WORLD IN CONFLICT : SOVIET ASSAULT (PC) CODE NAME : WIC

SUMMARY

World in Conflict presents a chillingly authentic Cold War scenario created by best-selling author Larry Bond. The year is 1989, and the Soviets, fearing certain collapse, boldly attack Europe. NATO responds in force only to met on a second front, a full-fledged invasion of the American homeland. Players take on the role of the field commander, leading the era's most powerful military machines in the campaign to retake America's cities and suburbs.

REVIEW

Gameplay quickly ebbs and flows between calling air strikes, reinforcing your force and making sure your units aren't getting their ass handed to them on a plate. Here, the game again excels, with simple, clean and effortless controls of your units, and some of the easiest micro management I've ever experienced in an RTS. The order palette is well designed, with each command easy to see. The two main buttons, one for offensive special abilities and one for defensive, are big enough not to be missed when the heat is on. Resupplying your infantry squads with reinforcement points is never a chore. Of course it's got the depth for micro-managing experts, but, in my view, WIC's order palette provides perhaps the most accessible way of managing individual units in recent memory.

Even something as simple as moving the camera feels clean. You can move without WASD just by moving the mouse if you wanted to. You can scroll super close, inspecting the running animations of your riflemen with military precision, or zoom out to get a more strategic eye on the field. Because you don't have that many units to command, you'll never need, nor want, to stray too far from the whites of the enemy's eyes.

DirectX 10 gamers are in for a visual treatIf the campaign is worthy of an eight-out-of-10, then what elevates WIC above the very good RTS pile is the online experience, through official portal Massgate, which is as easy to navigate as you'd expect. You begin by picking a side, USA or Nato, or the USSR, and then decide what type of role you will play on the battlefield, armour, air, infantry and support. While you'll have access to every single unit, if you want to reinforce with one outside your role, it will cost you a lot more points than normal. What this does is force a degree of communication with your team mates - you won't win without each player fulfilling their role. You'll find yourself embroiled in some seriously intense games, where you'll constantly be laying down tactical aids, reinforcing your troops and coordinating your efforts in a paper, scissors stone fashion.

So the sheer fun of the multiplayer warrants an extra review point. The game is a must buy for RTS fans. Experts will tear through the campaign quickly enough, but it's just the starter, whetting the palette for the main course, a hugely engaging multiplayer extravaganza. World In Conflict is brilliant RTS fun for experts and newcomers alike.

SCREENSHOT

MY RATING : 9 | PRICE : RM10

 Essential : 9

 Gameplay : 9

 Graphics : 9

 Sound : 9