September 20th, 2007

World in Conflict hits Europe tomorrow

Three days ago World in Conflict has been launched in the US and tomorrow we’ll witness the European release. The new real time tactical game from Sierra Entertainment has been rated 12+ and will be available for a suggested price of 36E, and 43E for the Collector’s Edition. The game features a complex blend of real time strategy, squad play and first person shooter, a good recipe for success using DirectX 10 native functions for massive eye candy. World in Conflict has also been announced to be in the Cyberathlete Professional League rooster for competitive play in 2007.

The synopsis has the players back in 1989, when instead of falling to internal economical difficulties; the Soviet Union finds financial salvation into blackmailing NATO to support Russian economy. Conflict is unavoidable as NATO refuses to get involved. However, there is a second US front, to keep their involvement in Europe mainland business of war. Thus you will be able to take either side in the single player campaign, which promptly begins with the Russian invasion of Seattle. This trailer released in spring gives a good overall image. It seems to be an appealing scenario for US nationals, especially given the War on Terror hype.

You don’t have bases and resources to harvest in World in Conflict. Instead, you fight for map control and owning strategic points on the map results in better reinforcement point regeneration. With these points you can call in more troops and the fight moves forward. Killing as many units as possible isn’t the main idea, since good tactical leadership can lead to victory in the face of overwhelming odds.

Regardless of faction you can direct your troops as an Infantry, Armor, Support or Air master. Infantry allows control of various ground units which have mobility issues yet can effectively counter most enemy types on the battlefield. Armor types provide armored vehicle support, from heavy tanks to mobile and armored personnel carriers. Support deals with stationary anti air cannons, with medium of heavy shells, along with medium armored mobile anti air defense. Air superiority is the key to victory, yet your bombers, helicopters and hunters will often need support from your allies and can’t win a battle on their own. During gameplay reinforcements are called in to strengthen your positions. Often enough a successful defensive is followed by a devastating offensive so map borders don’t stay the same for long. In fact, the calm before the storm is usually followed by a massive clash, and within minutes, most of your troops can be lost. Air strikes, paratroopers and carpet bombing will help to that end, and if it’s not enough, the all popular nuke will definitely clear the battleground.

The multiplayer mode provides generous options as you can either play one on one against a human opponent in the No mode, fight against an all-AI team or a combination of both. World in Conflict will feature in this year’s Cyberathlete Professional League as a team game, so expect perfect troop balance and immediate clash of egos to ensue. To this end, Team Dignitas CPL champions have already issued a nice strategical overview of the game which you can read here.