilliant. Every campaign begins with a strategic cutscene and a emotional cutscene depicting the soldiers lives. Both comprise of still sketches but are so brilliantly depicted with great voice and awesome music that it gives a real boost to start a mission. The sound effects are fantastic and that includes the voice. Color effects are good and makes the war seem more immersive.
Difficulty wise the game is just right. Dont play in the easy mode its too darn easy. The game units are cool, especially the heavy attack helicopter and the bazooka artillery. Tactical Aid is another interesting feature in this game. You can call upon firesupport from air or artillery barrage on enemy locations. This is a real plus when playing tough missions and is a real joy to watch the enemy command post turn to dust. Especially check out the air support team called "Iceman" which has a cool voice and does terrific damage to enemy ground units as its swooshes over them bombing their positions. You can also call in reinforcement that are dropped anywhere on a possible dropping zone on the map.
Tip: If u wanna see the whole map on enemy locations and on going battles, pause the screen [Esc] and move the camera [arrows] .
In summary, I would recommend this game to every RTS fan just because it is different in every sense from the usual games of this genre and hence, an enriching experience. The missions look more realistic than ever and the gameplay is really commendable. In short, this game deserves to be the strategy game of the year 2007.