World in Conflict (Windows)

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Description

World in Conflict is a real-time strategy pursuing an alternative history starting in 1989. The Soviet Union is crippled by economic issues and asks the United Nations to support the Communist society. Upon refusing, the Soviets assault NATO positions and open a second front in the United States to prevent the country from assisting Europe. The game has the player take command after the American invasion, but also in the events prior to it, set in Europe and Russia. The story is told through pre-rendered cut-scenes, stills, and in-game events.

Like the developer's previous games in the Ground Control series, there is no resource or structure management. The player starts with a limited group of unit resources determined for each mission, based on 4 major roles: Armor, Air, Infantry and Support, each with different units. These include soldiers, tanks, jeeps, transport vehicles, helicopters, and more. Each unit has specific movement and attack options, along with two unique actions. The game is shown through a third-person perspective with full zooming options, rotation and camera control through the WASD keys, usually reserved for first-person shooters.

The player controls a small group of units on a larger battlefield, with both AI-controlled enemies and allies. While playing, there are different objectives to fulfil and the commanders constantly provide updates from the battlefield. The gameplay is focused on the micromanagement of the available units. At the start of each mission, a limited amount of reinforcements is provided, which the player uses to assemble a team of units for the mission. Once a unit falls in battle, the reinforcement meter slowly regenerates to buy one or more new units. By controlling command points, fortifications are built automatically and these also provide other bonuses such as tactical aids.

Tactical aids are the main form of support provided for your troops during the game. By completing objectives, the player can ask for air support at the cost of points, to launch napalm, air strikes, artillery fire, paratroopers and even a nuclear bomb. The setting heavily enforces to make good use of the environment, with small streets that slow down heavy tanks, buildings that can be captured by soldiers for more powerful attacks, and drop points selected through an overhead map. The environment is completely destructible.

Multiplayer is focused on eSports with integrated voice chat, clan management, leaderboards and in-game avatars through the Massgate network. There is a focus on cooperative matches, with the players choosing one of the 4 available roles to create balanced teams. The game modes include Domination (push the domination bar in your team's direction by holding as many control points as long as possible), Assault (two consecutive rounds of defence and attack for command points) and Tug of War (fight for one long command point acting as a frontline, pushing it forward by controlling perimeter points). There is an additional mode called Few-Player mode where the game is tuned for 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 matches, removing the roles system and vastly increasing the reinforcement points.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "WiC" -- Common abbreviation

Part of the Following Groups

• 3D Engine: MassTech
• Historical conflict: Cold War
• Middleware: SpeedTree
• Physics Engine: Havok
• Setting: City - New York
• Technology: amBX
• World in Conflict series

User Reviews

The storyline of Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2, with gameplay worse than Command and Conquer: Generals	kvn8907 (180)
I really wanted to like this game...	D Michael (232)
Just clicking buttons like in Minesweeper	Forever Sport (26)

Critic Reviews

IGN	Sep 07, 2007	9.3 out of 10	93
IC-Games	Sep 19, 2007	93 out of 100	93
Chief	Oct, 2007	9.1 out of 10	91
ActionTrip	Sep 26, 2007	91 out of 100	91
Vgames	Oct 07, 2007	90 out of 100	90
Maximum PC	Jan 30, 2008	9 out of 10	90
Gameslave UK	Sep 28, 2007	9 out of 10	90
GameStar (Germany)	Aug 29, 2007	89 out of 100	89
GamesFire	Oct 08, 2007	87 out of 100	87
PC Powerplay	Aug 29, 2007	85 out of 100	85

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

World in Conflict appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

German version

There are two retail versions of the game available in Germany. One is called "Uncut Edition" and is identical to the international release but was rated "Not free for minors" by the USK (the German rating organisation). This was due to two weapons in the game, that violate the Geneva Convention. So in order to release a version with a USK Rating of 16, Vivendi made a few changes to the game and made a separate release out of it:

• The version only features German language.
• The atomic bomb was renamed to BFB (as a homage to the BFG from DOOM).
• The green acid gas was renamed to tear gas and its color changed to white.
• The napalm attack was renamed to anti vegetation strike.

Awards

• GameSpy
  • 2007 – #7 PC Game of the Year
  • 2007 – PC Strategy Game of the Year
  • 2007 – PC Strategy Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
  • 2007 – #5 Multiplayer Game of the Year

Related Web Sites

• Wikipedia (The article about the game in the open encyclopedia)
• World in Conflict (Official game website)